Audiobooks: Ideas for Teachers

Encourage students to become better listeners and readers through audiobooks. There are many benefits to incorporating audiobooks into the classroom, including the following:

• Audiobooks allow children and young adults to enjoy a book that’s at their interest level, but that might be above their reading level (such as Charlotte’s Web or The Incredible Journey).
• Audiobooks allow children who read slowly to still participate in class activities.
• For very young children and people learning English as a second language, audiobooks provide a way to learn the patterns of language and to learn expressions.
• Audiobooks provide good examples of fluent reading for children and young adults.
• Audiobooks can take the “read aloud” burden off the teacher and parent. For example, if you have a hard time getting through Where the Red Fern Grows without crying, let Richard Thomas read it aloud to the class!

Strategies for using audiobooks with children vary. Some teachers encourage their students to read the book along with the tape during the first reading in order to familiarize students with the story. During subsequent readings, students concentrate on the words.

For information on how to choose which audiobooks to use, see the following websites:

• Notable Children’s Recordings (opens in a new window) (Association for Library Services to Children)
• Audiobooks Too Good to Miss (opens in a new window) (Capitol Choices)
• Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults (opens in a new window) (ALA’s Young Adult Library Services Association)
• Audio of the Week (opens in a new window) (School Library Journal)