This document discusses using iPod Touches and online resources to increase student motivation, participation, fluency and reading comprehension. It outlines the materials used, including 6 iPod Touches and iTunes gift cards. Students listen to podcasts and audiobooks to build fluency and become independent readers. Apps are used for repeated practice in areas like sight words, math facts, and phonics. Recordings of student oral readings are transferred to iPods for progress monitoring. Use of the iPods increased student engagement and participation in lessons. Measures showed increases in oral fluency rates, spelling skills, and reading benchmarks.

1. iTune Inby Karen Velyk, John Weingart, Margaret Wright Using iPod Touches and online resources to increase student motivation, participation, fluency and reading comprehension

3. $350 iTunes gift cardsPersonal funds 6 headphones, 1 plug-in mini-speaker, AA batteries, 2 charging stations , 2 power strips Other Helpful Items: Snowball or other microphone for computer or iPod to record fluency ; audacity software, ladybug hub (multiple listeners), solar charger, downloaded texts from public library

4. Build Fluent Readers through Active Listening, Repeated Reading, Oral Reading Students become fluent through repeated reading. Primarystudents listen to StoryNory podcasts at the listening center during guided reading and retell through drawings, rhyming and sequencing activities, and oral retellings. Students become fluent readers listening to fluent readers. Elementary students listen to Magic Tree House book Revolutionary War on Wednesday, during guided reading and planner studies. Students chose parts to reread aloud to practice fluency. Online: StoryNory, Audible.com, iTunes library, Monroe County Library System

5. Increasing Independence Individualized and Differentiated Instruction Students in LLI, Reading Recovery, and Wilson and FUNdations Reading Programs used the iPods. Apps included repeating and reading sentences and sight words, phonemic awareness, and sequencing letters and sounds. Free and low cost apps provided repeated practice with math facts, and high frequency words, word families. We customized word lists and selected difficulty of activities for individuals and small groups. Podcasts and audiobooks downloaded were used with younger children at listening centers During Wilson reading instruction, students used the iPods for listening or for word work, while others practiced oral fluency activities with the teacher. Periodic student recordings of oral readings were transferred to the iPods for classroom use, for parent conferences, and student progress monitoring. In Guided Reading and Inquiry, students read and reread or accessed content-based audio versions of texts at their comprehension level that otherwise might be frustrational based on decoding or fluency weaknesses.

7. Increasing Motivation Active Participation Voices of Our Learners, Then & Now (Justin, Caroline, Caitlyn, Sarah, Lauren, Moriah, Alexis, Alyssa, Sam, Seth, Steven, Zack, Dom) THEN: “I lost my sight word ring.” “I’ll never learn these math facts.” “Why do we do this every day?” “This is boring.” “ZZZZZ.” NOW: “Can we use the iPods today to practice our words?” “Did you put new stories on this? I listened to all of them. They are really good.” “I want to read like that.” “How are we using the iPods today?” “This is way better than those rings we have.” “If we pay attention, can we have time to play the math game on the iPod?” “Is there a game to learn about 3D shapes?” “Cool. I just watched that (math) video and now I get it !” (regrouping) “This is so awesome! I wish we had this in our classroom.” “I’m here. Let’s get started!” “I’m really good at this!”

8. Highly Engaged Students

9. Framework Connections Aids students with needs in accessing curriculum via alternative methods based on learning styles Reduces barriers for students with decoding but not comprehension delays Increases independence, motivation, engagement, participation, rate of growth Increases student knowledge and use of technology in our global society Differentiates instruction through process, content, and product Provides students with multiple repetition with minimal teacher support in a variety of content areas iPod versatility customizes and individualizes instruction Cost-effective method for accessing quality orally- read literature for multiple students

10. Evidence of Success Measureable Observable Children requested to practice! They preferred the iPod apps to paper flashcards and thus practiced MORE and learned more facts and sight wordsfaster than classmates NOT using them! Attention and appropriate behaviors significantly increased in small group instruction. Students using iPods engaged more and quicker in lessons, participated in lessons, asked to review, and moved faster through lessons. More time spent on task! Special education students and struggling readers were invested when technology was used for math facts, presentation and assessment, practicing skills with apps. Grades 3-4 Reading Center and Wilson Reading students increased oral fluency from 55 avg. wpm to 90 wpm! Spelling skills increased on district assessments for all children who used the device as a word study center. Primary students who were below K benchmarks at the start of this year are now at or close to end of Grade 1 benchmarks- over 1 year’s growth in 6 months since using the devices.