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Audiobooks can be used to promote reading fluency, expand vocabulary, develop reading comprehension, and motivate students to interact with the books they are reading. Teachers can use audiobooks within their classroom and having students follow along with the speaker.

Teachers should use this strategy when dealing with a difficult text like Shakespeare. This is so students are more focused on the text and can easily pick up plot, new vocabulary, and increase confidence while reading a complex text.

STEP BY STEP

1. Find an audiobook of the selected text.(some can be found on YouTube, audiobooks.com, or other sites online)

2. Introduce students to the audiobook and show students how to follow along with the audio.

3. Play audiobook for students.

4. Actively pause audiobook and stimulate student questions or comments about the book.

5. End audiobook at preferred stopping point.

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Literacy is the foundation of overall educational success. Reading skills are the gateway to success in every classroom subject. The need to read is not limited to English Language Arts classes; literacy skills are essential in math, history and all other content areas. Beyond the classroom, literacy is an essential daily life skill. Not being able to read has a profound effect on our self-esteem, social-emotional skills and imagination.

The significance of this cannot be overstated, which is why we once again point to the results of the most recent NAEP Report Card: only 35% of students read proficiently by grade 4, and reading assessment scores are the lowest they've been in decades.

Literacy skills, including listening, speaking, reading and writing, can be difficult to support because students can fall on such a broad spectrum. Students enter school at varying levels of preparedness for reading and usually spend the first few years of school learning to read. If reading skills aren't developed by around fourth grade, when education begins to focus on more complex and higher-order thinking skills, studies have shown that students rarely catch up with their peers to become fluent readers.

The Learning Ally Audiobook Solution

As children age and learning shifts from learning to read to reading to learn, support can mean the difference between learning from reading or suffering sustained academic failure. To empower students to not only be able to read but also to want to read, a holistic approach - offering intensive care for the most at-risk students and specialized attention for those with moderate literacy needs - is key.

Composed of high-quality, human-read audiobooks and a suite of teacher resources to monitor and support student progress, the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution is designed to turn struggling readers into engaged learners. With a library of more than 80,000 culturally relevant, curriculum-aligned audiobooks, our Audiobook Solution has all the books students need to read as well as the ones they will want to read for fun.

Students who use the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution demonstrate increased vocabulary, fluency and comprehension, as well as greater self-confidence and classroom engagement. They also show improved assessment and high-stakes test scores.

Proven Research

Plenty of academic research on the efficacy of audiobook support for literacy skills exists; audiobooks have long been considered an alternative way to access content, particularly for readers with physical and cognitive difficulties, but have the potential to support every reader in their reading journey.

For example, one study found that reading aloud or listening to audiobooks can introduce new vocabulary and concepts, provide a fluent model for students to emulate and allow students access to literature that they cannot read independently. Numerous studies also point to the benefit of audiobooks as a remedy for student disengagement with reading.

In addition, listening to books can benefit readers in different age groups in various ways. For younger children, hearing aloud new vocabulary exposes them to a higher quantity of spoken sophisticated vocabulary, helping mitigate the word gap many emerging readers face, particularly those from low-income homes.

As for older students, researchers found that the relationship between listening and reading comprehension strengthens after second grade when students begin to master decoding skills. Studies on middle and high school readers found that the influence of listening comprehension on variance in reading comprehension continues to grow over time. More research found that audiobooks can be used with adolescent readers to improve their reading fluency, expand their vocabulary, develop their comprehension and increase their motivation to interact with books.

Double the Rate of Reading Growth

In a recent study conducted by the Zarlengo Foundation of over 800 students in grades three through eight in one urban district, students who engaged with the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution with fidelity achieved double the rate of reading growth compared to their peers when evaluated with the STAR Assessment of Reading. Fidelity of reading occurred when students provided with instructional support engaged in reading texts with the solution approximately four times a week over the course of 12 weeks for 30 minutes each time.

Audio technology can be a valuable tool to expand teacher capacity, enable classroom cohesion, provide scaffolding for learning and empower student success.

With its host of student-centric programs to ensure engagement and a suite of reporting and progress monitoring tools for teachers to help manage assignments, track student reading and provide updates to parents and administrators, the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution is more than just audiobooks - it's a research-backed resource for today's classrooms. Learn more today.

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Breaking Barriers to Literacy: Using Audiobooks to Overcome Reading Challenges - EdSurge News

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Literacy is the foundation of overall educational success. Reading skills are the gateway to success in every classroom subject. The need to read is ...

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Anticipation guides are used before reading a selected text. They can be used individually, in small groups, or with the whole class. Teachers can make anticipation guides to promote student interest in the upcoming text they will be reading. These can be as simple as write what you know about a topic, true or false statements, or agree/disagree columns.

This strategy is used before reading a text. Anticipation guides set a purpose for reading, activate prior knowledge, and allow for students to dip their toes into the text without fully reading it.

STEP BY STEP

1. First introduce selected text to the class.

2. Teachers should model how to use an anticipation guide by doing it first with the whole class. (This could be done by only doing a couple and then leaving the rest for students to do on their own)

3. Have students answer the statements/questions (individual, small groups, or whole class).

4. Provide opportunity for discussion.

5. Bring closure to class by revisiting anticipation guide.

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This comprehension strategy activates students’ prior knowledge, builds curiosity about a new topic before learning about it, and then checks for understanding after reading.

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Previewing a text is used for students to activate prior knowledge and set a purpose for students before they actually read a text in its entirety. This allows for students to skim a text usually looking for given features such as headings, pictures, etc.

Previewing should be used before reading a text so students can connect with it. Students can they annotate the text to make predictions and connections.

STEP BY STEP

1. Introduce selected text to class.

2. Give students features to look for such as headings, footnotes, pictures, etc.

3. Model for students on the first section. (Annotate first heading, picture, etc.)

4. Have students annotate the text by making connections, predict, answer questions, draw pictures, etc.

5. Allow for students to share what they annotated with class as this may expose students to somethings they didn't think of.

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This page details various specific reading strategies, such as KWL+, SQ3R, and the 4Ps. There are also general strategies as well.

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Annotations promote active reading with students. This enhances students ability to closely read and connect with a particular text. Examples of annotating a text can be underlining key words, highlighting thesis, making connections, etc. Students usually have free rein when it comes to annotating as it is closely paired with their reactions to a piece of literature. Annotating makes it easier to look back at the text and find particular points and recall what has happened.

This strategy can be used whenever a student is reading a text. Students may annotate the text in the margins or on post-it-notes.

STEP BY STEP

1. Give students a text or book.

2. Students should have a wiring utensil, post-it-notes, or highlighters.

3. If first time annotating, teachers should model how to annotate in first section of the text and then allow for individual annotations.

4. Have students read text (individual, paired, or whole class). As students are reading make sure they are annotating. If reading as a class, pause and ask students questions.

5. Promote discussion after finished reading to address any misconceptions or add onto students thoughts.

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Research Guides: Reading and Study Strategies: Annotating a Text

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Use the tabs to find guides to help you read academic texts in a way that helps you remember and use the information. Move beyond a highlighter for note-taking strategies to use while reading.

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I am a huge fan of annotating and plan having my students incorporate this strategy into all reading. I believe it promotes closer reading to texts because students have to slow down and jot down their thought, questions, or keep track of important events. It also helpful when looking back at a text to quickly recall information or locate pieces of the text. It also helps for students to make real-world, personal, or text-to-text connections. This is important as it deepens understanding of a particular text.

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ABLE blog: thoughts, learnings and experiences

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Annotating text: The complete guide to close reading

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Learn why annotating text is useful and how you can apply a few helpful strategies to develop your own annotation system.

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Reading journals provide students with an outlet to reflect on ideas in the texts they have read. The journals are used to promote reading comprehension. I strongly suggest having students use textual evidence in their reading journals to support their reflections. Reading journals can be kept throughout the year and may be used for students to keep track of the readings they have completed and make connections between them. Teachers can have students respond to reading questions to promote higher order thinking within the text.

Reading journals should be created at the beginning of the year so students can keep track of what they have already read. They can be as simple as a spiral notebook.

STEP BY STEP

1. Create student reading journal.

2. After students have completed a desired reading or section, have students jot down their thoughts/questions or respond to reading questions.

3. Teachers should check in randomly on student journals to check for comprehension of texts or misconceptions.

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Students Benefit from Reading Response Journals - ELA Matters

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Students benefit from writing as a response to their reading. Learn more about how you can incorporate response journals in your classroom.

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Socratic seminars are can be used online or in person and are used to promote inquiry and strengthen understanding of a selected text. Socratic seminars can be debates or healthy discussions. Students listen to each other and focus on making meaning of a particular text. It also facilitates a positive classroom community.

Socratic seminars can be used at any point in the semester. However, they should be used when a teacher feels like the classroom community is built positively and students can work together.

STEP BY STEP

1. Build a positive classroom environment. This should involve student expectations.

2. Select reading material for students to read.

3. Allow for students to prepare for seminar by answering questions, find key points, or make connections.

4. Teachers should provide seminar questions that students will be focusing on during the seminar. (Usually are open-ended questions)

5. Teacher should establish role in the discussion as a facilitator, not an active member.

6. Allow for students to begin seminar. Teachers during seminar should assess for participation and ideas throughout explained.

7. At the end of seminar teacher should have students fill out a reflection sheet of how they think the seminar went.

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Image source: eet.sdsu.edu
"Socratic seminars are named after Socrates' belief in the power of asking questions, inquiry over information, and discussion over debate. Socratic seminars acknowledge the highly social nature of learning and align with the work of John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, and Paulo Friere." (Filkins, n.d)

The goal of a Socratic seminar is for students to work together and help each other understand ideas, and values that are related to a specific text. Students facilitate a discussion around the ideas in the text, rather than sharing their opinions. By listening to each other, and discussing the meaning, the students work toward a shared understanding of the text, rather than debating or proving a particular argument. The purpose is not to debate, persuade, or have personal reflection, but instead to focus on developing a shared meaning of a text. (http://www.facinghistory.org)

Socratic Seminar can have many benefits such as:
(http://paideia.org)

Improve student achievement in core Language Arts skills, Reading, Speaking, and Listening, and Writing

Increased student motivation because students are able to formulate and express their own ideas

A more respectful school culture with fewer behavioral problems because student learn communication skills and struggle less with boredom

Listed below are the steps that you will need to follow to facilitate a Socratic Seminar in your classroom (Filkins, n.d.)
Step One: Select the appropriate text
Select a text that allows for interpretation and discussion. If the text is too simple or straightforward there will not be enough for the students to discuss. The text should be not be too long, to allow enough time for discussion. A short story or a pair of contrasting documents in a social studies class are good examples of text.

Step Two: Prepare students for the Seminar
Tell students ahead of time that they will be expected to participate in the seminar. Make sure they understand that they will be referring back to the text during the discussion, so handing out sticky notes for them to use while reading will make it easier for them to organize and highlight key points.

Step Three: Prepare the questions
Eventually students will be given the responsibility for leading the entire session, however, in the beginning the teacher will need to fill the role of the discussion leader. After the procedure is modeled and practiced over time, the students will be able to take on this role. To begin, the teacher should develop as many open-ended questions as possible. Try to start and end with questions that relate more directly to student's lives so the conversation can be related to real life experiences.

Step Four: Establish Student Expectations
Students should develop norms that they can agree on. Since inquiry and critical thinking are a key component to socratic seminar, students will need to differentiate between behaviors that characterize debate and those that characterize discussion. The goal is not to persuade or debate, but to grow from each other's responses.

Step Five: Establish your role
In the beginning, the teacher will help develop the questions, but the teacher should not see him or herself as an active participant in the discussion. The role of the teacher is to give reminders to refocus on the text, or redirect, not to correct or comment on the students responses.

Step Six: Assess Effectiveness
Socratic seminars assessment is based on reflection of the students and teachers. Measuring the degree of text-centered student talk and reflective writing asking students to describe their participation and set of goals for future seminars can be effective as well. The process of gaining inquiry and participation in critical thinking and reflection is the goal.

Socratic seminar is a strategy that could be used in any content area, to facilitate discussion on a certain topic. Here are two examples of content areas that socratic seminar may be used. If the topic is related to a new medical procedure that may help cancer patients, the article selected would allow for students to demonstrate inquiry and critical thinking in reviewing all of the details of the procedure. The students would first read the article, while taking notes, highlighting, or using sticky notes to mark key points. Next, the discussion questions could be started by the teacher or student group leader. All students would gain knowledge by adding to the discussion, while quoting the text during the discussion. The benefit is that students would hear different perspectives and deepen their understanding of the text.

Reading/English
Socratic seminar could be used in reading a short story. The students would follow the same procedure but this time the discussion could be related to character development, plot, conflict, etc. Students would use the text to quote and explain their ideas based on facts that they have read.

Socratic seminar can directly help students with their writing skills as well as comprehension and communication. The writing standard that correlates well to socratic seminar is 6.7.9.9. This standard states that students should draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. While students are participating in a socratic seminar they will be listening to others and taking note of evidence that backs up each other's statements. When the socratic seminar is complete, and students are asked to write about a topic, they will have more information and knowledge based off of the information presented in the socratic seminar.

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I plan to use socratic seminars in my future classroom as they promote collaboration and higher order thinking skills. Seminars also help students understand ideas throughout a specific text through a discussion format instead of a traditional paper or presentation. Promoting discussion in my classroom is one of the main ways I plan to evaluate students. I believe students should be able to express their ideas for others to hear different perspectives or new ideas. Socratic seminars provide this for students.

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A Socratic Seminar invites students to facilitate a discussion in order to work together toward a shared understanding of a text.

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Five finger retell is used to check for student comprehension after a completing reading. It is used for students to recall the main events of a story (usually plot related). Each finger stands for a different story element (setting, characters, problem, events, and solutions). This could also be intertwined with a plot diagram. This can be done orally or by writing it down.

This strategy should be used at the end of a story. This is so teachers can monitor reading comprehension. Parts of the fingers can be used after just reading about them, such as the problem or solution.

STEP BY STEP

1. Introduce five finger strategy to class.

2. Give students a selected text.

3. Have students use the five finger strategy to monitor their reading.

4. After completed reading, have students complete the five finger strategy either orally or written.

5. Teachers should then assess for student comprehension.

6. Teachers should then address any misconceptions found within the five finger strategy.

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I selected this strategy to be the least effective as I feel like it pertains more towards younger ages. As my content area is 6-12, I don't know when exactly I would have students rely on this as a strategy as they should be able to have a higher order of thinking. I can see this being used in grades K-6 or in specialized classes such as ELL. I think it may be useful to have students quickly use it when recalling but not to promote higher order of thinking. I don't think it is ineffective , however, in my content area I would prefer to use other strategies.

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Think-Pair-Share is where students work together to answer a prompt given about a particular reading. This involves partnering up students and then having them share their thoughts about the prompt with their partner. This can be used to maximize participation, focus attention on a specific theme or idea within the reading, and engages reading comprehension.

This can be used throughout the reading of a text. During the begin as a pre-reading activity to activate prior knowledge activation. It can also be used within the text to drive students attention to a particular issue or theme in the book. Lastly, it can be used after as a post-reading strategy where students share their opinions on the particular text.

STEP BY STEP

1. Give students a prompt or question to think about.

2. Allow for students to think about posed question for a few minutes.

3. Pair each student with a partner or small group (no more than 4/5).

4. Have students share their thoughts to their partner/small group.

5. Promote class discussion by asking students to share what they talked about.

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Language Arts

Use think-pair-share to deepen discussions about specific characters in books the class is reading together. For example, if the class is reading The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson, try think-pair-share to respond to questions such as, "Would you be able to be friends with Gilly? Why or why not?"

Math

Try think-pair-share for math problems with more than one correct answer, such as estimation, patterns, and logic. This strategy can also be used when students are deciding how to approach a math problem.

Social Studies

Jumpstart a think-pair-share discussion by asking a gbroad question relevant to a new unit of study, such as, "What do you already know about the Civil War?" As students dig into more difficult topics, you might ask questions such as, "Would you have agreed to be a 'stop' on the Underground Railroad? Why or why not?"

Science

Use think-pair-share to help students form hypotheses or to discuss their interpretations of a class experiment. For example, before an experiment on density, students might be asked to use the think-pair-share strategy when deciding which items will float in a tub of water.

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Think-pair-share is a collaborative learning strategy where students work together to solve a problem or answer a question about an assigned reading. This strategy requires students to (1) think individually about a topic or answer to a question; and (2) share ideas with classmates.

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Teachers can individually meet with students to support students reading comprehension skills. This is when students and teachers met one on one and the student reads to the teacher and models how they read. The teacher can then correct any struggles with that student. This is usually used with struggling readers, students with disabilities, or ELL's.

This can be used at any point during reading. Teachers will most likely use it during independent reading time o r reading workshops.

STEP BY STEP

1. Provide the benefits of reading conferences to students so no one feels targeted.

2. Have students schedule a reading conference with teacher.

3. Teacher will meet with students and have them read aloud.

4. Teachers should take notes on how students read (Strengths and weaknesses).

5. Have students recall what they just read to check for comprehension.

6. Provide specific feedback to student.

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Reading Conferences | Learner Variability Project

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This strategy involves for the teacher to preach upcoming vocabulary in the reading. Teaching the vocabulary before reading the particular text allows for better reading comprehension as students can determine how the word is used within the text. This can be done through a vocabulary list where students make a prediction of the word, find the dictionary definition, and then use it in a sentence. This strategy is extremely helpful in situations where students may not know important words and would have trouble making meaning of them.

This should be used before reading a particular text. This is so students become familiar with the vocabulary before finding it in the text.

STEP BY STEP

1. Provide students with a vocabulary list or key term sheet.

2. Have students read the word and come up with their own definition.

3. Allow for students to look up the dictionary definition of the word.

4. Have students correctly write a sentence with the vocabulary word in it.

5. Share the words aloud to double check for comprehension.

6. Have students read particular text.

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Pre-teaching vocabulary is a strategy in which teachers introduce students to new vocabulary words before reading a text selection that contains the new vocabulary words. According to Literacy in Context, "When teachers pre-teach vocabulary, they introduce unfamiliar terms to students before they begin to read the text, and students have a heightened awareness of the vocabulary that they will encounter while reading." (Miller and Veatch, 2011, p.19) Adolescent Literacy states that "[pre-teaching vocabulary] facilitates the reading of new text by giving students the meanings of the words before they encounter them." (2007, p. 16) This strategy is particularly helpful in situations where students will encounter words that they have no familiarity with and would have trouble deciphering the word meaning from context or word analysis.

Research has shown that this strategy will help students by helping to improve their comprehension of the text they are reading. (Miller and Veatch, 2011, p.19) Pre-teaching vocabulary reduces the number of unfamiliar words the students will encounter in the text and boosts vocabulary acquisition. (Adolescent Literacy, 2007, p. 16)

Some of the benefits of using this strategy include the ability to teach multiple meanings of words and the ability to teach both specific academic words and non-specific-academic words. According to Literacy in Context, "pre-teaching selected vocabulary allows students to see that some words have academic definitions that are different from their everyday meanings." (Miller and Veatch, 2011, p. 19) This text goes on to say that this is especially beneficial for English learners or students who are struggling with academic language. Adolescent Literacy discusses how both specific academic words and non-specific academic words can be taught with this strategy. Some of the non-specific academic words that should be taught are recognize, analyze, result, impact, and relationship. (2007, p. 16) These are words that are not related to a specific content area, but may be seen in a multitude of texts.

The best way to pre-teach vocabulary words is to allow students to have repeated exposures to the new vocab words. This can be done by using any of the following ideas: pronouncing the new word, giving the meaning, discussing the words parts, writing the word on the board, and using the word in a sentence or question. (Adolescent Literacy, 2007, p. 16)

The teacher in this video demonstrates how to use the pre-teaching vocabulary strategy. She first writes the new words on the board. She asks for student volunteers to pronounce the words and give definitions and examples. She then puts the students into groups and gives them a vocabulary word to act out. As students act out their words in groups, the rest of the students try to guess which word is being acted out.

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Pre-teaching vocabulary is a strategy in which teachers introduce students to new vocabulary words before reading a text selection that contains the new vocabulary words. According to Literacy in...