Although I’m still unsure of the exact place in the classroom for an iPod Touch…..I know they do have a place, especially after working with my little buddy in first grade at Juanita Elementary. Below is an account of my experience with him this fall……
Today, I witnessed first-hand the amazing tool an iTouch can be for an emergent reader. Jessica and I were working together with Avery (not his real name). We had determined that he was most probably in the very early stages of being partially alphabetic (as described by Barbara J. fox in her book, Word Identification Strategies). He was a struggling reader.
Per instructions, we were told to bring in a “just right” book for Avery. I could see his excitement about reading when I laid out twelve different books for him to choose from. He initially wanted to read, Bear Stays up for Christmas but when he looked at the pages and words he said, “No, I can’t read that, but will you read it to me, please?” Jessica and I agreed, but only after he read a book to us. He then got very excited about a Halloween book, Ten Timid Ghosts, by Jennifer O’Connell. It was a counting book and it had great pictures, ones that had a lot of clues as to what was going on in the story. But after he had a chance to look through the pages, he said, “Oh, I don’t know a lot of these words” as he pointed to “timid” and “haunted” on one of the pages. Finally, he chose an easy reader book entitled, The Best Mud Pie, by Lin Quinn. He worked hard to read each page. We gave him tips to sound out words and look for clues in the pictures. He improved as he read, as he applied these strategies, but it was a very difficult process. Finally, two pages before the end of the story, he asked if he could stop. We told him what a great job he had done and then Jessica finished reading the book to him. We then kept our promise and read, The Bear Stays Up For Christmas. He absolutely loved it and listened attentively.
Additionally, we had planned a couple of “paper” phonic activities but we thought this would be a great opportunity to use our iTouch instead. We decided Avery should try the Clifford Be Big app. He initially had trouble dragging the letters in the “paint” to the “canvas” (it takes dexterity.) but he eventually got it. He was so determined. He worked hard and when he spelled his first word correctly, he was absolutely thrilled!! The game guarantees success, because regardless of the letter chosen (to be placed on the easel), the remaining letters change accordingly (to form a word). The first word he spelled was “air”. When he did this he got a huge smile on his face and said, “And I didn’t even know how to spell that!” He was incredulous!! His reaction was priceless.
I believe Avery would benefit so much from using this type of “game” to increase his phonemic awareness. He was very motivated to learn and this activity didn’t make him “struggle” as much (as was witnessed when he attempted to read the books we had brought for him). He immediately felt successful, spelling a word he had never even thought to spell before. The only problem Jessica and I had after he had played this app was not having the stickers on hand when the voice on the game promised them.
As this class progresses into winter quarter and my learning continues, I’m sure I’ll find more ways to use iTouches in the classroom.
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