Fluency and an Easi-Speak Giveaway

Tonight I am going to start the first giveaway of a few giveaways!  I feel very blessed to be offered the chance to review different products on my blog.  But to be completely honest with you, I don't accept unless I can see how it will help benefit my students, my teaching, and you guys!  When Learning Resources contacted me about reviewing this product, I knew it was a tool that fit perfectly into my small group instruction!

Please know that even though Learning Resources has provided me with an Easi-Speak and has asked me to review it, the opinions I list are all mine.

The Easi-Speak is a digital recorder that is held up to your mouth and you speak into, just like a microphone.  Instead of projecting the voice louder, it simply records what the child is saying.  

Here are the points that I love about this product:

-  It is hands on and looks just like a microphone.  My kiddos were so excited when I pulled it out and knew what to do with it right away.  (In fact, when it I took it out of the packing box after receiving it in the mail, my honey at home asked if we were going to be rock stars!)

-  It is easy to use.  The child simply holds it close to their mouth, pushes in and holds down a red button, and speaks into it.  

-  No batteries are required!  You charge it up by inserting it into your computer!

-  It is so very easy to transfer the voice recordings from the device to the computer!

This tool could be used in SOOOOOO many different ways, but here is how I used the Easi-Speak in my instruction:

I have been talking a lot about what fluent reading sounds like with my first and second graders.  I talk about how our reading should not sound robotic and instead sound smooth, just like we are talking, without too many pauses.  Our rate should not be too fast or too slow, but just right. And how our voices change based on the punctuation we see in our reading.

After reading a short text at their reading level into the Easi-Speak, I have them listen to what their reading sounds like.  They rate each aspect of their fluency (rate, accuracy, expression, punctuation) with a fabulous self-reflection tool shared by Rachelle from What the Teacher Wants.  Then we discuss it.  (Thanks Rachelle for sharing!)

Another way I used the Easi-Speak was with my little rock star!  No, we didn't rock out with it (yet), instead she has used it to "read" her books.  She did well holding the button down while turning the pages and keeping the story going!  Here she is reading one of her favorite books, The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.  I love watching her eyes light up as she listens to herself reading the story!

Now here is the fun part.  I get to give an Easi-Speak away to one of you (a $69.99 value)!!

Enter below through Rafflecopter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you would like more information about Learning Resources and the products they have to offer, click on the links below:
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Good luck and THANK YOU Learning Resources!!

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