My students are in second grade and half of them have a primary language other than English.
Our school has the highest immigrant population of any school in our district, and we are located in a commercially developed area in the heart of our city.
We are centrally located on the edge of urban and suburban neighborhoods. We have a very diverse ethnic student population including 50.6% Black, 19.7% Hispanic, 20.5% White, and 8% Multiracial. All of the students in our building receive free breakfast and lunch daily.
The headphones will be used by students as they follow along with text while it is highlighted and read aloud by a narrator. 98% of reading is an auditory, while only 2% of reading is visual (Sound Reading, 2017). This means the eyes reading the text begin to work as ears, too. Fascinating!
This dual-sensory approach to reading books online and listening to the words as the text is highlighted will enhance the reading experience for my students.
Listening skills will also increase phonemic awareness which is an essential component to becoming a fluent reader. Thank you for your help making our project come to life!