Using Audiobooks in Your Classroom

For years using audiobooks in class to help teach children learn how to read was frowned upon by teachers. But today, that outlook is changing and more and more teachers and parents are now realizing the value of these "talking" books. No longer considered "cheating," the memorization process that inevitably takes place when using an audiobook with children can now be seen as a powerful strategy for word recognition - especially sight words. If used correctly, this memorization process can benefit many emergent readers.

I have really come to appreciate the these books in our own class time. I use the books to teach new vocabulary, develop attention span, and improve reading comprehension. Teachers with larger classes, especially, could benefit from audiobooks. An assigned story time during the week is a great opportunity. While I feel strongly that students should be read to by parents and teachers, occasionally providing them with a beautifully "acted" audio is a wonderful educational reward.

Some excellent sources for bilingual audiobooks include:

• LoritoBooks.com - High quality, word-for-word audio book read-alongs for young readers and second language learners. Titles are carefully chosen for their culturally relevant content and values.

• BarefootBooks.com – A beautiful line of books and audio books by a company dedicated to using the power of stories to nourish the creative spark in everyone and strengthen connections with family, the global community, and the earth. Be sure to check out their growing collection of Spanish titles.

• DelSolBooks.com – A small, independent bookseller of Spanish, English, and bilingual books & CDs by the acclaimed authors, Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, and songwriter, Suni Paz.

• HeritageLanguage.com - A new company with books in English and Spanish for children in grades K - 5th.