Creating a Class Digital Library

This lesson is used in a third grade classroom, but can certainly be modified for any grade level.

Students will first select a book appropriate to their reading level. The first time doing this, I would recommend using picture books. Students would then be instructed to read their selected text silently. After completing the text, have students pair up and buddy read their books, to be sure that they are reading accurately. (Teacher would be monitoring and assisting as needed). When the students have shared their book with their partner and feel comfortable reading the book aloud, they will go to the classroom "recording studio".(I created an area in the classroom, that looks like a studio, using a large cardboard box and saran wrap for a window. Students actually go into this “studio” and feel somewhat enclosed as one might feel in an actual recording studio. ) Using a recording software that has the ability to save files in MP3 format, students will sit with their partner and prepare to read into a microphone. (Both students should already be familiar with the using of the "recording studio", how to record their voices and how to save it.)In my classroom, I use Audacity. It is very easy for my students, third graders, to use. When they have completed a recording, they will save their work and trade places so that the other student can record their story.

After all students have recorded their stories, you will have a large assortment of books on digital file for the class to listen to during centers, or free time.

In addition, this is a great tool to use for assessing students' reading abilities. You can record them while completing running records, retain their file, and then listen again later in the year to identify any growth that the child has achieved.

Any grade level or discipline can use this lesson. It works well with articles, or even text books in the class. It would be quite beneficial for a student who is absent for example to listen to a chapter in their social studies book, for example, at home so that they are prepared when they return to school. The possiblitites are really endless.