5.14 Use a variety of instructional practices to motivate and engage students in reading.
|
Loving Life at the Listening Center Having a listening center in the classroom can open up a variety of opportunities for beginning readers. They can be exposed to stories that they might not have been able to read otherwise. They can hear appropriate inflection, pace, tone, and fluency while reading. Auditory learners especially benefit from this practice.
When I first arrived in Ms. Wright's classroom, I was pleased to see that she had a listening center. Throughout my experiences in the classroom, I have seen listening centers used with great success. As time went on, I was even more thrilled to learn that Ms. Wright used seasonally appropriate literature at her listening center each week. At the start of the school year, there was a "back to school" story. When we returned to school after Hurricane Irma, The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane by Joanna Cole made an appearance at the listening center. She featured books on Johnny Appleseed in late September and Christopher Columbus in early October. When it came my time to choose books for the month of October, I searched the library for lighthearted books about fall. As many of our students have never seen the leaves change or gone apple picking in an orchard, I hoped to find books that would convey these ideas to them. I enjoy watching the students while they are at the listening center. They giggle at the comical stories. They appear quietly perplexed by the more complicated texts. The work they complete during their listening center shows their appreciation and dedication to learning. I hope to be able to read to my students every day. It is an important goal of mine. However, it is reassuring to know that tools, like a listening center, are available for those rare days when I simply can't. |