With these funds I will...purchase a one year subscription for the premium services of Listen Current, an NPR educational resource for content area teachers.  Premium services on Listen Current will enable the students in our entire middle school to listen to high interest current event news stories as well as fascinating stories about the humanities.  Then they will have the opportunity to respond to the important ideas and themes in these stories in a private online classroom setting hosted at Listen Current's site.  Students' listening, writing, and technological skills will be fostered through this blended learning (web-enhanced) experience. 

The wonderful staff at Listen Current explains, "Listen Current makes it easy to bring current events, authentic voices and engaging non-fiction stories to the classroom. Listen Current curates the best of public radio to keep teaching connected to the real world and build student listening skills at the same time."

Several classrooms in our school have been enjoying the benefits of a trial premium membership of Listen Current for half of the 2014-2015 school year.  Teachers and students alike have enjoyed the format of listening to an interesting, NPR-produced story where we can clearly visualize the ideas on account of hearing the authentic sounds and voices, and then engaging in lively discussions generated by the thoughtful questions designed by Listen Current to go along with the story.  Through this unique opportunity this year, Listen Current exposed my students to what made Maya Angelou so special in advance of reading the poem "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings."  On another occasion, it made them formulate their own strong opinions about controversial topics such as kids needing chemotherapy and the New England Patriots' "Deflate-Gate" in preparation for argumentative writing.  Words and ideas were flying around the classroom on the days we tuned into Listen Current.

In advance of the 2015-2016 school year, Listen Current has offered us a year-long premium membership for the cost of $750 (around $2.00 per student for 1,500 students).  Unfortunately, the extremely tight budget for education in our school district doesn't afford us the funds to purchase a school-wide subscription to Listen Current through our education department.  We would be most appreciative of funding for this service because our students would benefit from this educational resource as it directly links and develops 21st century skills that our students need to prepare them for their future as contributing members of society.

For further information on Listen Current and the amazing educational resources it has to offer, please visit their website: www.listencurrent.com

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