Listened to the third session of class yesterday and started giving thought to my Action research plan.  I did not think that the problems we could address included DIGITAL literacy as well as reading and writing literacy.  I was thinking I might be able to address the fact that many teachers at my school are not as literate or able to use their Mimio smart boards in their classrooms- even though every classroom is equipped with one.  This would not address student needs.  So I could also target first grade reading.  According to our first and second Accelerated reading tests, first grade is the only grade that has not met their projected
growth.

AUDIO BOOK observations:  I chose to listen to How Children Succeed by Paul Tough on my Audible account.  I began this account a couple semesters ago during one of my Ed tech classes that discussed using audio books with students as an accommodation  and I LOVE IT!  I listened to the first five chapters while I was running and in the car driving to work.  I noted before that it had mostly advantages and benefits but that I at times felt frustrated that I could not pause the reading and take notes on quotes, facts or data that I wanted to remember.  I was reluctant to listen while running because music helps me to maintain my pace and stamina, but listening to the book WAS EVEN BETTER!  I ran 8 miles one Saturday without even flinching because I was so engrossed in the case studies and research that Paul Tough was discussing about how parental attachment and lack of it affected students biologically AND academically.  It was so mindblowing to me- because it seemed that schools and institutions think they can solve the problem of school readiness in low income or impoverished students by exposing them to more vocabulary and knowledge when really the stress of their entire home experience affects them in ways that tutoring can not solve.   I love audio books and I think that they can be a powerful tool for students that normally do not enjoy reading because their lack of reading skills make it laborious and frustrating.