Super Why!

 

What it is: Super Why is a great new website created by PBS. Super Why is perfect for kindergarten through first grade and for remedial readers. The site focuses on helping kids gain important foundational reading skills such as alphabet, word families, spelling, comprehension, and vocabulary. The Super Why team is a group of super hero’s made up of four cartoon characters who solve problems with their reading skills, this is based on the Super Why TV show on PBS. Although the site is intended to be used in conjunction with the Super Why TV show, it is valuable as an independent reading skill tool as well. The site, games, and activities are fun and will hold the attention of your students while teaching them important basic reading skills that are needed as the foundation of literacy.

How to integrate Super Why into your curriculum: Super Why is one of those websites that is very flexible in its uses and applications. The Super Why site can be used as a center in the 1 or 2 computer classroom, independently in the computer lab setting, and as a whole class with a projector. (This is also a fun one for interactive white boards!) The online games can be played as part of your regular reading curriculum or you can print out ready made lesson plans that use the site. The lesson plans are very through and fun.

Tips: Check out the teacher section of the Super Why site for printable lesson plans, worksheets, and a great list of resources both web based and books.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Super Why in your classroom.

Get Ready to Read!

What it is: Get Ready to Read is a site that supports early childhood literacy. I don’t know how I have missed this one in the past! It is an excellent resource for teachers. If you teach pre-k through first grade or are a remedial reading teacher, make sure to take a look at all this site has to offer. The program is designed to help early education professionals to equip children with the basic skills necessary for learning to read. The site offers tools for screening children for pre-reading skills and provides skill strengthening activities both on and offline to ensure reading success.

How to integrate Get Ready to Read into the classroom: Use the Get Ready to Read Program to screen your students for reading skills. Use this assessment to guide your reading program and help individualize instruction based on your students needs. Print out and use the 36 offline activity cards with your students. These can be used as reading centers, for individual learning, or for whole class instruction. Set up your classroom computers with the Get Ready to Read online activities. These interactive stories about Inky and Gus’ underwater adventures can be used with a projector for whole class participation, in centers, or on individual computers in a lab setting.

Tips: This site is a completely free resource for teachers and parents, be sure to involve parents in early literacy activities. Print out the parent brochure for additional information on the Get Ready to Read program for parents.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Get Ready to Read in your classroom.

Roy the Zebra

What it is: Roy the Zebra is a site for emerging readers complete with interactive stories, games, and lesson plans. The site can be used with interactive white boards or on computers. Emerging reader skills include capital letters, full stops, words that rhyme, high frequency words, alphabetical order, question marks, singular or plural, long vowel phonemes, words within words, and consonants. The Roy the Zebra story collection is online and includes literacy worksheets, before reading discussion sheets, and after reading discussion sheets.

How to integrate Roy the Zebra into the classroom: Roy the Zebra is an excellent literacy website. Use daily with your emerging and struggling readers to enhance your literacy time. Set up Roy the Zebra as a center during literacy time in the one computer classroom. Because of the sites interactivity, it is also an ideal site to use with an interactive white board. If you have access to a computer lab your students can practice the skills learned for the day all together.

Tips: There are advertisements on the site but be assured that all activities, books, lessons, and games are completely free to use. Roy the Zebra does accept donations.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Roy the Zebra in your classroom.