WHAT IT IS:

From The Writing Strategies Book (Serravalo, 2017), the Audiobooks approach encourages students to publish their work via recorded readings.

HOW IT WORKS:

This strategy creates a unique opportunity for students to share their writings in another way. Once writing is completed, have students record a read-aloud of their writing to be posted to a class library or public platform. Alternatively, consider having students read and record a partner’s writing, or have students in small groups collaborate together to read each others’ writings (such as multiple voices in a narrative text).

Two tools that might support such activities are

• Flip.com: This video sharing platform (free for all users–teachers and students) allows teachers to create a classroom space where students record video (or they can hide the video and record audio only). The video is then posted, though teachers can control whether the recording is visible to (1) no one, (2) the class, or (3) shared publicly (the guest access to the class space).
• Anchor.fm: This podcasting hosting service (free for all users) handles the distribution side of sharing, posting recordings to major listening platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. NOTE: Anchor is not a private sharing platform but rather shares all material publicly. Teachers are encouraged to obfuscate any personally identifiable information like names and faces of students, using pseudonyms instead of real names.