Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Emily's Resource Share (#3)

AudioOwl and Librivox are two sites that offer FREE downloadable audiobooks. You may ask: How can these books be free? Are these legal sites? The answer is yes! These books are free because they are in the public domain, meaning that the intellectual property rights are expired. It is perfectly legal to download the books from these sites onto your Ipod or computer. I prefer AudioOwl because it divides the books into genres, making it much easier to find children's books. Most of the books are displayed with original covers, which are more pleasing to look at than Librivox's book lists. However, the Librivox library is much more extensive.

Here some examples of books you'll find at AudioOwl:

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud MontgomeryThe Reluctant DragonThe Enchanted Castle (Usborne Young Reading Series 2)The Secret Garden (Norton Critical Edition)
Librivox is really better if there is a specific book or poem you want to find. For example, since it is nearly October, I wanted to look for a recording of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven." After I ran a search using the title, I found a few recordings of it. Here is my favorite.

We all know that reading aloud is an enjoyable experience for students, but it also has some great intellectual benefits. Listening levels differ from reading levels in that students' listening levels are usually at least two levels ahead of their independent reading levels. By providing audio books, students can enjoy books that they can not yet read, giving them access to much more literature. Increased listening levels promote vocabulary development as well.



2 comments:

  1. When I was little I loved going to the library to get the packages that were a book and an audiotape of the book. I really enjoyed going a few reading levels above my current reading level because the audio made it easier for me to follow along in the text. I think this is a great resource that could be used with a whole class or with individuals who are struggling with a book.

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  2. I love this resource! I use books with audiotapes as a literacy center. I will also use them every now and then with the whole class. I think it's great to mix up the way a child hears books. I know my kids love listening to books on tape. Thanks for sharing!

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