March 2003 — Features
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Integrating Technology Into a Reading Program
The Great Motivator
What d'es a classroom lesson that integrates technology into the reading program look like? In my classroom students are put into literature-circle groups - limited to five students per group - based on the book they choose. The students are given five books to choose from and meet twice a week with their group to read through the predetermined pages. After they have read through the pages, the students must complete learning tasks that deal with different elements of the story. The task might require students to focus on the characters and their traits, or to write about the main idea, problem, events and solution of the story. Regardless, the focus is always on comprehension and whether or not the students understood what they read.
Some of the assignments also require the students to use the AlphaSmart devices. For instance, a typical assignment might be to have the students rewrite the chapters they just read using the tool - assuring teachers that their students are familiar with the story's characters, setting and problem. The students are also much more motivated to complete this assignment because they enjoy using the AlphaSmarts.
After the students finish reading their assigned book they complete two projects: a Kidspiration story web or a timeline of the events. If they decide to use Kidspiration, they will create a story web, showing some of the story's different elements, or a character web. If the students choose Timeliner, they will create a timeline of the events in their book, adding pictures to show they understand the events, as well as the problem and solution.
I also read out loud to my class every day, focusing on books that are part of That's A Fact Jack or Island Reading Journey. After finishing a book, the students divide into teams and play a game using the related software. This tests the students to see if they were listening and what they remember. The game can be played in several ways depending on the rules I determine.
When conducting guided reading groups, I occasionally have my students take the digital camera and go around the school to take pictures of things that relate to the story we are reading. Then, they return to the classroom and use the AlphaSmart tools to type a paragraph on what they took a picture of and how it relates to our story. I believe that in order for students to become better readers, they must be able to relate what they are reading to their own lives and the real world around them. Using the digital camera really gets the students thinking about the story and finding good related things.
Another way to use the digital camera is by working on vocabulary. I sometimes send my students out and have them take pictures of things, events or actions that represent the vocabulary we are discussing. The most important way for students to become better readers is by increasing their vocabulary. Students need to make vocabulary words real for themselves. So, if they can find something and take a picture of it, it will help them to better understand.
Some argue that integrating technology into the curriculum in this way takes away from traditional book reports, and that students are not expected to do as much as in the past. The students in my class are engaged, they're learning and they're having fun. Technology is a great motivator; and in today's schools that's a plus.
