Audio ideas

[tiffany]

High School Bible Reading Suggestion

I read in the Teacher/Student Manual a recommendation for listening to an audio version of the bible while following along in the bible. I think this will be a great idea for my daughter. She has enjoyed listening to Story of the World and her Apologia text. It would give her a break from having to do all that reading in the high school program herself.

The manual recommended a dramatized version that would retail for around $100. I got online and found it at CBD for around $60 for cd's and about $35 for an mp3 version. Just thought I would let you all know, in case the $100 price tag was a bit high for your budget. It is the Zondervan Niv dramatized version.

Haven't decided on a format yet. Leaning towards the cheaper one.

Postby tiffany » Mon Apr 13, 2009 6:18 am
I did go ahead and order the mp3 version and a new cd player for my daughter's room that plays mp3's. She needed a better radio anyway and for the cost difference between the two bible formats, I was able to pick up a new one for her without spending much extra. She has a mini mp3 player, but I didn't know if she would always want to use headphones.

[LA in Baltimore]

I checked with my husband and we already have the NIV on CD, so that is one thing off my curriculum list!

I like the idea of them playing it on something other than headphones.
My younger ones will probably benefit from it at times then, too!

[tiffany]

I'd like to have the bible on cd but just didn't have the $$ to make it happen.

Teresa,
Just to let you know, we ordered our NIV bible on cd through christian book distributors online. I think the price for the bible on MP3's was under $40 if I remember correctly. Now of course you have to have an MP3 player or a boombox that will play MP3's. They sell the regular CD's too, but there are more discs so it does cost a bit more, but not as much as mentioned in the AHL manual.

[cbollin]

I'd like to add another suggestion:
http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/amba ... e-download

[hsmom3]

Postby hsmom3 » Tue Aug 17, 2010 12:55 pm
We're in week 6 of AHL and my son started The Cat of Bubastes this week. He's not a big reader so I thought I'd read the first two chapters with him to get him interested. The chapters were long! I knew he'd get bogged down with reading long chapters so I went online & found the audio for free. I thought I'd post the site in case anyone else may be interested. My son sits down with the book and reads along. He's an auditory learner and it helps him to listen as he reads.

http://librivox.org/the-cat-of-bubastes-by-g-a-henty/

Blessings,
Susan

[Teresa in TX]

If someone in your family has an ipod touch or an iphone, dd found an audio Bible for free. She likes to listen while she reads. I wish we had had this last year while doing the Old Testament. She's using it now with the New Testament. I just thought I'd throw that out there as an ap you might want to download.

We will be getting an iPod Touch very soon. Where did she find this app? My dd is reading the Old Testament this year with AHL. Thanks!

She said it is Spokenword audiobible and there is Old Testament as well. There are some that you can purchase for like $2 and some that are free. With the amount of reading in AHL because of the Old Testament, we sure could have used this last year!!

[Teresa in TX]

IPod

I have two more uses, other than the audioBible, that we have discovered.

I noted on here before that dd has had a difficult time with reading comprehension at times, particularly with these classics. Well, she found an ap that is the sound of ocean waves. She has been plugging that in her ears while she reads Julius Caesar this week. She was able to tell me all about what is going on in the book. For whatever reason, that white-type noise helps her learn.

The second thing she discovered is that as she's working on the SAT prep stuff, she can use the dictionary ap and search a word in her book as it pops up then add it to a card for her vocabulary card stack. I realize opening a dictionary and looking up is a good thing to do, but she finds this so easy that it doesn't bother her so much to search the word out and add it to her stack.

So if you have one and have a high schooler, particularly, those are two more good uses for the thing.

Postby Teresa in TX » Thu Aug 19, 2010 8:24 pm
Too funny!! That print did come out smaller than I meant it too. It was supposed to be indicative of a whisper.

I was just trying to note that the real reading comprehension issues come in when she's reading the classics.

[Julie in MN]

Teresa,
Great idea to share these resources. I've been getting ready for AHL and listening to some audio Bible versions, too. I'll share what I found. Note that I'm not good at learning by listening, so I usually have my Bible open, too. But my son definitely learns better by listening than by reading, so that's why I'm spending the time.


(1) Librivox is an organization that sets up free recordings of non-copyrighted books. You can listen online at Librivox.org, and many of them are on the freebie audiobook apps for ipods. I haven't found an NIV version for free, so I assume it is copyrighted. But I did listen to:

(a) KJV read by a guy who reads carefully and has a slight English accent.
(b) American Standard Version read by your average guy.
(c) You can listen to the Bible read in Hebrew and other languages.
(d) YouTube also has the Librivox recording of Hebrews and "Odes of Solomon," so you can watch the words while you listen to this Librivox sample. It's the same narrator on the Librivox ASV audio and the Librivox YouTube. I haven't found any other straight readings of books of the Bible on YouTube, but I could be missing them since I find them fairly hard to search for.



(2) Bible Gateway lets you look up any Bible passage in any version, and when you get to the chapter you can click on the little audio speaker symbol to listen to it in audio. I tried a couple of these. They were my least favorite but were free and handy, with the words on screen too.
(a) The NIV version has one narrator who sounds like a theater actor.
(b) The KJV version is a tiny bit muffled like it was an old recording, but again has one loud, theatrical-type voice narrating. Different narrator than NIV.



(3) The NIV dramatized audiobook mentioned by Marie in the AHL guide is well done. The narrator reminds me of the Focus on the Family introducer, who sounds very nice. He is very clear and enunciates perfectly. Plus there are actors who read any direct quotes, such as a child or someone sounding like a very old man, when appropriate. I couldn't find this at my library or online. These are about $50 on CD at places like ChristianBook, but cheaper on MP-3 CDs. Note that each NIV CD or MP-3 version may have a different narrator. I listened to the "NIV Dramatized Audiobook" with the long zippered case and picture of a boy lying on the grass.



(4) My library has the "Bible Experience" version on CD, so we could listen for free. I find it hard to locate audio Bibles at my library online, but this one has an easier name to find. It's the TNIV version, or "Today's NIV," which is mostly identical to the NIV. This audiobook has a narrator plus there are characters who read direct quotes, including those who sound young & old. However, all of the actors here are African-American and many are actually well-known actors. It's not marketed as just for African-Americans to listen to, though. It might be good for kids who like more exciting recordings. There are some sound effects and music to go along with what is happening, although it's still just a basic reading of the whole Bible. The voices have more energy and range than most narrators. They don't always enunciate as clearly as the NIV version narrators, which can be a drawback, but it probably is more like regular people talking in that way.

[cbollin]

Back on this thread, Susan (hsmom3) gave the link to the free librivox public domain recording of Cat of Bubastes
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=7483&p=64324#p64324

I wanted to add on ....

Here's the link to Bulfinch Age of Fable audio.
http://www.archive.org/details/bulfinch ... _librivox1
Really nice to hear how the names are pronounced and adds in that feel of being "back then" when stories were told. glad to have both the print copy and audio.

and here is at least the first few lines from chapter 1 of Iliad (Fagles translation). It might help to "get into it". This reader is good. go Derek the Bard... finish the book for us! please! you rock dude!
http://www.archive.org/details/TheIliadBook1Lines1-221

and here's more.... as read by famous actor Derek Jacobi reading the condensed part.
http://www.archive.org/details/HomersIliadfagles

and this seems to be the Fagles translation of Odyssey as read by Ian McKellen (ok, this is good.... I might be able to follow along with my high schooler in this book now)
http://www.archive.org/details/HomersOdyssey
note: the Odyssey is the whole book, but the section numbers don't have anything to do with chapters or lines or such. But, go in number order according to part X of Z. that will make sense when you follow the link. it is the Penguin audio in public domain yes!

-crystal

[cbollin]

In week 11, WHL, there's the note to read some of the text aloud. Well, I don't know how that's going to pan out over here. But I found this reading by the translator of the text used in WHL with selected parts

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english ... /audio.htm

Maybe that would help someone.

[Julie in MN]

So, apparently I bought the wrong version for the Iliad, ( missing book 5 and 7 and part of 8 and so - on, doesnt go along with book etc) has anyone had experience with buying an audio version that goes along with the curriculum? ( AHL)

thx!
Sue

It sounds like, Sue, you have the correct version of the Iliad. I believe the AHL teacher manual mentions that the only audio available of the Fagles translation of the Iliad is an abridged version (as far as I know). But it isn't the kind of abridgement where words are actually changed. It's just, as you said, that portions are left out.

What we did to match them up:
1. Use the booklet inside the CDs to see exactly what books are being read (I believe it even gives the exact lines)
2. Recognize the two different narrators - one is reading directly from the Fagles translation, and the other one comes in occasionally when a portion has been left out, and gives a brief summary of the missing piece.
3. If you want to get in the whole Iliad, then you can stop at those points, get out your book, and read those parts manually

We found that the portions left out made sense, as they were either minor events or lengthy descriptions of battles. At least one lengthy battle chapter was left in, and that was a good representation for my son.

Since the AHL assignments for the Iliad are much more flexible than those of the Odyssey, using the abridged audio wasn't difficult for us. In fact, there's even a note in the AHL manual that the Iliad can be somewhat optional. However, we actually spent a lot of time on the Iliad at our house (adding in Teaching Company Lectures etc) and still the "abridged" audio worked fine for us.

HTH,
Julie

[LSH in MS]

When the AHL manual says that the Audio of Fagles Iliad is condensed, how condensed is it? Would it be okay to just use the audio along with the book and just skip the parts that the audio skips? What exactly is taken out? Thanks!

My son says a lot of it is left out but that the story is understandable because they briefly describe what happens in the books that are skipped. He likes the cds but just reads the book for the ones that are skipped. I think you could do it either way.

[4littlehearts]

Thanks Lori! Actually I was really nervous about both of the Homer books when I first looked at them. Last night, however, I stayed up into the night, reading the AHL lesson plan book where it lays out who the characters are and some of the background and then I picked up the Iliad book and it did not seem so bad to me. I actually sat there and started to read 1/2 way through the first chapter. I was amazed at how much the notes helped. The first time I picked up the book a couple of nights ago, I thought, if I have no idea what is going on in the book, how can I expect my daughter to "get it." (In high school our teacher required us to read certain classics on our own, but we she gave us choices on what we could read. I always defaulted to the easiest ones. While some of my friends would read LONG books (or at least at that time, I thought they were long) like Wuthering Heights or Pride and Prejudice, or Les Miserables, I would stick to the easier choices like Silas Marner, Johnny Tremain, or Little Women. That's just a little background on me so you can see why the Iliad was overwhelming the first time I saw it.)

My dd can read fine but because of her OCD tendencies I think the Audio would work better for her, or else the reading would take her forever. I saw that Audible has the Iliad by Jacobi. You can get a free trial membership and download the book and then you can cancel the membership, the website said, and still keep your first free downloaded book. I think we will do that for the Iliad. I'd love to keep the membership but it is 14.95 a month and right now we cannot afford it. I also found a university website that gives an overview of who all of the characters are in each chapter(book) of the Iliad. That was helpful in understanding who some of the characters were that the MFW lesson plans did not allude to, like the names of Achille's father and mother. I am very encouraged now. I think I may even have my dd watch the movie Troy (I think that is what it is called, the one with Brad Pitt as Achilles. I will have to skip through inappropriate scenes and use our tv guardian for it. The events in that movie (although, I'm sure it is not even close to the original Iliad) helped me in understanding a little what the book was about. Actually when I read it, I pictured the actors in that movie who played those specific characters.

I have a friend who has the audio of the Cat of Bubastes. She said I could borrow that one from her. We will do that as well.

Thanks so much for all of your help. I am not sure if I will make my dd read the parts left out by the audio of the Iliad. We'll see when the time comes. Thanks again!

[Julie in MN]

Glad you've figured it out for now. Just remember that
(1) the parts on the CDs are actual sections of the Iliad, word-for-word, not "retold" types of abridgements, and
(2) the skipped parts are summarized by a *different* narrator, so you can clearly tell what parts are left out, plus
(3) the little booklet in the CD set will tell you the exact lines that are read/left out - that booklet was essential for us, our CDs weren't marked so we needed the booklet.

Wanted to make sure you knew that the woman narrator is summarizing the skipped segments.

And also, a couple of the things in the booklet were a little off on our CDs. Not a big deal, but don't spend any time trying to figure it out if this happens.


In case it helps, I still have my son's schedule here on my computer from last year. It looks like about half of the original is included, not sure? Note that my son is NOT a reader and needs more prodding than some

- Iliad books 1, 2, 3
- Sparknotes on books 4-5, or parts of the analysis anyways
(Note: a short book 4 is supposed to be on my CD for lines 489-630 but I couldn't find it?),
and of course the MFW guide notes!
- Iliad book 6
- Sparknotes on book 7
- Iliad book 8 (this is short, female voice summarizes and male voice reads the indicated lines from the text)
- Iliad book 9
- Sparknotes on book 10
- Iliad book 11
- Sparknotes on books 12-13
- Iliad book 14
- Sparknotes on book 15 (start writing responses to these chapters even though you didn't read them, to follow the story along)
- Iliad book 16 (over 2 days, and stop partway thru these long chapters to recap events & write or take notes - use Sparknotes to help if needed)
- Sparknotes on chapter 17
- Iliad book 18 (NOTE: since my son really objected to the endless description of the shield in book 18, I read/summarized the Sparknotes section on "Analysis: Books 17-18" which made several good points about how this shield description fits into the total narrative)
- Iliad book 19
- Iliad book 20 (the CD is just an intro/overview and the last paragraph of the book, so also read Sparknotes)
- Iliad book 21 (the CD is the first half of the book, then read MFW comments on book 21, then read the paragraph that follows the CD (lines 436-445, Zeus laughed), then read Sparknotes on the 2nd half of book 21, discuss all)
- Iliad book 22 (CD begins with a summary of the second half of book 21, a review; now that we're reaching the pinnacle of the book, write at least a few words on each section I've penciled in)
- Iliad books 23-24

Anyways, we ended up focusing less on the missing chapters that I had planned, since really the parts that are left out tend to be parts about extraneous characters and events that aren't central to the story, or yet another battle scene which can be summarized pretty easily as being just like the last one But we did use Sparknotes to notice some themes and such, such as the part on the shield I mentioned above (which had been really irritating my son!). The abridgement also gave us time to listen to The Teaching Company lectures on the Iliad. Not necessary at all, but we liked them.

Julie