Have you ever listened to a first grader read a story for the first time? Most think they read it great, however, once they hear themselves, they realize that repeated reading is necessary.
I teach first grade to 18 eager, excited learners. They are just beginning to read and love to hear themselves reading. Most of my students come from low-income families where one or both parents work outside the home. Many do not have time to listen to their child read at night. Thus, my students are not able to practice their fluency as often as needed.
My problem has been getting them to realize that reading a book is not always a one shot deal. Most think that if they read it once, they are done. One way that I have been convincing them to re-read is to tape record them reading. This has proven most effective, but also led to my problem. The students love hearing themselves read, but I only have 1 tape recorder for the whole class. After they listen to how they sound reading, they want to read again and try to beat their time (yes, fluency)! I currently am only able to tape record a whole reading group reading. This means that they really only get to hear themselves reading 2 pages, instead of hearing themselves read a whole story.
If I were able to acquire 3 more cassette recorders and 3 headphones, I would be able to let students record themselves reading a whole story and then let them have time to play it back and listen to how they sounded. The headphones would help eliminate distractions to other students and give the student reading some privacy so others will not hear how their first attempts sounded. My hope is that the increased amount of time listening to themselves read will help their fluency and make them the best readers they can possibly be!
Your gift will help make it possible for my students' to get the best gift of all: the gift of being a fluent reader! Thanks so much for your help!
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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. E. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.