Audio Books? Absolutely!

Currently in room B-3, quite a few students are using audio books during our individual reading time. Audio books are not a good fit for everyone, but for some kids, they can be powerful tools that help increase reading stamina, comprehension and speed. Some people may think that using an audio book might be considered "cheating," but I completely disagree!  Here are some reasons why I think audio books are fantastic additions to a middle school Reading classroom, and why I encourage my students to give them a try:

1.  Audio books of today are a lot different than many people might think they are.  I know that we all have memories of listening to some mono-toned guy droning on while we tried to follow along in our textbooks.  Professionally recorded audio books are nothing like that! If you have never listened to one, I encourage you to give it a try.  I think you'll be surprised at the quality.  Many times professional actors, or even full casts of actors lend their voices to the audio recording. Sometimes the actual author of the book does the reading, and that's awesome because it's read in the exact voice that the author had in his/her own head when they wrote the book.

2.  Sometimes, for kids that are easily distracted, it's difficult to "fall into" their book because of what's going on around them in the classroom.  In our room, I'm typically always talking to someone about either their writing or their book, and for some kids, that distraction keeps them from remaining completely focused on their own book.  The headphones and the sound of someone reading in their ear, combined with  following along in their actual book, make the distractions all but disappear for that particular reader.

3.  For slow, careful readers, listening to an audio book while following along in their own book, helps them with fluency and speed.

There are lots of reasons to give audio books a try, but the main one--for some people is, they just work!