Week 3-implementing technology with ELA teacher

In Week 2 I researched the use of audiobooks in the classroom. I discovered the benefits of audiobooks with ELA students because it minimizes the pressure of the reader and enables him to focus on the big picture without being distracted by technicalities. In addition, audiobooks are helpful in teaching pronunciation of words which enhances these students communication skills. Furthermore, audiobooks are extremely helpful with handicapped and blind students. After speaking to Mrs. .Muller about the concept of audiobooks, she became very excited. She expressed how frustrated her students got when they struggled over the words in the book and this discomfort prevented further progress. She also related how audiobooks makes reading more fun and teaches the children how to read with expression. It is important however not only to rely on audiobooks and to have the students do some reading on their own. The way that Mrs. Muller can implement the audiobooks is to introduce a book through having the children listen to the story. While they are listening for the first time they will be able to understand the storyline as well as pick up on the underlying expression of the characters. Next Mrs. Muller can read the story with the children. At that point the children will be able to read more confidently since they already heard the story and their comprehension will increase with the repeat of the words. This would be done with first graders who are just beginning to learn how to read. The book should be of something of interest, like a story about children going on a treasure hunt for instance. The standard that is listed in the New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy addressed here is: “11. Respond to literature by employing knowledge of literary language, textual features, and forms to read and comprehend, reflect upon, and interpret literary texts from a variety of genres and a wide spectrum of American and world cultures.” The second time the students read the story after hearing the audiobook the teacher will stop the students to ask them questions to ensure that they really understand the story, the setting and the characters involved. The learning outcome of the lesson would be that the students would have a deeper understanding of the story after both hearing it, and reading it themselves. In addition, students will be able to model the intended expression in the story as well as properly pronounce the words.   The technologies needed for this class would just be the audiobook and speakers. The timeline for this lesson would be just one class. The class would listen to the audiobook in class then read the story aloud in class. The assessment for this lesson would be the teacher pausing to ask her students questions on the content of the story and the teacher checking that proper expression and pronunciation is being used.