Improving Oral Fluency With Story Books | Shanita Allen speaks about What is a Dream? - Free Educational videos for Students in K-12

Improving Oral Fluency With Story Books | Shanita Allen speaks about What is a Dream? - By Lumos Learning

Transcript


00:0-1	Hello and welcome . I'm darcy from Lemos Learning and
00:04	today we have a special guest with us . She
00:06	Anita Allen welcomes Anita , thank you Dorothy . Pleasure
00:11	to be here . Thank you . Sh Anita has
00:14	written a Children's story book . Let's go dreaming .
00:18	Congratulations . I am so looking forward to learning more
00:21	about this exciting online oral reading proficiency component of your
00:26	book . But before we jump to that I'd actually
00:29	love to hear more about you . Could you please
00:31	tell us more about yourself and why you decided to
00:34	write stories for kids of course . Um Well let's
00:39	see . I have always been interested in writing Children's
00:43	books . I used to read a lot when I
00:45	was younger you know I was when I was in
00:47	elementary and middle school um that was like one of
00:49	my favorite activities . Um So I always dreamed of
00:55	becoming a published author but as I got into high
00:59	school I fell in love with psychology and I'm actually
01:00	a board certified behavior analyst . So I went off
01:03	to um get my undergraduate degree in psychology and my
01:07	Master's degree in behavior analysis And I've been serving individuals
01:10	with developments with disabilities um since 2003 . But in
01:15	2018 I decided to reconnect with my passion of writing
01:21	and to go ahead and write children's books . So
01:24	I thought I published my first book in 2018 and
01:27	um there are several more to come . So what
01:30	is the dream is actually book #2 in the series
01:33	, So I'm excited to share that with everyone ,
01:36	wow , that is so amazing . I'm excited as
01:39	well and congratulations on realizing your dream and pursuing your
01:44	passion . That's definitely inspirational in itself and also having
01:47	a successful career as well . So that's that's really
01:50	amazing . So much so for this specific story who
01:57	or what inspired you . Um well you know ,
02:02	just like you said , following my Dreams . So
02:05	the book is basically about Dreams . The entire series
02:09	is about a little girl named Ari and her talking
02:13	dog Pepper and they go on adventures in their dreams
02:16	. So what is the dream is actually the book
02:18	that introduces the two characters ? Um So Ari um
02:23	you know , shocked to hear her dog's feet and
02:26	Pepper starts asking questions about what is a dream .
02:29	So our our explains what those are through the use
02:32	of the five senses , so what do they look
02:33	like , what they smell like , what they taste
02:35	like um and so forth . Um and I thought
02:38	it was just important to write a story about dreams
02:44	and just encouraging Children to um you know , hold
02:48	onto the things that they're interested in and just to
02:51	pursue those things . So that is the main message
02:55	of all of the books in the series is to
02:58	just follow your dreams because I , you know ,
03:02	I had a late start with following mine . So
03:05	, um I just wanna encourage everyone , you know
03:07	, parents um and Children , you know , that
03:08	it's never too late , you know , just uh
03:10	you find something that you're passionate about , just go
03:12	for it . Uh That's amazing . Well , I
03:16	have to say it's never too late , but it's
03:18	even better if you can start sooner for sure .
03:21	And , you know , it's amazing thing that you
03:24	were able to translate you realizing your dream into the
03:28	actual story itself . So , I really , really
03:31	love that . Can you tell us more about this
03:33	setting of the book and just kind of the overall
03:36	purpose of this specific one ? Yes , absolutely .
03:39	So a little ari she is uh in her bedroom
03:43	getting prepared to go to , and she asked the
03:46	question , you know , she's just thinking out loud
03:48	and saying , you know , I wonder what I'll
03:50	dream tonight , What places will I go I guess
03:52	until I close my eyes , I'll never really know
03:54	. So then her what she hears a voice and
03:57	what is the dream ? Um and then she realizes
03:59	that her talking dog , she realizes her dog can
04:02	actually speak and uh she's frightened for a little bit
04:05	and then she realizes okay no peppers my friends ,
04:08	it's okay . Uh so yeah , it takes place
04:10	in her bedroom um where you know they're just having
04:13	a conversation on her bed and then there's these um
04:15	you know as she's explaining the different um I guess
04:19	you know what dreams are the different aspects , what
04:22	they look like they smell like , you know they
04:24	um there's like a let's say like you can see
04:29	her imagination , you can see all the pictures and
04:32	the um , the stars and the flowers and the
04:35	fish and what have you in her imagination . You
04:38	can see all of that in the book . So
04:39	it takes place in her bedroom , but they go
04:42	different places in her imagination . So kind of ,
04:47	well that's the beauty of imagination . You can go
04:50	anywhere you want , especially in your dreams . It
04:54	makes you want to go to bed if you can
04:56	go to fun places like that . Exactly . And
04:59	that's another goal . You know , try to help
05:01	Children uh , fall asleep peacefully , have amazing dream
05:04	. I love that my nephews could definitely use that
05:08	and getting them to sleep . Okay , so talking
05:14	just about kids becoming fluent readers in general , why
05:17	are you passionate about helping kids just , you know
05:20	, learn to read fluently ? And how important do
05:23	you think those skills are for Children's overall development ?
05:28	Well , yeah , definitely . Uh fluency is a
05:31	huge component um of reading in general . It actually
05:37	promotes comprehension because when Children are fluent readers meaning that
05:43	they're able to , you understand the word read it
05:46	quickly . Um they're able to focus more on what
05:51	the story is actually saying as opposed to trying to
05:55	focus on what the word actually means . So the
05:58	more fluent they are , um the better they are
06:01	able to comprehend the story . Um and as far
06:06	as how it relates to their development , um it's
06:10	funny you ask that question because on my social media
06:14	pages I post a lot about the benefits of reading
06:18	and there are tons of , you know , um
06:25	health benefits , it helps with stress . Um it
06:28	helps with social and emotional development . Um you know
06:33	, it helps with empathy , you know , the
06:36	more you read , um you know , the different
06:38	characters you're exposed to in the books , the more
06:40	you're able to relate to them um within the story
06:44	. So of course when you're interacting with people um
06:47	you know , in real life you're able to be
06:50	more understanding empathetic to them as well . So there
06:53	are just so many benefits to reading . So I'm
06:57	definitely a huge proponent of that . I I couldn't
07:01	agree more . I'm a very avid reader myself .
07:04	So everything you listed is very , very true .
07:09	Good . Good . What made you want to take
07:12	this story to an online medium ? Well , I
07:17	would like to reach as many readers as possible um
07:21	you know , so indefinitely with the way that things
07:24	have been in the last year or so um with
07:28	the pandemic and everyone being um more uh I guess
07:35	online , online based . Um so I think it's
07:38	important to just kind of expand that component of ,
07:46	expand that component of um what's the word I'm looking
07:50	for , darcy just expand that component of uh I'm
07:56	just kind of remote learning being online . Yes ,
08:01	thank you . I knew where you were going to
08:04	, but what happens to all of us ? Yes
08:10	. Yeah . Yeah , so you know , just
08:12	virtually and being able to connect with more people um
08:16	so not just in my local town but worldwide ,
08:19	you know , because fluency is important to to every
08:22	person , you know , um all over the world
08:24	. So the more access these Children have to ,
08:27	the different types of stories the better . Exactly .
08:31	And you made a good point that during the pandemic
08:34	we all became much more online focused and everything was
08:38	online , so you can definitely reach a broader audience
08:40	, so it makes sense why not kind of thing
08:43	? Right . Right . Right . And it's more
08:45	easily accessible to um so I think that is definitely
08:50	an important part of being able to branch out and
08:53	be able to be available online . And the Children
08:56	can do it at their own pace um and they
08:58	can do it more readily whenever they have time or
09:01	whenever the parents have time and their schedule . So
09:04	it's just it's more of a convenience thing as well
09:06	, definitely the convenience and easy access , it makes
09:09	a huge difference for people who otherwise wouldn't get a
09:12	chance to read your story . Um Right , so
09:16	what role do you think vocabulary practice specifically plays an
09:20	improving reading fluency ? And how does the student actually
09:23	practice vocabulary using luminess oral fluency program ? Can I
09:29	just say that I love the Blue Most um learning
09:31	program ? Um it is so interactive . So you
09:35	know , the Children are able to read aloud ,
09:39	there's the story and record it and hear it you
09:42	know here it plays hear what sounds like . Um
09:45	And they can do that over and over again .
09:47	They can there's also a read aloud component where they
09:50	will hear me reading the story and you know it
09:52	goes along with them highlighting the different words as I'm
09:54	reading , so they're able to recognize the word um
09:59	when they hear it . Uh But vocabulary vocabulary influencing
10:06	go hand in hand because the more words you know
10:11	the more fluent you become because you're not you're not
10:14	you don't have to um I guess hone in on
10:17	the work that you don't recognize and spend time trying
10:19	to figure out how to pronounce it and what it
10:21	means . So the more vocabulary words , you know
10:24	the easier it is for you to be fluent in
10:26	whatever it is you're trying to read . Um And
10:29	on the other hand with the fluency um you're able
10:33	to read faster which means they are in turn able
10:39	to be exposed to two extra words in the story
10:42	. So they go hand in hand definitely . That
10:45	that's so true . I mean of course the more
10:47	words you know the better you can express yourself and
10:51	you can also read faster and thank you for saying
10:54	that about Lemos . I agree as well . Of
10:56	course it isn't the Flash cube , an amazing tool
10:59	where you can you can click it , it's interactive
11:02	and see the different um you know what type of
11:04	word it is and now in a verb the definition
11:07	, hear it spoken . There's so many amazing tools
11:09	on the most . Yeah there are there are there
11:14	are you know so and also I'm excited . Yes
11:21	. No I was just gonna say the read along
11:22	program um also is available first Children . So how
11:27	does the read along specifically become Children ? Better readers
11:29	? I know you kind of covered that , but
11:31	that's what they can read out loud , right ?
11:32	They're able to do that with your story as well
11:35	. Yes . Yes , absolutely . Absolutely . So
11:37	I was thrilled you know , to be able to
11:40	offer that as a component to my book . So
11:43	not just them , you know , reading it or
11:45	having the parents reach to them or their teacher ,
11:47	but there's also um my voice that they're able to
11:51	hear and you know , they can record themselves reading
11:56	, reading the story to hear what they sound like
12:00	to make sure that they're pausing at the correct at
12:02	the correct um moments or make sure they're using the
12:05	right inflection when they read the story . And then
12:08	they compare can also compare that to my Virgin of
12:12	reading the story um which is kind of animated .
12:16	That's amazing . But I think but I think it's
12:19	fun you know ? Yeah . Thank you . I
12:22	think it's fun for the kids to have that you
12:24	know just kind of hear that excitement and you know
12:27	how the story is supposed to sound . So for
12:30	sure because you're the author so you you know how
12:32	it's supposed to sound ? Yes . Yes . Yes
12:37	. No , no problem . Yeah . Absolutely .
12:39	Absolutely . So so that is that is super cool
12:42	. That is so cool to be able to offer
12:44	that . I love that . And so obviously the
12:48	Children but who else can benefit from oral reading fluency
12:51	practice . And do you believe that it will help
12:54	emergent readers ? Oh absolutely , absolutely . Um you
12:59	know my book is um For 2nd and 3rd Grade
13:05	Reading Level um so anyone who has issues with with
13:09	fluency um or you know who needs help with understanding
13:13	um you know different site will not understand but recognizing
13:16	different sight words um are improving on the vocabulary absolutely
13:21	. You know because this program and offers so many
13:22	different components to where they're not just looking at words
13:27	on the screen . There are , they're actually hearing
13:31	the words pronounced for them and they're able to practice
13:34	by recording themselves and hearing it . Um play it
13:38	back . So this program is definitely um it's definitely
13:44	useful for anyone who's having issues or need help with
13:49	improving fluency for sure . It's that the process of
13:54	seeing something , hearing it , speaking it , writing
13:58	it and just doing all of that really helps it
14:01	get ingrained in your mind . I mean I know
14:03	from doing that trying to learn spanish as well .
14:05	So . Oh yeah , so this position repetition is
14:10	definitely what what helps things to like stick into your
14:13	into your mind so exactly and hearing it and then
14:18	hearing the way it's supposed to sound too because you
14:20	might get stuck in your mind that it's supposed to
14:23	be a certain way and then you hear your voice
14:25	saying it's a proper way . So right , yeah
14:30	, so she needed , this is the second book
14:32	in the series . Right ? So what are your
14:35	future stories ? Can you tell us a little bit
14:37	about that ? Give us any sneak peek of the
14:40	upcoming books ? Of course , of course , actually
14:43	, my third book will be available june 21st that
14:47	was going to be released . Um so that particular
14:51	book is about little Army and Pepper going into outer
14:54	space and taking a tour of the galaxy . So
14:58	that's that's a really fun book . Um I do
15:01	have , I actually wrote a total of nine books
15:03	, so um we are Starting the illustration of book
15:11	# four . so that will be released later this
15:14	year . Um so yeah , we're just gonna keep
15:17	keep things moving into law . nine books have been
15:20	published . So it's an exciting process , definitely ,
15:24	wow . What an amazing space to being right now
15:27	with the next one coming out , working on illustrations
15:30	and I'm sure I'm excited and everyone , all of
15:32	our readers will love to read about outer space and
15:36	the next one . And so I have a special
15:40	request for you . Thank you so much for being
15:42	here today . But would you mind actually reading a
15:44	page from your book for us ? Oh , not
15:48	a problem at all . It just so happens I
15:49	have it right here . So this is uh this
15:56	is what is a dream um electing many opened up
16:02	. Mhm . This couple . I need you .
16:07	Okay . All right , so hopefully you can see
16:11	that . Okay . Oh I love the illustration .
16:14	Is that what you're wearing on your shirt too ?
16:17	Yes yes it is . It's let's go dreaming .
16:21	Um logo . Oh this is little Ari . So
16:29	here we have one starry night when the sky was
16:33	super bright . Little Ari climbed into bed and turned
16:37	out the lights . Mm I wonder what I'll dream
16:45	tonight . What place is ? Well , I go
16:47	I guess until I close my eyes , I'll never
16:50	really know what is the dream ? Asked the voice
16:55	that came from down below . Ari looked at the
16:59	floor in shock . Say it isn't . So Pepper
17:11	was that you did you just speak for heaven's sake
17:15	nah you're a dog . I'm not dreaming yet .
17:18	I'm still awake . Pepper looked at Ari and tilted
17:23	her head to the right , yep , I can
17:26	talk that Pepper Given already quite a crisis . We'll
17:32	leave it there . That means we need to read
17:36	the rest if I know what happens . Yes .
17:39	Find out what happens with little Ari and Pepper .
17:43	Um Well thank you so much . I I love
17:46	the characters and everything behind the story and just the
17:50	reasoning and how you know , you realize your dream
17:53	and it's about dreams . It's so exciting and we
17:56	really appreciate you sharing that with lou most learning and
17:59	with all of our readers and you know , using
18:03	your book to help students become better readers is even
18:06	more amazing . So you know , thanks again and
18:09	we look forward to seeing the next version and all
18:13	nine coming out soon . Thank you so much ,
18:17	darcy and it was such a pleasure speaking with you
18:20	. Thank you so Anita , you as well have
18:22	a wonderful rest of the day Youtube by . Thank
18:26	you .

Summarizer

DESCRIPTION:

Help your child become a fluent reader with âWhat is a Dream?â powered by Lumos Reading Buddy. It's a childrenâs story that encourages young minds to dream and allows readers to explore the world through the eyes of Little Ari and her talking dog, Pepper authored by Shanita Allen. The Lumos Reading Buddy is an interactive oral reading fluency program that helps young readers enjoy the story and become fluent readers. The online program integrates speech processing technologies with machine learning to provide empathetic oral reading fluency support.

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Improving Oral Fluency With Story Books | Shanita Allen speaks about What is a Dream? is a free educational video by Lumos Learning.

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