Instead of physically reading this novel, I decide to try something different and listen to the audiobook of The Giver. I had not listened to an audiobook before, but I thought I would take advantage of my long trip home and listen to the book. I was concerned that I would not enjoy the experience or would not retain the information in the book and would have to read it again in order to understand it, but I was very pleasantly surprised! I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook for many reasons. Not only did it make my drive much shorter and more interesting, but it also reminded me that listening is an extremely important language arts strand that is often disregarded and/or overlooked. Listening to the novel made me feel as though I was wrapped up in Jonas' world and was experiencing the memories just like he was. Experiencing the text this way showed me that there are so many different ways to be exposed to and analyze a text. I think that it is often thought that silently reading a book is the only way to experience it, especially in older grades, but this is definitely not the case.
I plan to expose my students to this novel in a variety of ways, including reading to them, reading individually and in small groups, and of course, listening to the audiobook. I may also get some students to read aloud in front of the class, as there are only 8 students, so there will not be too much pressure, but I will not force any students to do so if they do not feel comfortable. I recognize that some of my students may prefer certain modes of reading more than others, but I think that it is good to teach students that a text can be viewed in so many different ways. For students that maybe have a difficult time paying attention or grasping what is happening when they are just listening to the audiobook, I find that following along in the book to be quite helpful. I finished the last few chapters both listening and following along in the physical text, which I really enjoyed as well.
For some reason, I felt that I was cheating by listening to the audiobook instead of reading the physical text, and it took me awhile to accept that I was doing was perfectly acceptable. I think that I am so used to only being given the option to read a book the way it is originally supposed to be read, that it was surprising to me that there are (many) other ways to experience a text. I think that it is important for students to know that they can experience a text however they would like to and should never feel guilty about their reading preferences, which is why I will try my best to use all of the language arts strands with all of my future students when studying texts.
I plan to expose my students to this novel in a variety of ways, including reading to them, reading individually and in small groups, and of course, listening to the audiobook. I may also get some students to read aloud in front of the class, as there are only 8 students, so there will not be too much pressure, but I will not force any students to do so if they do not feel comfortable. I recognize that some of my students may prefer certain modes of reading more than others, but I think that it is good to teach students that a text can be viewed in so many different ways. For students that maybe have a difficult time paying attention or grasping what is happening when they are just listening to the audiobook, I find that following along in the book to be quite helpful. I finished the last few chapters both listening and following along in the physical text, which I really enjoyed as well.
For some reason, I felt that I was cheating by listening to the audiobook instead of reading the physical text, and it took me awhile to accept that I was doing was perfectly acceptable. I think that I am so used to only being given the option to read a book the way it is originally supposed to be read, that it was surprising to me that there are (many) other ways to experience a text. I think that it is important for students to know that they can experience a text however they would like to and should never feel guilty about their reading preferences, which is why I will try my best to use all of the language arts strands with all of my future students when studying texts.