By Sara Getting and Karin Swainey
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/WILLSIE ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/PICTAFOLIOPICTAFOLIO ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/PICTAFOLIO
Find out how two teachers took on the challenge of improving elementary reading,
achieved surprising success with their youngest at-risk readers, and learned some
interesting things along the way.
Giving iPads to first graders is a leap of faith that many teach- ers are understandably hesitant to take, especially if their students
need immediate reading intervention
and school leaders want guaranteed
results. Our decision to use iPads to
improve student reading was a step
into the unknown, but we found the
benefits far outweighed the risks.
We set out to determine if using
iPads would help increase reading
First Graders with iPads?
achievement with our two lowest
reading groups during the 2010–11
academic year at Hilltop Elementary
School in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, USA. Our project targeted
key areas of reading but also aimed to
incorporate digital age skills into our
teaching strategies and lesson plans.
The ultimate goal was to offer meaningful opportunities to our young
learners as they began their journey
toward digital age readiness.
