Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts

Friday, September 18, 2015

Helpful reading websites

1. Raz- Kids

https://www.raz-kids.com/ 
Raz-Kids is an award-winning teaching product that provides comprehensive leveled reading resources for students. With hundreds of eBooks offered at 27 different levels of reading difficulty, it's easy to put the right content in every student's hands.
Kids access their levelled text through an interactive learning portal designed to keep them motivated and engaged. Every eBook is available in online and mobile formats, and allows students to listen to, read at their own pace, and record themselves reading. Students then take a corresponding eQuiz complete with an extended answer response to test comprehension and determine future instruction needs. Once a child has read ten or more of the leveled eBooks and passed each of the corresponding eQuizzes, they advance on to the next reading level where they have access to lengthier and more difficult text.
2. Storyline Online
Developed by The Screen Actors Guild Foundation, Storyline Online features accomplished actors and actresses reading some of their favorite children’s books.  Each story comes with a free Activity Guide and can be viewed on YouTube or SchoolTube.  Rainbow Fish, Wilfrid Gordon Macdonald Partridge, and To Be a Drum are just a few of the books available.
3. Read to Me
Similar to Storyline Online, Read to Me features popular children’s books being read by famous performers.  There are activity guides with hands-on ideas, discussion questions, and lesson plans that can easily be adapted to the Common Core State Standards.  Entirely free, the site is colorful and engaging.
We Give Books
A Pearson Foundation Initiative, We Give Books offers students a unique opportunity to read for social good.  Each book that is read results in a book that is donated to a charity for children.  While the books are not read aloud, they allow students to practice “Read to Self” with a good fit book during center time.  There are books for children in preschool through fourth grade.

TumbleBooks
TumbleBooks is a pay-for-use site that traditionally sells licenses to libraries and schools.  Many public libraries, such as the Tell City, IN Public Library, offer free access to their TumbleBooks account.  Students can follow along as the text is read them to help improve comprehension and fluency.  Choose from picture books to chapter books. Portland Public Library also has free access to TumbleBookCloud which gives access to Middle and High School level books.  If your school decides to purchase a school license, there is also access to the Common Core Portal that includes lessons and quizzes to accompany the books.
ABCya!
Children can listen to short stories read aloud to them as they follow along with the highlighted text.  ABCya! has a variety of educational games in addition to the featured stories.  Free resources and materials are available for grades K through 5.

National Geographic Young Explorers
National Geographic Young Explorers is a magazine designed specifically for kindergarten and first grade students.  Children can listen to the magazine being read to them as they follow along with the highlighted text.  It is a great way to bring interesting non-fiction stories into reading center time.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Reminder: Signing Agenda+ Reading log & Reading questions

I would like to kindly remind you to sign the Agenda and the Reading log everyday. I asked students to read at least 20 minutes everyday and record what they read in their Reading log (a green duo tang). 



It is very important for students to learn to ask questions before, during, and after reading.  Questioning provides a purpose for reading and keeps the reader engaged in the text.  Questions can be answered in many different ways: in the text, by prior knowledge, by inferences, and through further research.  At home, you can ask questions to ensure your child understands what he/she is reading:

Before Reading:

-       What do you think is going to happen?
-       What is the story about?
-       Who is telling the story?


During Reading:

-       What would you do?
-       How does the character feel?
-       I wonder why…?

After Reading:

-       What was the main idea?
-       Do you know someone like…?
-       What would have happened if?