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Moving Beyond Words on the Page
The recent New
York Times article on audiobooks raises questions about what counts as
literacy with its suggestion that if we are not looking
at words on a page of paper, we are not reading -- an assertion that is simply
untrue. Indeed, to suggest that listening to
audiobooks is not reading is counter to our practice and research.
Teachers of younger students typically
include read-aloud experiences in their classrooms.
As Katie Wood Ray explains in "Read-Aloud: Important Teaching Time"
(E) from the April
2005 School Talk, reading aloud is one of the most important ways
that we have of sharing the sound of good writing with students.
The Voices from the Middle article "Improving Reading by . .
. Reading: Ideas from Two Teachers" (M) outlines a home reading
program that includes read aloud. The reading lists included in the article
can be adapted for families to use as part of a summer reading program. Teachers
might suggest that families can also include audiobooks in the items they explore
together.
The English Journal article "A Novel Idea: Reading Aloud in a
High School English Classroom" (S) provides suggestions to increase the
engagement, confidence, and ability of all students in reading challenging
texts by reading aloud to the class.
Even at the college level, we frequently read
passages from poetry, drama, and fiction.
"Illustrating the Reading Process:
The In-Class Read-Aloud Protocol" (C) from Teaching English
in the Two-Year College explores how read-aloud can show students
our own struggles with reading and ultimately encourages them to feel
greater confidence in their own abilities.
Listening to audiobooks flows obviously
from these read-aloud techniques. Further, including audio texts as part
of our composition work expands the possibilities in our classrooms. For
instance, "Made
Not Only in Words: Composition in a New Key" (C), from the College Composition and Communication, asks us to
think about how our definition of writing has expanded beyond "words
on paper" to encompass a range of multimodal expressions that include
audio, video, and image compositions.
The English Journal article "Video Production in the English
Language Arts Classroom" (M-S-C) outlines a range of ways to use audio
and video composition with students. "Out of the Box" (M-S)
from Voices in the Middle explores ways that images and sound contribute
to students' composition abilities in meaningful ways. Tap the Language
Arts article
"'What’s
Important When You’re
Six?' -- Valuing Children's Oral Stories" to consider ways that
students can create their own audiobooks.
As we include audio and video
texts as readings and as modes of composition, we can meaningfully move
beyond words on the page to engage our students in rich literacy experiences
-- and if someone asks, "Is it really reading?" when students engage
with these texts, the answer is a definite "Yes!"
NOTE: Free access to journal articles mentioned in this Inbox is provided
for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available
to journal subscribers only. This Inbox Idea was published 06-02-2005.
Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary,
M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, G=General).
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