Listening Center for First Grade!

My Students

We love to listen to stories and would love to work at a Listening Center during our literacy time! Our school library does not offer audio Cd's, cassettes, or matching leveled books. Obtaining the necessary equipment is costly, but the benefits from listening to audiobooks are great! Please help!

I teach at a Title I school in Brookline, Massachusetts, where a large portion of our student body come from low-income homes and receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch.

My students are sweet and caring first graders. They have a love for learning and are eager to be read to, however, not all children come from homes where adults are able to engage them with read-alouds as often as they may require. Many of my students begin first grade reading well below grade level and would greatly benefit from read-alouds in the form of audiobooks.

My Project

We will use our Listening Center during our 90-minute literacy block, which is a school-wide initiative implemented this year. During the block I meet with students in leveled groups for targeted teaching and guided reading. Our Listening Center will provide a means for students to independently listen to stories while I meet with reading groups. It can be difficult to empower young children to work independently and with purpose for such an extended period of time, but our Listening Center will be a great addition to our independent literacy centers. Obtaining multiple copies of each book will allow multiple children to follow along with the words as they listen to the audio.

A Listening Center is a valuable teaching tool in a first grade classroom.

Early readers benefit from models of fluent reading. Students also gain new vocabulary and understandings of narrative structure. Listening Centers are also wonderful fun! They engage early readers and foster a love of reading early on, which is vital for young children. My struggling readers will feel comfortable and successful following along with the words of an audiobook, which is critical!