Listen Current leverages the best Public Radio stories and incorporates them into lessons designed to improve student listening comprehension and engagement. It also supports long-term ELLs with acquiring academic language. Teachers can access some of the resources for free on the Listen Current website, and there is also a school-wide version available for an annual fee.
APPROACH
Teachers are able to create assignments from interesting stories they find based on the Listen Current’s rubrics and easily send them to students. Teachers can either use pre-built lessons and activities or customize them to meet the specific needs of their class or differentiate the same lesson for different students. Students can upload their finished work within the platform, and teachers can track their students’ progress, providing feedback as soon as assignments are submitted.
The Premium version also has supports for English Language Learners and struggling readers such as an interactive transcript and tiered vocabulary.
IMPLEMENTATION
Listen Current's website can be accessed from any modern browser.
PRICING
Teachers can access resources on the Listen Current site, such as listening comprehension questions and audio stories, for free. There is a premium version available for schools to purchase as a site license for the whole school ranging from $750 - $2500 per year, based on how many subjects are purchased and the population of the school.
WHO IS USING IT
As of October 2015, Listen Current has been used by over 250,000 students and over 8,000 teachers in over 1000 schools in all 50 states.
The problem I was experiencing in my school was finding current events materials that were differentiated, for mainly my EL students who needed more support with the reading materials, but would be able to participate in full class discussions.
Read Full ReviewI would like to be able to add more than one resource to a lesson plan (more than one graphic organizer) because graphic organizers are not a "one size fits all". I would like to be able to be able to be able to have quick checks for comprehension throughout the listening process. And I would lik...
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