Tag: read along

Scholastic’s Listen and Read: Free non-fiction ebooks for primary students

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What it is:  Scholastic is constantly sneaking new great resources for the classroom onto their site.  The other day I learned about one that I haven’t seen before from @rmbyrne on his great blog Free Tech for Teachers.  Listen and Read has fantastic online reading activities for early learners.  There are 54 nonfiction read-along books that include words, images and sound.  You can sort books by subject including: Community, American History, Animals, Civics and Government, Environmental Studies, Plants and Flowers, Science and Social Studies.  You can also sort books by level (A or B).

How to integrate Listen and Read into your curriculum: Non-fiction can be hard to read in the early years.  It often includes unfamiliar words and vocabulary and concepts that students don’t have a lot of prior knowledge of.  Scholastic’s Listen and Read is fantastic because it helps students navigate their way through non-fiction with the support of a read-aloud, sounds and images.  These interactive books help students better comprehend content because they aren’t focused on the words they are stumbling through.  At the end of the book students can click on the unfamiliar new vocabulary to hear the word said again.  This follow-up exposure reinforces word recognition, vocabulary and ideas.

Scholastic Listen and Read can be set up on classroom computers as a reading center.  Students can read and listen independently with headphones.  After reading through the story, students can discuss with a partner (or as a whole class) what they remember about each of the “sound it out” words from the story.

If you don’t have the ability for students to read these non-fiction books independently, use a projector connected computer or interactive whiteboard to read as a whole class.

Tips: Some of the titles are offered in both A and B level.  This is great for a little differentiation within the classroom (while gaining the same concepts).

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Scholastic’s Listen and Read in your classroom!

We Give Books: Read digital picture books online for free

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What it is: We Give Books is a fantastic initiative from Pearson.  Here, you will find award winning digital picture books for students through age ten.   There is a mix of fiction and non-fiction, a variety of authors, and a balance of read-aloud books and independent readers.  New books are added every month along with special, seasonal books.  Now any student with internet access also has access to high-quality picture books!  Even better? The more books you read, the more books that are made available for everyone.  Choose a book to read, choose a literacy partner campaign to support through your reading, and the more that you read, the more books that are shared with those that need them.  Way cool! The site reminds me of Lookybook (which is sadly no more).  I’m happy to *finally* see another option!
How to integrate We Give Books into the classroom: We Give Books instantly increases your classroom library and puts high-quality books within reach for children everywhere.  We Give Books makes an excellent companion to the interactive whiteboard or projector-connected classroom computer for a class read along.  Pull up a story and read the book chorally, ask students to take turns reading, or simply follow along.  Everyone can see the pictures and words!  This is a great resource for practicing reading strategies together as a class.
We Give Books makes a wonderful reading station on classroom computers.  Students can access wonderful stories any time through We Give Books.  For those students that struggle with indpendent reading (or are emergent readers) there is a read-along option on some of the stories.  Students can follow along with the reading building fluency, flow and vocabulary.
If you are a primary or elementary teacher, this is a must-add link to your classroom website or blog.  Be sure to share the site with families so that students can access the same wonderful library of books from home.  Students (and teachers) can create their own library where they keep the books they have read (or enjoy reading).  To add a book to a library, you must be a member of We Give Books- no problem, it is quick and free to become a member!
Tips:  Students can use the word cloud on the right side of the We Give Books page to find books about their favorite subjects.  Thank you to @Shannonmmiller for pinning We Give Books on Pinterest, it is a great find!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using We Give Books in  your classroom!

Gullah Net

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What it is:  Gullah Net is a site that was designed to introduce students to the Gullah culture and language.”Located on the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia are communities of people who are the descendants of enslaved Africans. They have a unique culture that is directly linked to West Africa. In South Carolina, this group of African-Americans and the language they speak are referred to as Gullah (Gul-luh). In Georgia, they are called Geechee (Gee-chee). Native Islanders is another term that refers to the Gullah and Geechee people.  Many historians believe that the word “Gullah” comes from Angola, a West African country from which many of the slaves came. Another idea is that “Gullah” is from the Gola, a tribe found near the border of Liberia and Sierra Leone, West Africa. Although the exact origin of the word is not known, most historians agree that the Gullah people and their language have African roots.”

In addition to a history of Gullah, students can listen to and read along folktale stories read by Auntie Pearlie Sue.  These are fun little stories with a great message. Gullah music introduces students to the evolution of African music in America.  The site is set to have a Gullah cooking section soon.

How to integrate Gullah Net into the classroom:  Gullah Net is an excellent place for students to learn about other cultures within the United States.  The read along folktales are excellent and would be a good place for students to practice reading skills.  Gullah music would be a nice tie in for Black History month (in fact the entire site would be great for this).  Gullah Net has some great teacher resources and lessons to use in your classroom.  My favorite section on Gullah Net is Gullah Tales, these are colorful, fun stories that will keep your students engaged in reading!

 

Tips:  Gullah Net has field trip resources for those of you in South Carolina.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Gullah Net in your classroom.

Speakaboos

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What it is:  Some websites are so impressive that I immediately spam all teachers in my address book with them.  Speakaboos is one of these sites for me.  I learned about the site from the Free Technology for Teachers blog (I highly recommend it for middle and high school teachers).  Speakaboos is a collection of online children stories read by celebrities (although this is not what impresses me).  Each story is read aloud with flash illustrations and the words on each page for read-along.  The stories are captivating and include popular titles like Arthur and Curious George.  This highly engaging website has some other features that make this one of my favorite website finds of the year.  When you sign up for a free membership, Speakaboos offers a free story download.  The download is a swf (flash) file but can be converted with a site like Zamzar to make it iPod ready (aka mobile learning!).  They plan to add more free downloads throughout the year.  Parents can also purchase individual stories iTunes style for $0.99.  Speakaboos  has a feature coming for parents, students, grandparents, teachers, etc. to record their own stories!  Speakaboos offers several activities for students including a diary to write in, a place to create their own story, games, ecards, and printable coloring pages from their favorite stories.  Speakaboos is in beta version right now so some of the above features are not yet  active.  

 

How to integrate Speakaboos into the classroom:   Speakaboos stories and activities are a fun and engaging way to develop students reading, writing, and speaking abilities while learning basic computer skills.  The Record your own Story feature is a wonderful way for students to practice fluency, it is also a great feature for struggling readers who can listen for mistakes that they make during reading.  Older students could make recordings for their younger reading buddies to enjoy.  The ability to download select stories for free is amazing for an iPod reading lab.  Speakaboos is a great reading or writing center for students to visit in the one or two computer classroom.  It would also make a nice whole class read along using a projector.  Speakaboos offers free story guides for teachers to help lead discussions on each story.  The guides come complete with themes to help reinforce the story message and offer questions to check general comprehension, discussion, and personal extension.  There are also printables that you can use with your class in conjunction with the Speakaboos site.

 

Tips:   Membership on Speakaboos is free and provides access to the free downloads.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Speakaboos in your classroom.

Mrs. P’s Magic Library

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What it is: I heard about this wonderful website from Larry Ferlazzo on his blog last week and have been exploring it ever since.  Mrs. P’s Magic Library is a free website for kids that celebrates reading and books.  Mrs. P is the librarian at the Magic Library, she brings story time to life with video stories and read-alongs.  Her library also features fun animated games and lots of crazy characters that students will love.   When students enter this virtual library they will have access to Mrs. P reading them a story, fun interactive games, and videos (lots more to explore!!).  The whole idea behind the library is to introduce students to great literature read to them in classic story-time style (not just listening to an audio book).  This virtual library is about as close as you can get to the real thing!  Your students will love Mrs. P.

 

How to integrate Mrs. P’s Magic Library into the classroom:    Mrs. P’s Magic Library is an outstanding addition to any classroom.  Use Mrs. P.com as a place to begin silent reading one day a week.  Use a projector and speakers so that Mrs. P can read to your class before they begin their silent reading time.  Mrs. P’s excellent storytelling abilities will have even your reluctant readers eager to read.  Tell parents about Mrs. P so that students can enjoy the virtual library from school or home.  Mrs. P’s Magic Library makes a great reading/ listening center and the options to read along or listen make it ideal for any students ability level.

 

Tips:   Mrs. P’s Magic Library requires high speed Internet access because of all the video and interactive games on the site.  This one may eat up some serious bandwidth in a computer lab setting!

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Mrs. P’s Magic Library in your classroom.