Lately, when I’ve been the passenger during a long car ride, I’ve been listening to The Moth Radio Hour (www.themoth.org), where “true stories are told live.” I love hearing the excitement in a storyteller’s voice as I follow the arc of a story. I can’t help imagining the characters, picturing the scenes, and anticipating what will happen next.
Thinking about my own delight in hearing these audio stories led me to start thinking about classrooms where storytelling, story reading, and story listening skills are emphasized. I started investigating the availability of free audio books for kids—a wonderful resource to use to build so many important standards-based skills.
For example, audio books can help to
A Google search easily yields many websites that offer teachers, parents, and students free audio books. Below is a beginning list of curated sites for you to explore. You’ll see that across these sites, most of the audio books have accompanying text, offer an opportunity to comment, and provide links to additional instructional activities.
Check out PowerUp WHAT WORKS www.powerupwhatworks.org, particularly the ELA Instructional Strategy Guide titled, “Fluency,” /strategy-guide/fluency As you review the evidence-based strategies, Lesson in Action, short video, and resources, consider ways in which a free technology tool, audio books, can enhance teaching and learning.
AIR Informs Episode #6: Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities During COVID-19
Remote learning requires adjustment for all students, but students with disabilities face additional challenges during the COVID-19 quarantine. In the latest episode of AIR Informs, Allison Gandhi, managing researcher and director of AIR’s special education practice area, describes some of these obstacles and shares strategies to help students make the most of this time.
