Accelerated Reader: Audiobooks / Read-alouds?

[SKL]

Recently I learned that my kids' 4th grade teacher allows kids to test on audiobooks / read-alouds for AR.  This is a huge boon for one of my kids.  Would this fly with most teachers?  I never even dared to think of it until halfway through 4th grade.

 

Their stretch goal for AR is 125 points for 3rd & 4th grade, and the typical chapter book for that grade level is 1-3 points, so that is a lot of reading for some kids.  With nightly homework, sports, and afterschooling, I was prepared to give up on the AR award forever (for my slower reader), but now it looks possible.  I wonder if it's just this one very nice teacher or if this is the norm.

Edited April 8, 2016 by SKL

[vonfirmath]

Not sure about audiobooks. But I know in 1st grade, they allowed kids to tests on books read aloud to them.

 

They just requested that we be sure they were reading for themselves regularly as well to continue to strengthen those skills.

[vonfirmath]

Not sure about audiobooks. But I know in 1st grade, they allowed kids to tests on books read aloud to them.

 

They just requested that we be sure they were reading for themselves regularly as well to continue to strengthen those skills.

 

(However, AR in our school does not seem as big a deal as at yours. THey are not graded on it. Though there is pressure to test on at least some books they read.  And awards for kids who go above and beyond.)

[SKL]

They get a grade for meeting minimum points, which is less than the 125/year.  Also 12.5% of their reading grade is the average % of the AR tests, so it is important for them to only test on books they understand and recall well.  And they are supposed to only read books within a narrow range of reading levels, though their current teacher is pretty lax about that.

Edited April 8, 2016 by SKL

[MistyMountain]

We do not do AR at the school my kids' go to but they do allow them to count a parent reading to them as part of their reading that they keep track of. If they did allow audiobooks I would not argue and count that. To me kids get plenty of benefits from audiobooks.

Edited April 9, 2016 by MistyMountain

[pkbab5]

Our school allows audiobooks for AR.  The librarian actually encourages the kids to get some of their points this way, and the school has a subscription to an online audiobook program that the kids can access in the library and at home.

Edited April 8, 2016 by pkbab5

[vonfirmath]

Look at this article about how audiobooks are sometimes outselling paper books: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-some-audiobooks-sell-four-times-as-well-as-their-print-versions-2015-12-08

 

[SKL]

Interesting.  For me, I am a much better reader than listener, so it's hard for me to relate to the other being better; but I can see how it helps when my kid does not have to struggle over big, unfamiliar words or long sentences.  She generally gets good scores on the tests when she's heard vs. read the book.  So I guess that means she got something from it, although it hasn't necessarily helped her fluency.

 

She does read a reasonable amount IMO, but most of it isn't AR testable.

[vonfirmath]

Interesting.  For me, I am a much better reader than listener, so it's hard for me to relate to the other being better; but I can see how it helps when my kid does not have to struggle over big, unfamiliar words or long sentences.  She generally gets good scores on the tests when she's heard vs. read the book.  So I guess that means she got something from it, although it hasn't necessarily helped her fluency.

 

She does read a reasonable amount IMO, but most of it isn't AR testable.

 

So let her listen to AR books. You know she is also getting in enough actual reading. Just not on testable stuff. I know my son is stuck at about 75 points because so many of the books he reads are not AR books. (And that is worlds better than last year's 20 points! when he just didn't test at all for the most part)

 

Edited April 8, 2016 by vonfirmath

[SKL]

If only I'd known this sooner.  :P

[OneStepAtATime]

Actually, this was encouraged at my kids' school too. The school felt...

 

1. It encouraged improvement in listening skills.

2. Exposed the students to more advanced vocabulary/grammar/story structure than they might be able to decode on their own.

3. Gave the kids a chance to get points for longer books that they could be listening to while doing other things.

[OneStepAtATime]

Isn't this why we are supposed to read aloud to our kids even after they can read on their own? I find it a little weird that schools would encourage audiobooks instead of reading aloud. Perhaps the school encourages both?

Yes read alouds are a good thing but some families have both parents working or as mentioned above their English may be shaky or they may have multiple kids with a wide range of ages or they really just hate reading aloud or maybe they don't read well (dyslexic) or a whole host of reasons why daily read alouds might be problematic. Audio books open up more options and accessibility.

 

Plus, at least for my son, he liked read alouds but he also loved being able to listen to books when he chose to, not just when a parent was available to read to him.

[OneStepAtATime]

That makes sense.

 

What strikes me as strange here is that reading aloud is promoted in the schools for the little ones but not after they learn to read but now audiobooks might be okay. At least in the schools here. I've even heard that parents are told NOT to read to their kids once they are readers. No one seems to consider that in some families, there is time for both children to read to the parents at night and the parents to read to the children.

 

I understand families are busy. DH and I both have full time jobs.

 

I guess what bothers me is the mentality that reading can be measured, e.g. 30 minutes a night for reading. Or read this many pages. Or the whole AR points thing, which really rubs me the wrong way. I belong to a neighborhood group on FB where people post things to sell. Yesterday, someone put a set a children's books up for sale. They put a picture of the books arranged on the floor and described them by their AR level not by their names. I guess I'm probably being picky here but it struck me as strange. Not that I have a better suggestion to get kids to read more than AR so I shouldn't criticize. AR does seem effective at getting kids to read more.

Actually, I agree, and have similar concerns.

[SKL]

I did find that AR encouraged more reading in grades 1-2.  In grades 3-4 the high point requirement + narrow reading level requirement made it actually demotivating for some kids.  In 3rd grade, only 4 of the kids in my daughters' class reached the stretch goal.  Interestingly, their 3rd grade teacher was in charge of the AR program for the school, so I guess that was why she was a real stickler for rules, but the kids just gave up.  I wonder if this had any impact on the school's AR policy.

 

I also wonder if allowing the kids to test on read-alouds / audio books in 4th grade is because most of the kids are past the "learn to read" stage.  Or it could be because their teacher's philosophy is different from the others.

 

Just to be clear, my kids hear read-alouds regularly, both at school and at home.  We all love read-alouds, but we don't always manage to fit them into our schedule.  When we do have time, I actually prefer to read aloud vs. force my slower kid to read to herself for AR points.  They listen to audiobooks of series I would not be reading aloud anyway.

[OneStepAtATime]

AR inspired DS.  It demoralized DD.  Different kids, different needs.  I think for some kids having some competition inspires them.  For others it just seems like an insurmountable goal so why bother?  And for others it may make them hate reading.

 

I do wonder with all the push to get points if some kids are missing out on the richer experience of savoring a good book or rereading a book for more depth and detail?  When I was in Middle School and High School I loved reading certain books more than once or reading a book more slowly to enjoy the writing/storyline/characters.  I found I had missed a lot of little things, things that made the story much richer, when I read through the first time.  I think rushing to get points kids may be missing a much richer experience in their reading.  If I had been trying to get points in elementary my parents and I might not have taken the time to reread many books since I needed that time to read and test.  And we would have skipped a lot of books that weren't part of AR, books that might have been really enjoyable for me to read. That would have been a shame.  I wish there were more of a balance.  A best of both worlds...

[SKL]

Yes, re-reading was a great pleasure of mine too.

 

Also, I have been a kid book collector for decades, and many really good books I have are not on the AR list.  Or the reading level was below their ZPD ranges when I brought them out of storage.  I hate that my kids have missed / will miss reading them because they are under pressure to rack up points.  Especially the kid who would benefit most from a truly fun but easy read.  We can read some of them in the summer, but that is only a partial solution.

[pkbab5]

Isn't this why we are supposed to read aloud to our kids even after they can read on their own? I find it a little weird that schools would encourage audiobooks instead of reading aloud. Perhaps the school encourages both?

 

Our school encourages both. 

 

In our family, audiobooks are used heavily in the car while driving.  Obviously I can't read to my kids in the car, and they can't read in the car either because they get carsick, so audio books are perfect.  We spend quite a lot of time in the car because the school is 45 minutes away and doesn't have a bus (private school).  We still read aloud at bedtime.