IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website #5

Kristi Shimizu

ED638 Fall Intersession 2017

Dr. Matilda Rivera

IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website #5

Epic! (https://www.getepic.com) was created in January 2013 by Suren Markosien and Kevin Donahue as an online and app-based library with a variety of books to choose from. It is the only kids’ eBook subscription service that offers thousands of high-quality books and learning videos for children ages 12 and under. Epic was founded and established after discovering that children were utilizing their technology devices such as tablets and mobile devices to watch videos or play games on their free time instead of reading.

 
Books are categorized by top popular recommendations, educational learning videos, and featured collections. There is also the ability to search books by genre. Amazing publishers, like HarperCollins, National Geographic, and others can be found on the website. Epic is free for Elementary School Teachers and Librarians to sign up for an account to get access to a variety of digital books including many of the best kids books, popular eBooks and videos such as Fancy Clancy, Big Nate, The Pout-Pout Fish, Smithsonian and National Geographic articles. Upon selecting the preferred book, a neat feature of book details and pertinent information about the book is populated, the AR Level, Lexile Measure, number of pages, language, the age range, and reading time.

 
        I would recommend and encourage educators to sign up for the FREE EPIC access! When signing up, a sign posted encourages the user to start reading and learning. Once an account is set-up, navigation with the features on the website is simple to maneuver. I would use the site for anticipatory setting or even as an extension to my lesson. The site is prefect to incorporate a read aloud book daily as shared or independent reading. Instant kids can read at anytime, with unlimited access to 25,000 high-quality books and videos for kids.The website can be access via web, iOS or on Androids devices with its downloadable app feature.