Listen and learn with phonics

Listen and Learn with Audiobooks

By: Reading Rockets, Rachael Walker

Audiobooks are a wonderful way to expose your child to complex language, expressive reading, and fantastic stories. Listening to audiobooks also gives kids the valuable and enjoyable experience of using their own imaginations to visualize the people and places they’re hearing about. Here, you’ll find guidance on what to look for in choosing audiobooks as well as listening tips.

Audiobooks are a wonderful way to expose your child to complex language, expressive reading, and fantastic stories. Listening to audiobooks also gives kids the valuable and enjoyable experience of using their own imaginations to visualize the people and places they’re hearing about. Though popular with many families during long car trips, audiobooks are a great way to experience stories anytime, anywhere.

What to look for

• Familiar stories. For your child, listening to an audiobook is a very different experience from hearing you read a book aloud. In introducing audiobooks to your child, look for audiobooks of stories your child has heard you read or tell before. Being familiar with the story will help your child enjoy hearing it from a different reader and become a willing listener.
• Easy-to-use format. Consider what format will work best for you and your child. Audiobooks are available as CDs and you can often find them at your local public library packaged with a copy of the picture book or early reader. Some libraries also carry Playaways, which are books pre-loaded onto MP3 player available for checkout. Your library may also provide audiobooks as digital files through a service like OverDrive that you can check out and download to your personal device. There are also many online digital services such as Audible and Tales2Go where you can subscribe to an extensive catalog of audio content.
• Quality titles. When choosing audiobook titles, seek suggestions from your librarian and consult recommendations from experts, such as Notable Children's Recordings from the American Library Association or Reading Rockets’ Favorite Audiobooks. But also get kid opinions on selections to help get them invested before listening begins.
• Good production. Whenever possible, listen to a sample of the audiobook before you dive in. If the narrator’s voice grates on your nerves or you find added background music and sound effects to be a distraction, you’ll save all the listeners in your family some time and pain.

What to do

• Listen to audiobooks together. Audiobooks are a wonderful shared reading experience and a shared story gives everyone in the family something to talk about. Plus, you can help boost your child’s thinking skills by asking questions about what you’ve listened to or take turns with your child retelling favorite parts of the story.
• Offer some background information or a preview of the story to help your child focus his listening and more easily follow what’s happening in the story. If you have a soon-to-be reader and or early reader, a copy of the book to follow along will help kids make the connection between the written and spoken words.
• Feel free to stop listening. If an audiobook isn’t engaging, try another!
• Keep your young listeners in mind. While kids can listen on a higher level than they can read, some stories may be too complex for young listeners to follow and enjoy. There is an abundance of audio picture books and poetry to enjoy and no need to rush straight into Harry Potter.
• Don’t let audiobooks take the place of you reading aloud to your child or telling them stories. The time you spend together will help your child make a lasting discovery of what reading for pleasure is all about.

• Download this article as a PDF
• View this article in Spanish

Reading Rockets, Rachael Walker (2017)

Reprints

You are welcome to print copies or republish materials for non-commercial use as long as credit is given to Reading Rockets and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact [email protected]

Related Topics

Assistive Technology

Children’s Books

Dyslexia

Educational Technology

English Language Learners

Fluency

Learning Disabilities

Motivation

Struggling Readers

Summer reading

New and Popular

100 Children’s Authors and Illustrators Everyone Should Know

A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words

7 Great Ways to Encourage Your Child's Writing

All Kinds of Readers: A Guide to Creating Inclusive Literacy Celebrations for Kids with Learning and Attention Issues

Screening, Diagnosing, and Progress Monitoring for Fluency: The Details

Phonemic Activities for the Preschool or Elementary Classroom

Our Literacy Blogs

Teaching Students to Use Context

Kids and educational media

Meet Ali Kamanda and Jorge Redmond, authors of Black Boy, Black Boy: Celebrating the Power of You

Get Widget |

 Subscribe

Phonics Activities to Teach kids to Read with ABC Phonics/ Kiz Phonics

Teach kids to Read with the One-Stop Phonics Platform!

Explore by Level:

Preschool Kindergarten L1 Kindergarten L2 1st Grade L1 1st Grade L2 2nd Grade L1

Kiz Phonics is an excellent progressive program to teach kids to read using a synthetic phonics approach. You get a complete set of activities to teach phonics, structured by levels from preschool, kindergarten, 1st grade to 2nd grade. We offer the following phonics activities for your preschool, kindergarten, first and second grade learners:

Explore all Resources Sign Up

The Kiz Phonics program is carefully arranged by levels from Preschool Ages 3-4, Kindergarten Ages 4 -6, 1^st Grade Ages 6-7 & 2^nd Grade Ages 7-8. It is suitable for school teachers, home-school parents and other educators trying to help children learn to read.

Kids Phonics Teaching Resources

Phonics Worksheets

Teach phonics with the highest quality pdf print outs. Our phonics worksheets are structured by level.

Print Now

Phonics Games

Practice key phonemes, sentence reading and word blends with highly engaging interactive phonics games by level.

Play Now

Phonics Lesson Videos

Use our phonics video lessons to teach phonemic awareness, word blending and print awareness by level.

Learn Now

Phonics Stories

Find 21 phonics stories to build learners’ confidence in early literacy. The stories are carefully developed around the phonemes.

Listen Stories

Flashcards & Charts

We offer printable phonics flashcards, phonics charts and wallpapers for classroom teaching and phonics homeschooling.

Print Now

Listening Materials

Phonics listening materials come in several varieties - with mp3 files to match each worksheet and story, as well as phonics songs.

Listen Now

Learn More

Phonics Program by Level - Preschool to 2nd Grade

Preschool Phonics - Ages 3-4

Learning to read starts here. From as low as 3 years, your child needs to build the following skills that will prepare him/her for reading. Print Awareness and Phonemic Awareness are the hallmarks of this level. We provide the following types of resources:

 Kindergarten Phonics L1 - Ages 4-6

The Kindergarten Level 1 Reading Program,  is suitable for kids between the ages of 4 to 6. Children will learn short vowels a & e, beginning and ending consonant sounds. The will learn how to read words, sentences and 2 short stories.

Kindergarten Phonics L2 - Ages 4-6

The Kindergarten Level 2 Reading Program,  is suitable for kids between the ages of 4 to 6. Children will learn short vowels i, o & u, ending and beginning consonants & digraphs. The will learn how to read words, sentences and 2 short stories.

First Grade Phonics L1 - Ages 6-7

The 1^st Grade Level 1 Reading Program features a review of all the short vowels, beginning and ending consonants. Your children will learn words with the S blends, consonant digraphs ch, sh, th, wh and ph.  They will also learn the soft C and G sounds.

First Grade Phonics L2 - Ages 6-7

The 1^st Grade Level 2 Phonics Program features the long a & i with the silent e. Kids will learn how the silent e changes the sounds of words. This level also includes vowel digraphs ai & ay, vowel digraphs ee & ea and final y as long e.

Second Grade Phonics L1 - Ages 7-8

The 2^nd Grade Level 1 Phonics Program features the long o & u with the silent e. This level also includes vowel digraphs like oa & ow, ui & ue and final y as long i. Special vowels like aw & ew will be also be learned.

Subscribe for Full Access

Single Plans

Group Plans

• 1 Year - Single User

• $59
• Single user access
• Unlimited Access to All Materials in the Members Area for 1 Year
• Phonics Worksheets
• Phonics Videos
• Phonics Games
• Phonics Listening
• Phonics Flashcards
• Short Stories
• Board Games & Card Games
• Add multiple users

• Sign Up

• Sign Up
  (Add up to 20 users at $99)

• 6 Months - Single User

• $39
• Single user access
• Unlimited Access to All Materials in the Members Area for 6 months
• Phonics Worksheets
• Phonics Videos
• Phonics Games
• Phonics Listening
• Phonics Flashcards
• Short Stories
• Board Games & Card Games
• Add multiple users

• Sign Up

• Sign Up
  (Add up to 20 users at $99)

• 6 Months - up to 10/20 users

• $69-$99
• Create & Manage up to 10/20 sub-users from main account with unique log in details
• Unlimited Access to All Materials in the Members Area for 6 months
• Phonics Worksheets
• Phonics Videos
• Phonics Games
• Phonics Listening
• Phonics Flashcards
• Short Stories
• Board Games & Card Games
• Add multiple users

• Sign Up
  (Add up to 10 users at $69)

• Sign Up
  (Add up to 20 users at $99)

• 1 Year - up to 10/20 users

• $99-$159
• Create & Manage up to 10/20 sub-users from main account with unique log in details
• Unlimited Access to All Materials in the Members Area for 1 year
• Phonics Worksheets
• Phonics Videos
• Phonics Games
• Phonics Listening
• Phonics Flashcards
• Short Stories
• Board Games & Card Games
• Add multiple users

• Sign Up
  (Add up to 10 users at $99)

• Sign Up
  (Add up to 20 users at $159)

Phonics Articles

What is Phonics?

This question is more common than you may think. Without sounding…

Read more

Phonics Lesson Plans Made Easy

The Kiz Phonics Resources & Structured Guide to Teaching…

Read more

Phonics Methods Used on KizPhonics

Kiz Phonics is a direct systematic phonics program, which uses…

Read more

Testimonials

This is such a great program. I used this several years ago, as I took my oldest out of elementary to homeschool mid term for health reasons. This was so great because even starting at the beginning. She didn’t loose a thing, but had time to grasp it all. Very well thought out and fun for her. Thanks so much, I’ve noticed it has only gotten better as the years have passed.

Matthew Pavon

I am looking to run literacy classes for young pre-school children and am seeking a reputable and effective phonics-based system to use as the foundation of my classes. Your materials and website look excellent (and I am also reviewing Jolly Phonics and Letterland). ..

Vanessa (Australia)

Excellent material for teaching phonics.Thanks alot.

Nagapadma (India)

I have gone through your product. It is an excellent product. Everything is well prepared and in sequence. Do you have any authorized agent or distributor in Kuwait?

Abid (Kuwait)

Congratulations and thanks for this good work.

Janice (USA)

I really find your resources very beneficial, especially during this pandemic. My 4-year old toddler has benefitted tremendously. Thank you!

Ediza (USA)

Thank you for all the materials you've been sharing. They're so helpful and lessen the workload of teachers. Keep sharing and giving.
Salute!

Jel Cayabyab

These are the best. I absolutely Love these PPTs. There are right on point, very engaging, and colorful.

Jennifer Feagin

Why Use Kiz Phonics?

Deliver the joy of learning to read by using the Kiz Phonics curriculum and phonics activities. Phonics is a method of teaching children to read by combining letters to form sounds. As such, preschoolers usually begin with print awareness using the 26 letters of the alphabet. These letters can be combined to form sounds called phonemes. In a synthetic phonics approach, kids blend sounds to read full words. Reading comprehension is not an immediate priority at the early phases. Phonics teaches kids to read unfamiliar words. It is a more effective method for learning to read compared to word recognition. As learners are different, you need a varied set of resources to teach phonics – phonics worksheets, phonics games, phonics flashcards, listening materials, word families activities, phonics short stories, phonics lesson videos, and PowerPoint – we got you covered!

Teaching kids to read is not solely the job of the classroom teacher. Parents, both native and non-native English speakers, can follow our guidelines and phonics activities to bring kids from zero to hero in reading. It is an absolute joy to watch your child begin the baby steps of combining letters and sounds to read unfamiliar words. Sign up today and make full use of the most effective activities designed to teach your child to read through phonics.

Russian language lessons for foreigners: colloquial speech, grammar

Russian language lessons for foreigners phonetics, grammar, colloquial speech. Useful tables, texts, dialogues, exercises, tests with keys. All this can be found in the very popular set of textbooks "Matryoshka" . Watch video about him.

Sometimes students or teachers need to have at hand the most necessary materials on Russian grammar :

• declension tables for Russian nouns, adjectives, pronouns ,
• conjugation and classes of Russian verbs
• or systematized rules for reading Russian letters.

I looked into a computer or a smartphone and everything is in order, no need to look in textbooks.

Need to know and learn the most current Russian colloquial phrases ? For example, communication stereotypes among Russians : phrases at a meeting and parting, etiquette phrases: requests, apologies, etc. ? They can be viewed on our website and even translated into English.

Russian lessons

Would you like to read texts and dialogues in Russian ? They are on the site. And you can check yourself whether you understood them correctly by answering questions to them.

Do you write badly in Russian? Refer to page "Learning to write Russian correctly" .

And if you are ready to test yourself, do you understand Russian speech by ear, you can listen to on the site and individual Russian words , and phrases , and dialogues, and texts . And also test yourself.

Russian lessons

Russian numerals ? Yes, this is a problem for many foreigners studying Russian. Therefore, a special page is dedicated to them, where you can read and learn them. Russian cardinal and ordinal numbers for a better understanding are in the tables. But how do you know if you read them in Russian correctly? To do this, we recorded audio with Russian numerals . You can repeat them after the announcer and speak Russian correctly. And to test yourself, you can write dictation . We also offer it to you.

If you want to test your knowledge of Russian grammar and Russian colloquial speech , run tests . And then look at answers to them.

We offer you Russian language lessons online on a variety of topics, for the development of a variety of skills and abilities.

And if you have any questions or problems, you can always refer to the textbooks presented on our website.

Do you want to know Russian colloquial speech better? We recommend you textbook “Survival Russian. Speak right!"

Would you like to read more Russian texts on a variety of topics? Use the manual "Reading and Understanding" .