Ears to Reading Skills
My Students
I am a 1st grade teacher in Oceanside, California. Like most 5 to 7 year old children my students love to explore, imagine, and be creative. I have 22 students, 11 boys and 11 girls. Everyone of them is special in their own way and they have wonderful imaginations. Our school is located on one of the largest military bases in the United States, Camp Pendleton, California! Coming from a military family, most, if not all, of my students have traveled around the United States and the world. With children constantly moving from city to city, state to state, country to country; I want to provide my students with an environment they feel comfortable in, is fun, and inspires them to explore and learn.
My Project
Studies show that classroom listening centers help build strong reading skills and increases students fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary levels. For my project I want to create a comfortable listening center that will encourage and inspire my students to become lifelong readers. The seating pads will allow my students to be comfortable while listening and following along to their selected books. The headphones will not only be used during small group read along activities but will also allow students to follow along and listen to their selected books on their EPIC reading program. I believe the audio and book sets I have selected will keep students engaged and inspire them to work towards becoming strong readers.
It is extremely important for first grade students to learn the foundations to become strong readers which will benefit them in their future educational and personal experiences.
The goal of my project is to create an area in the classroom that students can feel comfortable and inspired to sit, listen, and follow along to their selected books. I’m excited to help and watch my students benefit from this project and to become life long readers.