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Ann
Thackeray Ann
Thackeray works as a library media teacher at
Box
Elder Middle School which serves over 1150 students in eighth and ninth
grade in Brigham City, Utah and is president of the
Utah
Educational Library Media Association. Inspired
by an American Association of School Librarians' conference (11/99) workshop about
using audiobooks in the library/classroom, I decided to initiate an audiobook
program at my school. I began by selecting a wide variety of titles and purchasing
a dozen players and rechargeable batteries for student/faculty checkout, consulting
with several teachers for assistance in previewing titles selected to fit their
curriculum. Our music and art teachers requested The Lives of the Artists and
Lives of the Musicians (Audio Bookshelf) for example. Carol, Johnston, an art
teacher played Lives of the Artists while students were drawing still-life pieces.
She tells me that on occasion students would pause, listen to a segment, and then
return to the work at hand. A music teacher is planning to introduce research
on composers with Lives of the Musicians next fall.
 IT
WORKS!
An early success with the program was using an audiobook
as a quick fix in an emergency! I used another Audio Bookshelf unabridged title
- Lost on a Mountain in Maine - to help an English teacher who was planning a
three-day absence. I pulled up the suggested activities from the Audio Bookshelf
website's Curricular Connection for this audiobook title; we discussed possible
activities during the teacher's prep hour, and started a unit the next day! Students
were asked to brainstorm the qualities they would require in a good audio book.
At the end of the unit they evaluated both the audiobook and the qualities they
had chosen.
IT
WORKS!
To introduce students to a variety of listening experiences
I set up a listening area in the library. Each morning before school a tape is
played. We listen to segments of one audiobook for the entire week. It is then
available for checkout. Students can also listen to individual tapes in the same
lounge area. In this way students are exposed to a variety of literature that
ordinarily might not catch their interest.
IT
WORKS!
An audiobook can be very successfully used in a classroom
on its own without corresponding copies of books for everyone to read along with.
It provides a fresh approach to learning that energizes the class - keep reading:
Our eighth grade English classes study Anne Frank and the Holocaust. This
year, on the spur of the moment, Pam Butterweck and I collaborated on the use
of the audiobook Night by Elie Wiesel (Audio Bookshelf). The classes listened
to approximately 75% of the audiobook and Pam was the only person with a copy
of the book which helped to understand unusual words and the spelling of the different
names that she transcribed onto the board. As she had not previously read the
book and not having prepared listening guides or worksheets that pertained to
the book, she simply let the kids relax and just listen to the story. (There is
an excellent stereo system in the classroom and this may have added to the listening
ease, as opposed to a tinny type of tape recorder.)
The
comments from the students were overwhelmingly positive about this experience.
The most common comment was:
"It was very relaxing to just
be able to listen and not have to follow along in a book."
Other
comments were:
"I was able
to visualize things much better than if I had been reading a book silently to
myself."
"Please don't skip any parts next time." (Because of time
restraints, Pam skipped some parts of the story and summarized what they had missed
for the students.
"It really makes you appreciate the terrible
things the Jews went through when you hear of one person's personal story."
"This story really made you realize how strong people can be when they
are put to the test. It was a great story about the will to survive."
We are already planning next year's unit, complete with listening activities and
class discussions.
The culminating activity came from the "American"
symbol for the survivors of the Holocaust, the butterfly. The students made
butterflies by sprinkling crayon shavings in between a sheet of paper that was
folded in half and then melting them with a warm iron. This made a beautiful butterfly
design when the paper was unfolded. The kids cut around the outside edges of the
butterfly and then we stapled them to the board. As you can see from the photo
it was colorful and unique.
TIP:
 | Preparation
is essential before introducing any audiobook to a classroom and some audios demand
more preparation than others as I learned one day when asked to step into a classroom
for 15 minutes while a teacher was in consultation with a parent. Since there
was no planned activity, I grabbed the cassette player and the latest Harry Potter
tape (Listening Library) currently being played in our listening corner (see above).
With just a short introduction since everyone knows about Harry (or so I thought!)
I turned on the tape. Well, it was a thorough disaster. I had not given any thought
as to how difficult it might be to follow the English dialogue and accents and
I had not spent enough time preparing students for the total audiobook experience.
Was I red in the face! | | | |
UELMA CONFERENCE PRESENTATION:
The invaluable knowledge gained
at the AASL conference and the enthusiasm generated from our successes motivated
me to present at our state library media association conference. The presentation
included philosophy, teaching strategies, and the nuts and bolts of initiating
a checkout program. Despite my lack of experience, the session proved to be worthwhile.
Check out the UELMA (Utah Educational Library Media Association) website www.uelma.org
for two brief handouts on selection tools, publishers, and a variety or readings.
You may e-mail Ann Olsen at aolsen@boxelder.k12.ut.us
 EDUCATORS:
If you make good use of audiobooks in your approach
to education and feel you have some good tips and inspiration to pass on to others,
would you like to be considered for our Educator of the Month feature?
If so, contact Heather Frederick, Publisher at Audio Bookshelf at 1-800-234-1713
or audiobooks@prexar.com
We want to honor you!
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