September 2005 — Educator's Evaluation
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Hoover Elementary Turns to LeapFrog SchoolHouse
How do we teach students of widely varying abilities who are housed in the same classroom?
For the past 15 years, I have been principal
at Hoover Elementary School,
located in Calumet City, IL, a suburb
of Chicago. At Hoover, we teach 630
students in grades preK-5, and like many
schools in our area, we have been experiencing
tremendous growth; in fact, since
2000, enrollment has increased by onethird.
This large influx of new students,
coupled with a 64 percent mobility rate,
creates some interesting challenges for our
dedicated teachers and staff.
The most difficult challenge to conquer is how to teach students of widely varying abilities who are all housed in the same classroom. In addition, we are continuously trying to improve the reading skills of students across all grade levels. We decided that a reading program that utilized technology was a must for our students who are captivated by computers and other technologies. We turned to LeapFrog SchoolHouse (LeapFrog Enterprises Inc; www.leapfrog.com) to meet our needs.
Personalized Coaches
LeapFrog SchoolHouse creates books that become interactive when used with LeapPad and Quantum Pad personal learning tools (PLTs). PLTs come equipped with an electronic stylus and headphones; if students cannot pronounce a word, or don’t know its meaning, they tap the word with the stylus and a personal audio “coach” sounds out the word and provides a definition through a speaker in the PLT. Pictures in the books are also interactive, bringing stories to life for our young readers. Our school has interactive books on hundreds of subjects, from dinosaurs and fairy tales to real-life adventures—all designed to capture the interest and the imagination of every student.
We use the interactive books and PLTs at least 30 minutes a day during Reading Center time, and student response to using the products has been universally positive. For our slower readers, reading has become less intimidating and laborious. The individualized support afforded by the audio feedback reduces a child’s embarrassment at not knowing words. If necessary, students can also read from a lowerlevel book without their classmates being aware. Our advanced readers use higher-level books that include more challenging content.
These interactive books maximize the teachable moment by ensuring that students are not learning words or concepts incorrectly. Every teacher knows that it is more difficult to “un-teach” something that a student believes is correct. The interactive books also have helped our school meet the achievement standards outlined by No Child Left Behind, as the products are closely aligned with the Illinois Standards Achievement Tests (ISAT). Last year, a fourth-grade special-education student was taking her ISAT, looked up, and exclaimed in amazement: “I know this answer. I saw it on my LeapPad!”
Technology that D'esn’t Intimidate
Our teachers have different comfort levels when it comes to technology, but every teacher was excited when LeapFrog SchoolHouse products arrived at Hoover Elementary.
