What Rhymes With Schmiveaway....

....Why that would be....

GIVEAWAY!

 I was given the opportunity to test out the Easi-Speak USB Recorder from Learning Resources...

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My first graders have come unglued.  You know when one of your "on target" kids turns around with one crayon in each nostril that you've hit an all-time low...

I found myself wondering what I was going to do to rein these kids back in.  I can't teach magenta nose over there who's putting on a show for her cronies.  I seem to have lost my super powers - I've got to mix things up... but what on earth am I going to do?!?! 

Then the mail arrived late last Friday afternoon...

With just a push of the red record button you can record yours or your students' voices!

This little something has been the best little something to enter Room 8 in a long while.  You want to talk about a nice little incentive for good behavior {Even magenta nose was able to keep her crayons where they belong}.

Like a good many of you, we've been busy testing - unfortunately this testing cuts into instructional time.  Nature of the beast.  I've had to cut Daily 5 short because of it.  When I shared this little gadget with my kids they could NOT wait to get their little hands on it. 

Enter bribery {Incentive...if you will}...

I have one little guy who reads soooooo softly during read to buddy and in a guided reading group setting that I cannot hear him. Seriously, thought at first I had potatoes in my ears, but no - he just reads REALLY REALLY softly.  I've gently encouraged him to read so others can hear {Namely me during assessments} but he just can't do it.  Try as he might, his little anxious self can't muster up the courage to read loudly enough to be heard. 

The first time he read into the Easi-Speak he came up to me telling me that it didn't work.  I have to tell you, the features on it are very user-friendly.  It's literally a push of a {red} button and you're recording yourself with such ease and clarity {soooo clear}.  I knew before playing his recording that it was him not the recorder.  We listened to his recording together and low and behold it was there...soft, really soft, but there. 

We had a really nice conversation {one we've had a million times before} about how important it is to read out loud so others can hear us.  How would you like it if I read so softly that you couldn't hear me?  Of course you wouldn't like it.  Well, others want to hear you...blah blah blah.

AND...

Wouldn't you like to be able to hear yourself read in the easi-speak?  He shrugged. He smirked.  He finally nodded emphatically.  I know what stops him from reading out loud in class.  He's self-conscious and anxious.

We had some serious success and now I can easily assess him without guessing at his miscues.  Thank you Easi-Speak!!!!

I've had kids {who were on-task and focused during Daily 5 of course!!!!} do re-reads of familiar texts and then listen to themselves with this checklist: 

Click to download for yourself

I've had them do a "cold read" and I was able to do a quick running record.  They've read their sight word lists into it...SOOOOOO cool.  I would still pull my strugglers over to assess the high frequency words, but my kids who I know will read most if not all of them I just handed the list, sent them out into the hallway, and had them read them into the Easi-Speak.

You know that little one who barely whispered his reading?  I've mentioned this to mom time and time again and she's been so frustrated over it because it doesn't happen at home. I just plugged the Easi-Speak into my computer with the USB in the base of the microphone {covered by a cap when not in use} uploaded the files and very easily attached and sent her the recording of her little darling via email with the title "Guess What I Heard Loud and Clear Today"?!  She was thrilled! Best of all - our little man thought he was pretty darn cool!

I bet your wheels are turning for how you would use this in your classroom.  Well, keep those wheels a turnin' because you might just win one!!!

Learning Resources would love to give one away to a lucky follower of my blog.  We'll call it the....

Here's how to enter:

1. Follow my blog {One Entry}
2. Like Learning Resources on Facebook {One Entry}
3. Leave a comment for how you would use Easi-Speak in your classroom {One Entry}

BONUS ENTRIES:
*You can blog about this giveaway if you'd like {One More Entry!}
*You can "like" me on Facebook {One MORE Entry!!}

Here are some other great links to find out more about other Learning Resources products:
https://www.facebook.com/learningresources
http://twitter.com/#%21/learninghandson
http://www.youtube.com/user/LearningResourcesInc
http://pinterest.com/learninghandson/

Good luck!!!!