I have recently been thinking about oral language and how it fits into language development including literacy. Last week we watched a video and I was particularly interested in the research on babies and their ability to hear different sounds in language at a very young age. I am particularly interested in the way that babies start to mimic their mothers or other adults and start to communicate. I'm intrigued by this so I thought I'd share this little video that my friends and I recorded when we were out for lunch recently.
So, this is baby Drew and he's about 4 months old. He's sitting across the table from one of his mother's friends who is talking to him...watch his responses : (sorry about all the background noise)
Wow, how sweet is that! So if from such a young age a child starts to want to communicate with others then what sorts of things are we doing to facilitate the continued oral language development of a child?
This brings me back to my classroom and my teaching. In reflecting, I recognize that most days I have several 4 and 5 year old students who come skipping into the classroom with huge excitement ready to tell me the most AMAZING stories! Sometimes they interrupt when stories are being read aloud to the class because they've been reminded of an AMAZING story. Their stories are beautiful and can often be the best part of my day! It's the part of my day when I see so much passion and excitement in my students. The sad thing is, though, that often another child is crying, or two children are having difficulty sharing something or there is a bee in the classroom....and all of these things mean that I can't focus on this AMAZING story that one student wants to tell me. And sadly, once the moment is gone, it's lost. Because time and time again, when I've gone back to the student to ask them to tell me their story, the passion and excitement behind it is lost and more often, the story is forgotten.
I truly do value my students stories. They need to be encouraged to use their voices, and to express themselves. But if a student is continually dismissed or cut off, let's face it, they loose interest and give up sharing their stories. If they were able to use their i-pads to capture their stories then we, or I alone, could watch the stories at a time that there wouldn't be any interruptions. Children could work alone or with partners in recording their stories. They could watch them back with the teacher and even post them to a blog. Oral stories stored on a blog, or in a storage space (cloud) be saved. Maybe these stories could become an idea for a written story at another time. These oral stories may just be a very important part of the student's portfolio.
After watching this video :
I realized how important it is to keep connected to all of our stories. Technological resources that are available and accessible to all individuals can accomplish this. By keeping connected to all of our own personal stories we will learn to listen carefully and appreciate the stories of others. I believe that by listening to the stories of others, we will gain understanding, appreciation and learn to truly honour one another as unique and special individuals.
I will end this reflection with one of my most favourite poems of all time. It tells a story, and it also comments on the lack of appreciation that others have of his story.
Here is a video of my son reading a book to me. I read this book to him, about 3 months ago. You will see that he gets tired towards the end of the story, and that's why I jump in and help him out!
After we read the story he wanted to watch the video.
So that was a great opportunity to talk about some of the great things he was doing in his reading
and....
talk about some of the things that he could do to improve his reading.
I went for ..
fluency.
After we talked about how well he had done,
I suggested that the next time he read it he could try to
talk like the big bad wolf.
We went back to one of the pages with big bad wolf text and I modelled what it would sound like for him and then gave him a chance to try it. He did, and we both laughed! He did a great job.
The next night, I gave him the i-Pad to take to his room and record himself reading the book. I told him I wanted to listen to it later as my bed time story and I asked him not to make the big bad wolf sound too scary! (A little reminder of what we'd talked about the last time).
I've decided to post this, because I think it shows another great way to use the video/audio record on the i-Pad. It's a great way for students to hear and see themselves read. They love to watch their video's afterwards which creates a wonderful opportunity to do some conferencing and goal setting.
When children record themselves reading they can post it to their blog or email it to someone that they would like to share it with. It let's the parent/grandparent/caregiver see on-going growth in reading and creates an opportunity for them to give immediate feedback to the child.
These recordings form the beginnings of a beautiful portfolio and provide great opportunities for
If you click or tap onto the links below they will take you directly to the App Store where you can quickly download these awesome Apps that your young reader is sure to enjoy.
I've included images of the Apps, video reviews and video demonstrations for most.
As a Grade Primary Teacher and someone who has worked in remediation support, I have taken the time to carefully look at each App and consider it's validity in providing solid support for our early and struggling readers (Grades Primary and One). Some of the Apps provide some remediation support for students who have not yet learned some early concepts of print such as directionality, one to one matching, page turning and letter identification/sound associations.
For students who have established early concepts of print, some of the Apps below incorporate compensatory strategies for students who are early readers. Many of the Apps have options for word highlighting, voice recording, simplistic versions of popular stories as well as libraries where books to match the level of individual children can be chosen.
Most of all the Apps are highly engaging but not overwhelming. They are easy to navigate and visually pleasing. They have options where sounds can be changed or turned off. These Apps also offer a multi-levelled learning approach which caters the App to the needs of individual children. Some even provide feedback to parents/teachers on the progress that the child is making.
The most important thing that you should know about these Apps is that I have tested them out on my own early reader, my son, who is in Grade One this year. So I can officially say that they are all "kid approved", "teacher approved" and "parent approved"!
But first, let me tell you that:
my new favourite store is for sure the ......
Apps to support letter identification:
Z is for Zebra - Learn Letter Sounds:
The images are beautiful in this fun, engaging and interactive App that teaches children the letters of the alphabet and letter sound associations. This App can be used for remediation for those children who need a little extra time practicing the letters/sounds of the alphabet. The screenshot below shows you how you can record over the letter names and sounds. Hearing yourself saying the letters is a powerful learning tool and a great way for adults (teachers, parents, caregivers etc.) to check in on how the child is doing. There are several different activities including upper/lower case letter matching as well as matching letters with initial word sound
This is a highly engaging App, it's got music, action and it will appeal to just about every child out there. I love the way it provides several anchor images and objects for each letter. It's a remediation App for those children who need lots of repetition, but it is one that a child will not grow tired of. Here is a video sample of the Starfall ABC's App for i-Pad :
Dr. Seuss's ABC :
This App offers a brand new format for a well loved alphabet book. There is a free version of the App which is great. It offers a read to me, read it by myself and an auto play option. Words and pictures are be highlighted and spoken if they are tapped. This is a wonderful format for teaching letter recognition because it does it in a repetitive and fun way. Children are also learning early literacy skills such as letter sound associations, word matching, and page turning. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is so clear on the i-Pad. It's a great compensatory app for children who require support when they read books.
This is a remediation App that teaches children about the links between letters and words. It also supports developing one to one matching skills as children move shaped pieces to complete puzzles. There is a huge selection of puzzles to choose from and an option for increasing the level of difficulty of the puzzles. The pictures are lovely and clear and the App is very easy for children to use. There are several options available to the child as he or she completes the puzzle.
Here is a great video that gives you a run down on how the App works.
This App has it all! Word letter recognition, phonics, spelling, tracing letters and rhyming. It's connected with a popular children's television show and follows a similar style to the show. Children get to join the characters as they go on various adventures. Children love to connect with superhero's and princesses and this has both! This is a remediation App that children just don't seem to get tired of. The songs are fun, energetic and catchy. Children get motivated and inspired to become "SUPER READERS". What more could you ask for?
Players are transported into space with the little alien Zip. Zip prompts children on what to do. Colourful photographs of objects are displayed and the scrambled letters. The player has to drag the letters to the correct spot on the word. This remediation App builds on letter word associations and teaches children how to stretch out words to hear all of the letters. The App is really easy to use. It's interactive and provides numerous supports including audible, visual and adaptive hints.
Click on the link below to get the App and launch into space!
This remediation App creates opportunities whereby a child gains continued success in building words. The App offers a range of levels to accomodate the individual learning needs of each child while ensuring that the child has had plenty of opportunities for establishing their new knowledge and skills. I think it's great the way the App says the letter sounds slowly so that children can really start to connect how the sounds support word building. The pictures are clear and bright. The App has nice music that goes with it and includes several options for adjusting settings according to individual needs.
and you can watch a little video clip that explains the finer details of this awesome App
My Word Wall :
This remediation App gives children the opportunity to strengthen their reading skills. The App has four main games ( matching , spelling and which require the use of skills necessary in effective reading. The App has lots of music choices and it's easy to use. The voice over tells the user what to do as they play the games. There are lots of activities included in this App, there are customizing options including turning off the sound and adjusting when a voice over is used or not.
This App has student building their sight word vocabulary by matching letters up to create words. The words include the pre-primer Dolche words. The App has six types of activities including reading and saying the words, finding words and shooting them, unscrambling words, a memory game, and my favourite bingo! Players earn stickers and receive lots of positive reinforcement as they play the game successfully. The link to purchase it is:
This is a remediation App that gives lots of interactive and fun choices of games for children to play. Children can match up words to pictures, or pictures to words. There is also a great sequencing game that helps to build a child's vocabulary. The pictures are crisp and the entire App has a looseleaf image behind it which creates a very scholarly effect. The spelling game uses standard magnetic letter forms in upper case form. The letters are easy to move around and provide a nice clean letter form for early learners.
This is a highly engaging remediation App as children work to create their own words. Children feel a sense of independence and ownership as they feel like they truly are making words of their choice. The words are basic consonant vowel consonant words that establish skills for hearing letter sounds and connecting them to word building. This App prepares early readers for building sight words, accuracy in spelling CVC words which translates into their independence as writers. This App is also especially engaging because many children are familiar with Clifford books so they can quickly make connections with the characters and voices. This is the link so that you can get the App:
This is a phonics based App which provides remediation for early readers. There are many variations on the App that are available and provide a wide range of progression of difficulty. The App is one of the most highly recommended Apps for building early phonological awareness for children. The App contains simple illustrations with lots of space which keeps children focused on the teaching elements of the illustrations. It also uses consistency in it's illustrations and format and there is lots of repetition. The App shakes when errors are made, you can see it in action in this video:
As a remediation App, the phonics easy reader helps to build a child's phonological awareness. It offers a variety of levels moving from short vowel sounds, consonant vowel consonant combinations and endings to long vowel sounds, ending sounds and silent consonants. Research shows that a greater emphasis on developing early phonological skills helps to build strong readers. The variations on the App make it a great addition to the classroom because teachers can choose the level that matches the learning needs of individual students. Students are also given the option of reading the stories on their own or have them read for them, this is a nice compensatory element of this App. The link to buy it is here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/phonics-easy-reader-1-hd/id385344527?mt=8
Rhyme Sorts:
Some children require lots of practice with rhyming words. Learning to rhyme is a remediation App and a fundamental building block to early literacy. This is a great App for building up those skills. There is a nice blend of images that are appealing to all learners. The App is easy to use, check out the demo video to see it in action.
This is a super remediation App for developing early phonological skills in rhyming. Rhyming activities help students to hear the sounds in words that they say or hear. These skills form the fundamental beginnings for early readers, writers and speakers. Adults can help develop the child's critical thinking and language skills by asking the child to explain why certain selections were made. There are many ways to customize this App from voice over controls to adjustments in the number of pictures displayed on a page. Positive reinforcements are given when accurate selections are made which help to maintain engagement and motivation for players.
This is a popular App and it's easy to see why. The animal characters who include, flamingos, monkeys, lions etc. are adorable and maintain a high level of interest and engagement for young children. The App is an all encompassing one in the sense that it teaches letter identification, phonological awareness (word building), reading and spelling. The parent or teacher reporting element is very useful in monitoring student progress. The App has won the Parents' Choice Gold Award and the Children's Technology Review Editor's Choice Award. Here is the official trailer from the makers of the App :
This is a compensatory App because it gives students who are struggling with their reading an alternative to the books that we typically use in the classroom. Research has shown benefits to using books displayed on i-Pads for students who may struggle with traditional paper texts. The App supports early readers by establishing strong connections between text and picture cues. Readers can tap just below each word which causes it to light up. The custom recorder is a great addition to the App because it allows children or adults to record themselves reading the books. This is also a great way for teachers to monitor student progress. Book collections are sorted by level so that they can easily be matched to students reading level and thus ensure a sense of success for the struggling reader.
This compensatory App has several options for various learners, as outlined in the video review above. The App brings some popular children's films that have been made into books into the classroom or home at a very reasonable price. Children will want to read the stories over and over again. The App allows for children to read the books on their own and provides a great support for parents who struggle with reading who also want to read with their children.
Sentence reading magic offers two modes including sentence building and sentence reading, both of which would be used for remediation. There is a compensatory element to this App because sentence building tasks that are typically done with paper and glue in classrooms can be challenging for students with fine motor skill challenges and this offers an alternative. The App has an easy drag and drop format. Words are well spaced and clear, real to life pictures make the App a highly engaging and fun learning experience.
This is an awesome comprehensive literacy App that integrates art, science and social studies themes. It provides remediation support for early readers. It gradually builds up a child's confidence and knowledge of letters, letter sounds, phonics and literacy skills. The App is set up like an adventure and the child gets to choose between reading stories, or having stories read aloud, learning rhymes and playing games. Once a lesson has been completed the child gets to choose a reward activity; drawing an illustration or recording a related story. Stories and drawings are saved to the device. Parents are also able to track progress of several players. This is a highly engaging and informative App that has lots of choice activities built into it so children can quickly develop a sense of ownership when completing the activities. The great thing about this App is that it's free!
It's amazing how many fantastic Apps are available. These use of these Apps at home and at school are sure to support strong early literacy skills for a all types of children/learners.
I found this video which gives a great explanation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This is such an important part of our future.
Here is a link to the UDL Resource: http://www.udlresource.com/udl.html there is lots of great information on this site, I recommend having a look at it.
Technology allows us to connect with other people, and
those connections are made around the world.
Innovative and creative ideas can be shared
between all sorts of individuals around the globe, and
collaboratively amazing things evolve!
This video provides an example of how through the collaboration of all the people who supported Lukas including his music teacher, and a musical instrument repair shop owner worked together to create an instrument that this young man could play despite his disabilities. Although the event of his instrument being taken from him is tragic, it was this part of the story that really struck me. People outside of his community found out about his story and wanted to support him. They wanted to help to make sure that his dreams of playing his horn came true. The mechanical engineer that became involved in building the new horn helped to modify it so that it worked even better than the first adapted horn. Technology has allowed us to connect with people who have unique ideas and skills. Increased access to one another allows for a convergence of skills and creativity.
