Starfall

Shawlon Abuan

ED638 Fall Intersession 2017

Dr. M. Rivera

IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website #2

Starfall (http://more.starfall.com), is a free website filled with colorful and fun tools used to help young children in Pre-K to Kinder learn to read. However, to access all the resources on the site one must purchase through Credit Card, Debit Card, or PayPal. The purchased site is only offered in the United States and Canadian schools/parents. The free site, has a simple design that makes it easy to navigate between the different tools. The website offers a variety of games, downloadable workbooks/sheets, picture cards, and many other resources for parents and educators. Starfall offers 4 levels; 1)ABCs, 2) Learn to Read, 3)It’s Fun to Read, and 4) I’m Reading.

The “ABCs” level introduces all 26 letters and sounds individually. The user has the option to choose any letter, which takes them through the UPPERCASE and lowercase, using the letter in a word, and reinforcing the letter sound. The site gives clear pictures that show objects that associate to the letter sound. It also gives large arrows for the user to follow. One unique feature on this site, it offers introduction of learning how to sign letters in American Sign Language (ASL).

The “Learn to Read” level has 15 games, books, and skills. This level focuses on beginning sounds, ending sounds, sight words, long and short vowels. Each game and book reinforce letter recognition and letter sounds.  After playing the game, the site will give the option of printing the game score. When reading a book, the user is able to click on each word and the site will read the word out loud. At the end of each book, the site will ask for a rating; good, bad, or in the middle. When finished with all 15 games, books, and skills, the site will direct you to the next level.

The “It’s Fun to Read” level, this level offers seven topics where the user views simple 3-5 word sentences to fill in the blank. After completing the sentence, the site will read each sentence aloud. When completed, the user is ready for the final level, “I’m Reading!”. This level has six topics that offer a few books for the child to read; Three Little Plays, Fiction and Nonfiction, Comics, Folk Tales, Greek Myths, and Chinese Fables. Each book contain simple sentences accompanied with the option for the site to read aloud to the child.

            Educators can explore this site when needing a supplemental resource to reinforce letter recognition and letter sounds. The site is easy to navigate and each level offers the option to read the content aloud to the student. By pairing picture and words, students have a better understanding of their alphabets and associating it with pictures, they are familiar with.  This site offers many benefits that are user friendly and accommodating.            

Starfall is a great literacy website because of the fun and interesting content geared toward student engagement. The simplicity of the website is user friendly and is structured to help students progress from one skill to the next. If purchasing the licenses, the site offers much more for educators and parents to help their young children thrive.

Epic!

Christina Sablan Toves
ED638 Intercession 2017
Dr. M. Rivera
IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website #2 

    Epic (www.getepic.com) is a virtual library where students can explore an abundance of books, from literature to expository texts. Geared towards children 12 and under, the website provides children the opportunity to have a resource hub for books in almost all the subjects you can possibly think of.
    In January of 2013, Epic began with a few friends realizing that kids spend a vast amount of their time on their tablets or computers, and much of that time is not spent on reading. They saw how easily accessible games could be for children on these devices and decided it was time to make reading just as convenient! Suren Marksman and Kevin Donahue, the founders of Epic, have opened a door of opportunity to many students who may not have access to books as well as teachers who need an abundance of resources when teaching children to read or integrating literacy into all the other subject areas. The website now holds 25,000 digital books, including read-to-me, audio books, and videos.
    One thing that makes Epic so great is it is completely free for elementary school teachers and librarians. To sign up, all you need is your school email address and you automatically get your free membership! There are many different ways teachers can utilize Epic in the classroom, from whole group reading to individualized profiles for each student. Teachers can assign students books into their profiles and can create tests at the end of each book they read. The books assigned can be based on the skill the teacher is currently working on, a student’s interests, or reading level. Epic also provides lexiles to help teachers as they search for books that will fit the level they are teaching or for individual students. Classroom codes can also be given to students to ensure that your account is being used by your students only.
    The website is easy to navigate and the colorful front makes it appealing to young children. The read to me option is great for beginning or struggling readers. Individualizing lessons for students has never been easier. Teachers can assign books to students, view their activity on the site, assign tests and assignments, and view the results. Teachers may also create tests for any book they choose on the website, or may use the ready made quizzes on the books that provide them.
    Epic is offered on both mobile devices and computers. It is a great resource to use during centers in the classroom because students will need little to no assistance when navigating the site. Teachers can also project books on their projectors to read to students or do whole class reading.
    One of the cons of the Epic education website is students are only allowed to access the books in the classroom or library. The free membership enables school setting access only. However, parents do have the option to buy a subscription and pay a $7.99 month fee.
    Overall, the website is an awesome resource for educators and students. Epic can give you access to stories you may never have had access to before. The creators kept their audience of young readers in mind when creating the website, making it fun and appealing for all ages to explore.

TeacherTube

Erika Lorenzo

ED638 Fall Intercession 2017

Dr. Rivera

IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website # 2

TeacherTube (http://www.teachertube.com) is a “Content Management Community” platform for teachers and all users to engage, organize and learn through educational media. Users can upload educational videos, audios, documents and photos and users can also search for content material by subject or standards. Users can also create classroom courses, lessons, and quizzes using material found on the website. TeacherTube is free for all users, but to upload content, videos, or comments users must be registered and registration is free. The site is divided into sections on the homepage, the sections include; videos, docs, audios, photos, groups, classrooms and collections which make it easier for users to find the type of material they want to use. Users are able to share materials through social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and email).

TeacherTube is a great literacy resource for teachers who want to use educational online material like videos, audios, photos, documents to enhance learning in the classroom. Though some might feel overwhelmed with all the material available, using the site search option will make locating the material of a user’s interest easier. The site definitely provides relevant material for all subjects and it also provides material aligned with state and common core standards. TeacherTube is a place where teachers can post or view videos and other online material designed for students to learn a concept or skill.

Overall, TeacherTube is a great online website since all the material and resources on the site are related to education, teaching, and learning. This site is very useful in the way that it can provided online material that can enhance learning for the students with the use of technology. The site also provides many resources and material to choose from, so that a user wouldn’t need to explore other websites to find content material or resources.

Book Adventure

Miklenne Guzman

ED638 Intercession 2017

Dr. M. Rivera

IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website #2

            Book Adventure (http://www.bookadventure.com/) is a free online reading program for elementary and middle school students that is sponsored by Sylvan Learning. It motivates children to read by allowing them to search for books, find and read the physical books at a library or at home, take an online quiz about the book they have read, and earn points for prizes for their reading success. It also offers many things for kids, teachers, and parents that will motivate young readers.

            In the Kid’s Zone, children can easily find books based on the title, author, ISBN or they can be provided with various book titles by selecting a grade level, difficulty, and subject. A list of book titles will then be provided with all the necessary information needed to physically locate the book. If children find multiple books, they can save the selected books to their booklist to be accessed and viewed at any time. The Quiz-O-Matic feature allows students to take a quiz on the stories read to earn points for prizes. The quiz is a great way to check for reading comprehension and the answers are shown for clarification. The children can also access printable awards, online and printable games, and resources. Lastly, they can choose their prizes from the Prize Library when they have accumulated points from completing the quizzes.

            In the Teacher’s Lounge, teachers can create classes, contests, and booklists to be shared with students. When creating a class, teachers can edit the class information, customize each student’s quiz setting, and write letters to parents to share how individual students are doing with the quizzes. A contest can also be created in which selected individuals who have the pin number and contest name are able to participate and get points. Teams are also a great way for group collaboration and teamwork. There are also many resources that the teachers can view in reference to booklists, awards, information about learning development and disabilities, organizations, and other reading resources for the classroom.

            The last major feature is the Parent’s Place. Parents can easily monitor and track their child’s reading progress, quiz results, prize selection, and assist in selecting their child’s next book. It also provides parents with the similar resources that are provided for teachers.

            I would recommend using Book Adventure to encourage children to become independent readers. It allows them to take control and engage in the selection process of books they are interested in. Then they become motivated to receive incentives for reading and answering comprehension questions. I also recommend it because it infuses both technology and reading. The children become exposed to physical books in libraries while still using modern technology to assess. The overall motivation Book Adventure provides for children can create a lifelong love for reading.

Effective Literacy Website Newsletter #2

All About Adolescent Literacy 

           All About Adolescent Literacy (http://www.adlit.org ) is a website that offers resources to parents and educators of kids in grades 4-12. This website is a multimedia project that offers various information and resources for parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers.  The Adolescent Literacy website’s mission is based on research and findings that show that a majority of adolescents to include influencing factors such as one’s SES and ethnicity are not reading at their proficient level. With Adolescent Literacy, their goal is to assist the nation in launching topics, strategies, and best-practice information to support the literacy development of adolescents.

            The Adolescent Literacy website offers strategies that can be used to build vocabulary, comprehension, and writing skills for before, during, and after reading. In addition, professional development resources are provided that also revolve around implementing instructional literacy strategies such as literacy coaching in the middle grades, using student engagement to improve adolescent literacy, and many more to include leadership, teacher-student interaction, and building a positive school climate.  Videos are also included to address Common Core in the classroom for example, using 6^th grade reading standards to teach identifying key ideas and supporting details. Articles are also included to address tips on helping struggling readers, working with families to increase parental involvement, research reports, and books/author reviews that educators can view at their leisure time at no cost as well.

            The website also features a “Just for Fun” tab that are linked to other sites that offer incentives and activities that students can use. For example, there are writing contests that students can join and set a goal for themselves. There are also word play activities such as FreeRice (http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1426 ) a site that enforces vocabulary, visual thesaurus (https://www.visualthesaurus.com ), and crossword puzzles to name a few.

            Lastly, considering that this website is geared towards adolescence, it includes articles and good reads on hot topics about content-area literacy, service learning, background knowledge, motivation and engagement, social and emotional issues, along with all literacy topics such as comprehension, fluency, phonics/decoding, writing, and vocabulary. In addition to getting adolescents to build and improve literacy skills, this site features resources about college readiness, academic rigor, early college awareness, dropout prevention, and research/reports regarding students navigating the college path, students who don’t enroll into college, and closing the expectation gap to name a few.

            In conclusion, the All About Adolescent Literacy website is geared towards secondary educators specifically educators with students in grades 4-12. The site is user friendly and easy to navigate. Although its mission is built to provide resources for educators to bridge the gap in literacy so that students can become more proficient, the website also features topics that typical adolescents begin to face as they get older and that educators need to address to build awareness.   

Story Place

Rovileen Rios-Aflague
ED638 Intercession 2017
Dr. M. Rivera
IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy #2         

Story Place (https://www.storyplace.org/) is a digital learning library for children in the preschool level. It was launched in 2000 to offer children online library services. Recently in 2015, they have redesigned the website to provide more stories and activities for children. With that said, the children can experience being in the library without having to leave their home.
            Story Place is connected to multiple libraries as they are supported by grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It provides a schedule of upcoming story time programs which are posted on their website for parents and their children to be mindful of the date and location. There are a variety of story times for babies, preschooler, toddlers, and families. Each story time varies with the type of story and activities that may engage and support the children’s literacy skills to promote a love and enjoyment for reading.
            Story Place also promotes five ways to raise a reader, which are talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing with children. Each activity portrays an important aspect which will allow children to begin reading. Talking will allow children to build their vocabulary to learn new words, singing will allow them to develop phonemic awareness from the rhythm and wordplay, reading will allow them to grasp stories and characters, writing will help connect language to text, and playing will provide them with experiences to help develop their language and math skills. By practicing each activity daily, it will help build and improve a child’s literacy skills.
            Lastly, Story Place offers a pre-school library and a book hive in their website. It is packed with activities for children to discover. It enables them to choose a theme and it will redirect them to stories and activities related to the theme. There are many online stories, activities, videos, and reading lists for children to explore and enjoy. Story place is accessible through any desktop and mobile devices. It is simple to use and easy to navigate through the website. On another note, Story Place has received several awards for its early literacy activities for children in the past 15 years. Some of their recognition are mentioned on their websites that they are very proud of.
            Overall, Story Place is a great website for children as they build their foundation and pleasure for reading. I recommend Story Place for students in the pre-school level. It is very appealing and they may enjoy the stories and activities it has to offer. 

Effective Literacy Website #4 "Story Kitchen"

IRA Newsletter Project:  Effective Literacy Website #4 “Story Kitchen” www.brucevanpatter.com/storykitchen.html

Welcome to Story Kitchen! 

            Looking for a place to suffice the hunger of writing?  Story Kitchen is the place to choose from a list of ingredients to creative writing!  As you open up the recipe book, you will be amazed of the bountiful of stories!  Story Kitchen is the website for creative writing for kids.  Hmm!  That aroma, I wonder what is cooking?  Inside Story Kitchen is a place where children imagine the many wonderful ideas and stories that are cooking deep inside their minds!  Through the enchanted world of Story Kitchen, by a click of a finger, children, parents and teachers create their very own stories.  All they need to do is choose from the ingredients by picking one hero, one place and one villain that is provided in the menu.  Before you see the start of the story, you would have to think about the choices made and how to combine the choices you made in the story.  By a click of a button, the start of the story appears but it is not quite finish.  The writer has to complete the story using their imagination and creativity.  That’s not all, Story Kitchen loves to read the writers completed story by the touch of the link enclosed.    

            Story Kitchen provides “Tips for Teachers” that explains how to use the story generator and have students build their very own stories.  Story Kitchen is a place to inspire young writers to be creative with their stories.  If the writer prefers not to choose from the menu, there is a quicker way of choosing.  Just click on the menu and a list of story starters to write about and these stories can be printed to use in the classroom or at home!

            Story Kitchen provides children with a variety of Web page activities.  These include “The What-if Question Genie where the story begins with the “What if” questions.  Mugshots are a great way to think and create a character for a story.  The writer chooses a face, click and the main character appears.  Another link is KidTales and these are kid-made stories of 700 student drawings to choose from.  Pick a drawing and students imagine what they will write about.  The “Weird Headline Maker” which creates random headlines for the writer.  All the writer needs to do is imagine what story made the headlines and “The Headline Maker” will produce the wackiest headlines where weird things happen all the time.  What a great way to help the writer create a story by starting with the wackiest headline.   

            There are many resources on this site for kids, teachers and parents by clicking the link to fun stuff and you are on your way to creative writing!