Article at a glance: Audio books: Key resource to struggling readers

Stolzfus, K. (2016). Audiobooks Support K-12 Students in the Classroom. EdWeek. September, 2016 and Willingham, D. Raising Kids Who Read: What Parents and Teachers Can Do. Jossey-Bass, 2015.

Purpose of the Article:The purpose of the article is to understand audiobooks as a critical support for readers in the K-12 classroom—particularly for those who struggle to read print books.

Background Information:

• With the proliferation of technology in the classroom, there is an increasing embrace of digital content, including audiobooks, in most schools across the nation.
• Nearly 70% of American schools provide audiobook experiences for their students.
• Reading words in print involves two processes—comprehension and "decoding."
• Developing listening comprehension skills is a way to strengthen and support reading comprehension.
• Today's students are provided with more alternatives for reading media than students in any previous generation.

Key Findings:
Audiobooks are found to have the following benefits:

• Studies show comprehension is equivalent whether a reader is listening or reading.
• Audiobooks improve students' reading scores, increase students' positive attitudes about their reading ability, and offer students more personal choice in what they read.
• The use of audiobooks can help all students read books above their reading level or learn new vocabulary.
• Audiobooks provide opportunities for new and collaborative learning experiences.
• There are many new and supportive methods in which to bring audiobooks into the classroom experience.

Application of Key Findings to Boardmaker Instructional Solutions:

• Boardmaker Instructional Solutions are text-based curricula and include a text-to-speech component that parallels the audiobook experience.
• The majority of students and classrooms that benefit from Boardmaker Instructional Solutions include students who read below grade level.
• The majority of students that benefit from Boardmaker Instructional Solutions benefit from accessing learning materials in alternate formats.
• Vocabulary development is a primary focus of Boardmaker Instructional Solutions.
• The development of listening comprehension is a key instructional component to Boardmaker Instructional Solutions as these programs endeavor to engage students and to create a climate of positivity and capacity around reading development.