East Grand Rapids — Some of the district’s youngest learners are being wowed by new ways to engage with the written word.
Kindergarten classrooms at Breton Downs, Lakeside and Wealthy elementary schools are now equipped with Yoto Player listening stations, which allow children to listen to audio recordings of books while they read along.
The handheld players scan and read cards containing audio versions of books in the school’s collection. Once the cards are inserted into the devices, students can plug in headphones for a multi-sensory dive into whichever book they’re reading.
The equipment was purchased with a $12,400 grant from the East Grand Rapids Schools Foundation and installation wrapped up in early February. The listening stations quickly became hotspots for students with an ever-growing desire to read.
“Right away it was a hit. They wanted to dig in,” Wealthy Elementary kindergarten teacher Carly Schwartz said of her students. “I think, for kindergartners, they all have this urge to learn more, because they’re so young and they want all the information. …
“For reading, this has just given them something else to add to their toolbox. … It’s another avenue for them to explore books, explore vocabulary.”
Schwartz’s students are loving the new tech, situated in its own corner of the classroom. The space is a haven for kindergartner Frankie Carlson, who delights in the fact that “it’s calm and nobody’s making noise.”
Frankie’s classmate Lena Agerson explained how the players work.
“You turn them on and hold the button for a few seconds, plug in the headphones, you put in the card, it immediately starts introducing the story and then it starts reading it,” Lena said. “You don’t have to always read; you can also (look) and listen.”
“These knobs turn it up louder or not loud,” added classmate Niles Breuthin, gesturing to the buttons and dials on the Yoto Player. “And I don’t know what this one does,” he said of one knob, “but you put the card in there … and you get to listen to the story you want.”
After getting situated at his station, Henry Corstange spent some time reading and listening to “Dragons Love Tacos” by Adam Rubin.
“Do you know why I’m reading this? Because I like tacos. It’s my favorite food,” Henry said.
The best part of his reading time? “Well, hearing it!” Henry said decisively, adding that he also has a Yoto Player at home.
Supporting Vocabulary, Language, Fluency
Norah Knoerl, a kindergarten teacher at Breton Downs, wrote the grant requesting funds for the listening stations. She said she did so because the benefits of reading aloud are “immense,” and she wanted to give students an opportunity to do it on their own.
“Readalouds support vocabulary, language and fluency,” Knoerl told SNN, adding that, though teachers do plenty of reading to students on any given day, the listening stations let students pick their own reading exercises and engage with the material personally and independently.
‘This has just given them something else to add to their toolbox. … It’s another avenue for them to explore books, explore vocabulary.’
— Wealthy Elementary kindergarten teacher Carly Schwartz
In addition to paying for the listening equipment, Knoerl said the grant covered the cost of more than 50 print and digital books.
“With our grant, we ordered hard copies of all the books as well as the Yoto Cards so the students could enhance their concepts of print as well as comprehension,” she said.
Knoerl said the grant will impact around 1,000 students throughout the district, and that the listening stations will continue to serve learners for years to come.
Schwartz said the listening stations are helping kindergartners build important skills that will stay with them for life.
“We were talking about what we enjoyed about them so far, and a lot of kiddos just said, ‘I just like being able to listen to the story,’” Schwartz said. “I told them that I, even as an adult, love to listen to stories. So that’s something that carries through no matter how old you are.”
Read more from East Grand Rapids:
• Aspiring thespian helps younger students find joy in theater
• Kindergartners make the most out of playtime thanks to new equipment
