Tag: literacy

Roy the Zebra

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What it is: Roy the Zebra is a site for emerging readers complete with interactive stories, games, and lesson plans. The site can be used with interactive white boards or on computers. Emerging reader skills include capital letters, full stops, words that rhyme, high frequency words, alphabetical order, question marks, singular or plural, long vowel phonemes, words within words, and consonants. The Roy the Zebra story collection is online and includes literacy worksheets, before reading discussion sheets, and after reading discussion sheets.

How to integrate Roy the Zebra into the classroom: Roy the Zebra is an excellent literacy website. Use daily with your emerging and struggling readers to enhance your literacy time. Set up Roy the Zebra as a center during literacy time in the one computer classroom. Because of the sites interactivity, it is also an ideal site to use with an interactive white board. If you have access to a computer lab your students can practice the skills learned for the day all together.

Tips: There are advertisements on the site but be assured that all activities, books, lessons, and games are completely free to use. Roy the Zebra does accept donations.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Roy the Zebra in your classroom.

SuperThinkers

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What it is: SuperThinkers is a website that encourages students to become thinkers as opposed to memorizers. The goal of SuperThinkers is to teach children how to think by creating connections, look for meaning behind facts, and analyzing in order to understand. Even reluctant readers enjoy using this site to read for meaning. The Peetnik Mysteries are stories that the students read and interact with. In the mystery game, students use common tools such as maps, phones, and phone directories to follow up on hunches to solve the mystery.

How to integrate SuperThinkers into the classroom: SuperThinkers includes quality mysteries from author Peter Reynolds. Use SuperThinkers as part of a larger mystery unit or as a reading activity that encourages logic, problem solving, critical thinking, cooperative learning, analysis, pattern interpretation, mystery solving, writing, observation, sharing, discovery, imagination, self determination, reflection, and opportunities for self expression. The mysteries take about 30 min. to solve and would be best utilized in a computer lab 1 to 1 setting or as a whole class with a projector. The mysteries are popular with students, even the most reluctant readers enjoy working with the mysteries. The Peetnik Mysteries can also be used to teach students how to create a time line, compare and contrast skills, and as story starters.

Tips: Be sure to visit the Educators section of SuperThinkers for curriculum tie-ins, lesson plans, and posters.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using SuperThinkers in your classroom.

The North Star

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What it is: North Star is a book written by author Peter Reynolds. The North Star book is online for students and classrooms everywhere to read and enjoy. The book is a fable which helps children chart meaningful journeys in life and teaches a philosophy of creativity and lifelong learning. The North Star website includes the book, a place for sharing and communication with other North Star readers, a North Star constellation Map Maker where students can chart their own journey, crossword puzzles, inspirational quotes and cards, and several activities that encourage creativity and reaching goals.

How to integrate North Star into the classroom: The North Star is an amazing addition to any character education program. Read the story as a class using a projector (or purchase the book). Use computer lab time or classroom computers for the North Star constellation map maker where students can chart their life journey and goals. Encourage students to share their hopes and dreams with one another. Your students will not only learn more about themselves, they will learn more about their classmates.

Tips: Be sure to visit the Educators section of North Star for some outstanding free teacher resources. Find mini-posters and clip art. Note- the North Star Constellation Map Maker requires a Shockwave player.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using North Star in your classroom.

Fable Vision

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What it is: Fable Vision is a virtual town for kids filled with stories, games, and fun places to visit. The Fable Vision Library has a collection of online stories and stories that can be downloaded, borrowed, and shared. The Fable Vision Arcade fun games featuring the whimsical characters of Fable Vision. FVTV is the Fable Vision TV station, here students can watch mini cartoons that are fun and informational. At the Fable Vision post office allows students to send Fable Vision e-cards to family and friends. Fable Vision School is the home to all things educational. The first offering is the Fable Vision publishing workshop. Fable Radio is a place for students to listen to the Fable Vision books.

How to integrate Fable Vision into the classroom: Fable Vision is a fun virtual world that teaches reading and writing language skills. Use this site during literacy time. Read fables together using a projector. Use the Fable Vision School as part of the writing publishing center in your classroom. Students can stop by the Fable Vision School to learn about publishing and then open a word processing program to digitally publish their writing. Students will love the Fable Vision stories, use them for retelling and story ordering activities.

Tips: Be sure to visit the Educators section of Fable Vision for some outstanding free teacher resources. Find mini-posters, a guide to Sparking the Creative Spirit, a Fable Vision Field Guide, and a Fable Vision clip art collection.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Fable Vision in your classroom.

Seussville University

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What it is: Seussville University website is created by Random House Children’s publishing in the spirit of making learning fun. Kids favorite Dr. Seuss characters serve as their guides to learning in the fun, interactive environment. Horton the Elephant hosts the reading area where kids learn basic reading concepts such as letter recognition, sounds of letters and rhyming words. Yertle the Turtole hosts the math area where kids learn to recognize numbers, number words, to count, and do simple addition. The Lorax hosts the science area where kids are introduced to animal categories, basic astronomy and ecology. Sam-I-Am hosts the reasoning area, here kids can compare size, number, patterns, and directions and learn opposites. These activities are best for kindergarten and first grade students.

How to integrate Seussville University into the classroom: Suessville University is a wonderful addition to any kindergarten or first grade classroom. It can be used for language, math, science, and reasoning reinforcement. Students will love the interactive games with familiar Dr. Seuss characters. This would make a fun center activity for student rotations during daily learning activities. There are also printable activities that coordinate with the website activities. Use Seussville while completing a Dr. Seuss unit. Encourage parents to use Seussville with their children at home as an extension activity.

Tips: Keep Seussville University in the bookmark bar for easy access for your students. They are bound to love this site!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Seussville University in your
classroom.

The Story Starter

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What it is: The Story Starter provides 345,935,040 creative ideas for writers of all ages. The Story Starter randomly generates writing prompts that will help students start stories.

How to integrate The Story Starter into your classroom: Have one or two of your classroom computers set to this site during writing or journaling time. Students can click on the random story starter button and get the beginning of a story that they can add to. This is a wonderful creative tool for students who are learning to write fiction.

Tips: Bookmark this page for easy access during writing time.

 

 

I Know That Language Arts

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What it is: I Know That Language Arts builds student’s language arts skills for kindergarten through sixth grade. Activities include word searches, word matching, word builders, scrambled stories, sentence puzzles, punctuation paintball, word tage, and more.

How to integrate I Know That Language Arts into your literacy curriculum: Instead of the standard DOL, set your students up for some Punctuation Paintball. Allow your students to use I Know That Language Arts for practice, as an extended learning activity, or as a center during literacy.

Tips: I Know That has some advertisements on its site, these can be removed by purchasing a subscription. I use the sites advertisements to teach my students about how to spot ads on a website and why some sites have ads. Check out the teachers guide for each game and activity for some great ideas.

 

 

The Little Animals Activity Centre

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What it is: The Little Animals Activity Centre has several activities for kindergarten through second grade including read along stories, math practice, and music games. The read along stories are wonderful for following auditory directions.

How to integrate The Little Animals Activity Centre into your curriculum: Use The Little Animals Activity Centre to reinforce classroom learning. It offers read along interactive stories that invite students to follow auditory directions. The math section is great addition, and subtraction practice. Students can have fun with words and practice end sounds, first sounds, and rhymes. These are great little games and activities for practice. This site is also wonderful for teaching students how to use and manipulate the computer mouse.

Tips: Click on the teachers page for activity overviews, lesson plans, and printable worksheets.