PBS KIDS

Miklenne Guzman

ED638

Dr. M. Rivera

IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website #1

PBS KIDS (http://pbskids.org/) is a free, multimedia resource that is filled with numerous activities for young learners. It makes a positive impact on student learning by using curriculum-based entertainment with positive role models or characters the children love. PBS KIDS uses a variety of media and technology to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination, and curiosity. It also encourages children to become respectful citizens in our diverse society.

PBS KIDS is a nonprofit media enterprise that is funded by a Ready to Learn grant from the United States Department of Education. It was created with the goal to help children ages 2 to 8 get ready to read by providing exciting games, websites, television shows, and resources for children, families, and educators.

The content presented on PBS KIDS is intended to help preschool to 2^nd grade students with their cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. PBS KIDS also provides resources and activities for other content areas to include reading and language, math, science, music and art, homeschooling, and learning disabilities. Topics can easily be found with the Activity Finder that allows users to sort through the topics and select by age, show, or type. From there, numerous activities, apps, games, and videos can be used to assist in the learning and teaching process. The activities also have a brief description of the skills and it indicates the intended audience to make the selection process easier. 

As a family and educator resource, PBS provides numerous resources through the PBS KIDS television series, PBS KIDS (http://pbskids.org/), PBS Parents (http://www.pbs.org/parents/), PBS Education (http://www.pbs.org/education/), PBS LAB (http://pbskids.org/lab/), and PBS Raising Readers (http://pbskids.org/learn/). The resources listed provide activities, suggestions, games, videos, books, lesson plans, apps, and so much more depending on the interest or individual using the website.

I would recommend using this website for literacy activities with primary students because the activities focus on child development and the children are more fascinated with the characters. PBS KIDS builds literacy skills such as reading, writing, speaking, listening, and reading aloud through numerous activities for students and adults as they participate in the learning process together. Literacy games (http://pbskids.org/games/reading/), interactive whiteboard games (http://pbskids.org/whiteboard/), lesson plans and guided activities are just a few of the many great resources that can be accessed. Downloading the different apps of PBS KIDS also allows learning to be continuous and on the go.