Books on Tape

I love books on tape! I have 4 reading classes a day. As you can imagine, reading the chapters of a novel 4 times in a row can become tiresome for me as a teacher and also damaging to my voice. Now, do not get me wrong, I value students reading orally and silent reading, but I believe that it is imperative that students hear fluid, expressive reading in order to develop their own reading skills. Books on tape make it easier to record the place in the book for each class. If students are absent they can listen to the part they missed on their own schedule. Also, by listening to the books on tape, as opposed the varying speeds of individual reading, I can adequately pace my lessons along with other teachers. I closely monitor students to make sure they are reading along with the electronic reader.