Fluency Phones With No Prep

I love whisper phones.  They help students hear their voice amplified in their own ear.  They can help students focus in on certain sounds.  They can help with reading fluency, because the student can hear the sound and cadence of their voice in their ear.  I also love using them to work on expression.  Students are really able to hear the differences between questions, statements, and exclamations.

I know that it is super easy to make your own whisper phones, but I am a little lazy about some things.  I wanted one that I could buy and use.  I previously wrote about how I love the hardware store and p traps in particular.  You can see that post here.

There are two types of p traps that I use.  I use the one with a removable drain spout for addition and one without for whisper phones. 

 Here are the two p traps that I use.  A small one for the kids and the "big momma" for me!  There may be different sizes than these two, but these were the ones that worked best for me. 

For a long time, I just used plain white whisper phones.  Then I decided to "glam it up".  I spray painted the phones silver.  (That's my favorite.)  You can have the students decorate with stickers, but they tend to peel after a few weeks.  I like the simple spray paint option.  Here's my silver ones:

Here I am on my "teacher sized" whisper phone.

Here is the student sized phone in action.

Before actually using the whisper phones, I always have the kids explore them first.  It tends to be wild and crazy, because they are just too much fun.  You may hear a lot of burps and strange noises, because what kid can resist hearing those marvelous sounds amplified in their ears.

 

Even though sometimes things get a little wild and crazy with these phones, I think that they are worth it.  They allow students to really focus in on the sound of their voice.  I found that it helped students with attention difficulties to focus in on the particular task.  I have even used them in small groups to play games.  I ask questions and the students' have to answer into the phone.  Sometimes, it helps to keep them more engaged.

 

Here is a quick preview of what I am up to in the coming week.  My daughter is in love with sharks, so we have decided to make this "Shark Month"!  Here is a quick peek at our first shark creation:  "Maximus" the blue shark.  Stay tuned for more!