Post #4

Langwitches 1st graders create their own read along blog

After reading Langwitches- 1st graders create their own read along blog, I learned alot about new ways to teach children in the classroom. This post was about how first graders got together and formed a podcast with their teacher about the book they were reading. Throughout recording the podcast the teacher was still reading to the class. Each student took turns recording their part for the podcast. At the end, the students listened to the final podcast while reading along with their book. The teacher felt this really improved not only the children’s interest for the book but also the reading comprehension and understanding of the book as a whole. She found them underlining important parts and taking notes to what they liked best about the book. Also, it made it easy that if a student got lost, then he or she could catch up at the end of every chapter because she recorded a special sound that went off when the chapter was over. The teacher learned that the students were more involved and wanting to record more. They were completely fascinated by how something could record their voices and then play it back to them. I think that the more kids get involved with podcasting or recording themselves it gives them something to relate to when hearing their own voices being read back to them. I believe this is a very useful tool for young children because they are able to hear themselves read and listen along at the same time.

Langwitches Reading Comprehension

After reading Langwitches Reading Comprehension I learned a lot of new ways to help children understand words. This post talked about the importance of learning words by hearing and listening to the sounds and other words surrounded it. It also states how you must listen to the context of the word and the words leading up to it because the melody of the whole sentence embraces the word and gives it meaning. It is also very important to attach feeling to the word. For example, if I was to tell someone I was very sad about something with a positive tone of voice that would make them very confused. I would need to use a sad tone of voice to make the listener feel sad with me. Another important factor about podcasting that is addressed is the editing of the podcast. This is important because the more you see, read, and manipulate the sounds of the podcast the more meaningful the words become.
The most important part of this post was involving the children with the podcast. As the children began to record the story of Purim they became more involved with the story then they were when they were first reading it. As the story continued, the children started playing with their voices on the podcast and editing them. At the end, they got to come up to the board and drag their part of the story to the exact place it was needed. They had to learn where each part needed to be so they had to listen and play and stop the clip to find its exact location. Although this was a lot of fun for the children, the whole point of the project was to help them write, listen, and comprehend a script while working on their speaking skills and fluency. I feel this was a great tool for the children to be using. This podcast not only helped them get more involved and understand the story it also helped them learn the language better. I think the biggest impact this podcast had on the students was giving them the opportunity to hear themselves being recorded and talking in this language.

Langwitches Podcasting with First Grade

After reading Langwitches Podcasting with First Grade I learned that interact kids in the classroom was the perfect to help them learn the material. This podcast was very different from the first two I read. I thought this teacher’s method was very good and involved the class in a new perspective. She had the class come up with questions and answers about the book they just read. She interviewed both boys and girls and took notes of the questions they had after reading the book. The students were very eager to record their questions out in the hallway while the rest of the class continued working on their school work. The teacher became amazed by the cooperation that was going on in the classroom when it wasn’t even the child’s turn to record. This project got the kids very involved in reading and understanding what they read. I think making the kids think of questions to ask about the book was a great tactic because it opened up their mind and made them think deeper about the book then they already had. Overall, I think that interacting a podcast in your classroom is a great idea because it opens up a whole new way of learning and understand the material. Also, young kids learn more by doing and getting involved and what better way to do that then letting them record themselves.