sound phones for reading

M's classroom has these and I'm making one each for the kids at home. They're called phonics phones, sound phones or reading phones. I love the idea and the theory behind them. A class set of them would be fantastic- does anyone now a plumber?!

More information found here  http://www.righttrackreading.com/phonicsphones.html

A phonics phone is a simple tube shaped like a ‘telephone’ receiver, often made from plastic PVC pipe. There are several different versions of these phones, however most are simple hollow tubes that allow the student to speak quietly in one end and hear their own voice through the other.  Students use the ‘phone’ to listen to their own voice as the practice reading. This device allows students to better ‘hear’ themselves when they speak quietly.

The phones are an ideal tool for phonemic awareness activities ( learning the 'sounds' of letters). The tube design funnels sound directly to the ear and tends to block out other background noise. Not only do the phones likely boost physical hearing they also directly focus the child on listening to and hearing sounds. When a child holds a phone, they intentionally listen to the sound coming out the earpiece. This direct focus on sound is vital to developing necessary phonemic awareness, the ability to hear, recognize and distinguish the sound structure of our language.

How to make one:

here's some more information about how to supprt you child as they learn to read:
http://missionforhealth.com.au/helping-your-child-as-they-learn-to-read