Using Audible Narration for Struggling Readers (And a List of Super Discounted Audiobooks to Get you Started!)

My favorite way to use our Kindles for school is Audible Narration. This feature allows you to listen to an Audible audiobook while reading along in the ebook. This is human narration, not the electronic "read to me" stuff. While reading, the ebook highlights the words as they are read, allowing kids to easily follow along. It also keeps your place in both the ebook and the audiobook, allowing you to switch back and forth.  (Don't worry if you don't have a Kindle, the feature also works with the free Kindle app on your tablet, phone, or computer.)

For struggling readers, this is amazing! Not only can they independently read books they would otherwise struggle with, but they also get a huge boost in their reading skills by following along. Without the highlighting feature, my younger kids can't follow along with an audiobook because they aren't able to keep up with the reader. My older kids (12 and 13) still enjoy following along with the book, but it's especially nice for those kids who are just reaching fluency in chapter books- that stage where reading is hard work but their brains are hungry for harder books. I use it most successfully with ages 7-10 or so.

If you have a struggling reader, using an Audible Narrated school book or free read can help advance them into fluency. I also use Audible Narration to budget my read-aloud time, knowing that following along with narration helps them get all the benefits of actually reading the words (such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation exposure, as well as better focus by using several parts of the brain at once. Visit this link on the AmblesideOnline website to read more about why your kids shouldn't be listening to all their books once they can read well.)

Along with Audible Narration being a great thing in general, buying the Amazon e-book first often gets you huge discounts on the Audible book- in the case of free classic ebooks, the audiobook is often just a few dollars! If you have ever purchased any audiobooks, you know that is a great price for professional narration.

Are you ready to try Audible Narration?  Here are some cheap Audible Narrated books from the AmblesideOnline booklists for you to try:

(The price on these sometimes changes, I've put off purchasing only to find it priced higher when I come back for it. They were around $1-$3 or so when I wrote this.)