Lillian Cruz

ED638-01 Teaching with the Internet

Effective Literacy Website #7 Exploration

Reading Bear

            Reading Bear (http://www.readingbear.org/About.aspx) is a free non-profit Reading program that provides over 1,200 vocabulary words, along with 50 presentations, which covers all the main phonics rules and principles.  Children ages 4-7 will find this program easy to learn.

            This is a great reading program used for the whole class.  Presentations can be played as a video or an interactive slide show.  They are nicely presented and cover step-by-step phonics principles.  The first four presentations features words such as, dog that is pronounced at four different speeds.  The fifth presentation features the word dog, which is used in a sentence.  The sixth presentation reads the same sentence using an illustration of a dog. The last presentation reads the same sentence using a video of a dog as it pertains to the sentence. This is an effective method to learn how to decode words which leads to reading more advanced words in this program such as thunderstorm and transportation.

            Reading Bear is great for students learning English.  It is also a good source to  use for remedial programs.  The seven presentations is the reason why this program is great for these types of students.  It uses the seven different presentations to teach a featured vocabulary word.  Reading a word at four different speeds, starting slowly then reading at a normal speed.  Then using the word in a sentence. Next using an illustration with the sentence. Lastly using a video with the sentence.  In total, the vocabulary word is presented seven times which is helpful when you are learning to read.

            This reading program also allows you to click on any word and it will sound it out.  The program has quizzes, reviews of the program, and interludes, which are art and music breaks during the presentations.

            As an educator, I especially like what I learned about the presentations.  This would make an effective learning tool in my classroom.  I would recommend this reading program to my colleagues.