In 2015, technology and literature are going hand-in-hand with one another to teach students effectively. With iPod shuffles, I believe having a story read to a child can be experienced in a whole new and exciting way.
My kindergarten students are eager 5 and 6 year old learners who love using technology to learn new concepts and to discover more about themselves and the world around them.
Many of my students come from high poverty homes where students go without basic necessities needed to make it through their first year of kindergarten. Crayons, pencils, markers; items like these are too expensive for some of my students' families. At least one fourth of my class are ESL (English Language Learners) speaking little to no English and coming from a place where they have never even seen an iPad or a computer or had the opportunity to own their very book. I feel it is my job as their teacher to provide as many vessels to learning as I can, whether it be through technology, books, manipulatives or anything else that would be useful in teaching them.
My Project
In our classroom we do Daily 5 literacy rotations each day. The five different centers are: read to a friend, read to self, listen to a story, word work, or work on writing. The five iPod Shuffles would be used in the listen to a story center. In my classroom I have books that come with CDs for students to listen to stories. However, I only have one book and one CD so not all students get the opportunity to hear the stories or even go to that center because of there not being enough books for five children. I have written grants to get more copies of books for the one CD that I have so that if this project is funded, I can add the play-list on the CD to the iPod Shuffles and students can listen to stories quietly using their headphones. Having this option available to students not only allows other students to concentrate on their work without the noise from the radio playing the story loud enough for five students to hear but it also encourages reading independence in students.
Donations made to fund this project will not only make my classroom engaging for 21st century learners, but will provide opportunities for technology use with literature for students who have never been exposed to any technology other than a television.
Students will be exposed to a new way of hearing a story as well as hearing the correct way to read with tone and voice changes. This promotes comprehension because they're able to recall the changes throughout the story.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Bibeault and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
