I teach first grade in a Pre K-5 inner-city elementary school. My classroom is integrated, which means I have (about) 20 regular education students, 7 of which are special education students, and a full-time special education teacher. My first graders come from a range of communities. Some children come from working class families, while others live in a low income, high crime area.
Our school provides much more than an education for our students, as many also come seeking safety, a meal, and positive attention. A portion of our children receive two free meals at school everyday and cannot afford school supplies. Our students face more than their fair share of obstacles.
Most of our students begin school lacking the necessary background and experiences to prepare them for a formal education. Even before the first day of kindergarten, a gap has formed between our students and their suburban counterparts. We work hard to fill in this gap by building self-confidence, creating healthy and safe environments, providing lessons and experiences to ensure personal success. We also work to instill a lifetime commitment to literacy and learning.
Learning to read is obviously quite a challenging journey, so I like to provide as many avenues as possible. Every morning, while I am teaching guided reading groups, my students are working in literacy centers. Independent work centers, such as a listening center, provide hands-on and engaging educational activities. I would like my students to have the opportunity to use a listening center to improve fluency.
Hearing a fluent reader will provide a model for struggling readers and remind them to phrase and use expression. In addition, hearing a story read multiple times as they follow along in a book will allow for repeated exposure to vocabulary. As studies show, readers need multiple experiences with words in order to increase their high-frequency word vocabulary. Finally (and children would be most excited about this part), a listening center would allow children to independently experience books that would usually be beyond their abilities.
The listening center will provide for more stimulation and interest in an area that is very difficult for children. Good reading education programs must provide for different learning styles and skills practice. The items I am asking for will reach the various types of learners I have in my classroom! And what first grader does not love a great picture book?
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