Listening is Reading Too!

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Listening is Reading Too!

  • May 2, 2025
  • Posted by: Caitlin McCallum
  • Category: Wow Story
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~ written by Terri Thomas, LSEM teacher at St. Peter’s Lutheran School in Eastpointe, MI ~

Trying something new can be both challenging and rewarding. I have a student I have been working with for six years. She has always struggled with reaching her Accelerated Reader (AR) quarterly goals; she didn’t like to read. She has had difficulty reading longer books, retaining the information and passing the tests.

This student is now in eighth grade and direct-taught for reading. Last year she asked me about reading a novel like her classmates do in literature class. I was comfortable with teaching students reading skills, strategies, phonics, sight words, decoding skills. Teaching literature was something new for me. I encountered challenges. At first it was difficult for me to find books at her AR required book level that interested her and weren’t too young for her age. I had to find or create resources for activities to go along with each chapter book. These included questions for comprehension, vocabulary study, read aloud time, character profiles, author reviews, and assessments.

A few months ago, it was suggested that my student listen to a recording of the novel while following along in her book. This proved to be an excellent idea. This, along with the reading activities for the novels, had positive outcomes. Her AR scores increased and she wants to reach her goals, which she is now doing. Yes, teaching literature was challenging for me but also very rewarding for my eighth grader! This year we are reading novels, passing AR tests, and enjoying reading!