Literacy

Child1st Publications

0
September 2, 2010
by Mark

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Resource: Child1st

(Please note that this is not a paid post)

Child1st Publications is an online resource that exists to serve children who are visual and right brained learners, covering, but not limited to, the autistic and ADHD spectrum. They offer products mainly for the younger learner, but also for those who may be learning English or consolidating their skills. On their site they write;

We believe every child can learn, that many learning failures are avoidable, and that a label assigned doesn’t have to be a life sentence. We believe brains are made to learn, they love to learn, and in most cases they will learn when conditions are right. We also believe that once the gaps in their understanding are bridged, they will progress rapidly.

Product designers at Child1st look at children first to discover how they learn most naturally. We integrate explicit phonics instruction with specific strategies (visuals, movement, storytelling, humor, rhyme, and patterns) to engage children with an array of learning strengths. Teach smarter, more efficiently, and with confidence.

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They provide resources for learning letters (Snap Letters), words (Snap Words), reading (Easy-for-Me Reading) and reading practice (Easy for Me Books). The site is over flowing with resources and materials; they always have reasonings for their products, explaining their purpose in a simply and easy to read manner. The team are currently working on translating their products into Spanish. A nice feature of Child1st is the ability to buy and download the products directly from the site. You can then print them out at your own convenience.

I recommend that you have a look at the site and evaluate whether it’s suitable for your students and your school. The staff are contactable through the website, their Facebook fan page and their Twitter account.

Popularity: 2% [?]

: Literacy, Resources
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Application: Word Searcher

0
August 5, 2010
by Mark

Application: Word Searcher

Here’s a nice, simple and effective way to search for words. Type in your word pattern and this site will generate all the words containing that sequence of letters. With some simple programming, you can also put parameters in to match sounds, ends of words etc. There is a table that explains these programming code. It’s not as scary as it sounds. Have a look, have a play. Did you know that there are 6890 words that contain ‘ing’? Impressive, and all thanks to Word Searcher.

Popularity: 6% [?]

: Literacy, Tools
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Better than Wordle? Try Word Mosaics

2
April 14, 2010
by Mark

Application: Word Mosaics

We all love Wordle and we have found heaps of uses for that particular web app. For the classroom they are great. They’re eye catching, fun and a great visual aid. However, there is another application which is just like Wordle, but adds another dimension. Word Mosiacs is part of the Image Chef website and just like Wordle will list randomly words that are inputted. The twist comes when you can then put those words into shapes. Here’s one that I made in a matter of moments – ‘Nothing Without Joy’ is mantra that my boss often uses and was, for some reason, the first thing that came to my head. I like the avenues of sharing your creations. You can Facebook it, Tweet it, MySpace it (what?) and even embed into blogs or other web pages. You can also save the image, something that Wordle can’t do at the moment.

I suggest that you have a look for some fun and visually stimulating effects that take word usage another step up from Wordle.

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Popularity: 26% [?]

: Literacy, Resources, Tools
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Five Card Flickr

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March 25, 2010
by Mark

Application: Five Card Flickr 2555451906_9266de66fb.jpg

If you are a teacher that needs to constantly find new and engaging ways to engagers writers in your classroom, can I suggest that you have a look at Five Card Flickr? The premise is simple – five random images are shown on a screen. The idea is that the reader then becomes the writer. Taking the images shown, students then write, trying to link and weave a story through the five images. It can sometimes be harder than it seems. These are truly randomly assembled images. There appears no link at all for the writer to follow – it’s entirely up to them.   

A word of caution – because the images are random, there is no way of knowing exactly what you will get. You will get images that are tagged with 5cardflickr – and there are over 1200 of them. I would suggest that if you are working with junior grades that you preload the images onto your board. I haven’t come across anything so far, but I can’t guarantee all images.

“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” E.L. Doctorow

Popularity: 13% [?]

: Literacy, Resources, Tools
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7 Quality Sites For Free Children’s Audio

2
March 18, 2010
by Mark

Following on from my post the other day about StoryLine Online I thought I would compile a list of places where you can get audio for kids. All of the sites listed below give their materials for free.

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LibriVox- (Free) LibriVox provides free audiobooks from the public domain. There are several options for listening. The first step is to get the mp3 or ogg files into your own computer either through the catalog or the podcast.

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StoryLine Online – (Free) I’ve posted about this earlier. Set up by the Screen Actors Guild, the actors read books to a camera. There are activities for teachers to use with each of the books.
Picture 6.jpg Light Up Your Brain – (Free) This site has a page full of stories as read by Chuck Brown. There are many popular and favourite classics including Beatrix Potter’s Tale of Peter Rabbit.

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Kiddie Records – (Free) This is a goldmine of nostalgia. “Kiddie Records Weekly began in 2005 as a one year project devoted to the golden age of children’s records. This period spanned from the mid forties through the early fifties and produced a wealth of all-time classics.” This will certainly be trip down memory lane, and will be valued by old and young.

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CandleLight Stories – (Free) This is a story, audio, film and game site that also covers some current issues. Use your judgment and enjoy. Some good materials and activities for educators to use.

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Speakaboos – (Free with registration) Speakaboos brings classic children’s entertainment into a digital world. Beloved characters and treasured stories are given new life through amazing celebrity performances, beautiful illustrations, and original music. At Speakaboos, children develop literacy skills while learning about technology in a safe and fun environment.

Wired For Books – (Free) Picture 5.jpgAnother treasure mine of classics. This site has a heavy emphasis on Beatrix Potter and her creations. However, you can also find Alice in Wonderland, a selection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, the Wizard of Oz and the Gift of the Magi. Well worth having a look if you have young students.

Popularity: 17% [?]

: Literacy, Resources
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StoryLine Online – Stories Read by Actors

0
March 16, 2010
by Mark

Resource:Picture 3.jpg Story Line Online

StoryLine Online is just as its name suggests. It is a site that has a list of stories that are read and seen through the video link. The stories are read by members of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. It seems that as of March 2009 there haven’t been any updates to the site, however the list of books available are as follows;

To Be a Drum, by Evelyn Coleman; read by James Earl Jones

Guji Guji, by Chih Yuan Chen; read by Robert Guillaume

Sebastian’s Roller Skates, by Joan De Deu Prats; read by Caitlin Wachs

Sophie’s Masterpiece, by Eileen Spinelli; read by CCH Pounder

Stellaluna, by Janell Cannon; read by Pamela Reed

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, by Mem Fox; read by Bradley Whitford

No Mirrors in My Nana’s House, by Ysaye M. Barnwell; read by Tia and Tamera Mowry

The Night I Followed the Dog, by Nina Laden; read by Amanda Bynes

Thank you, Mr. Falker, by Patricia Polacco; read by Jane Kaczmarek

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, by Patricia Polacco; read by Melissa Gilbert

Knots on a Counting Rope, by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault; read by Bonnie Bartlett and William Daniels

Brave Irene, by William Steig; read by Al Gore

A Bad Case of Stripes, by David Shannon; read by Sean Astin

Private I. Guana, by Nina Laden; read by Esai Morales

Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, by Eileen Spinelli; read by Hector Elizondo

The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg; read by Lou Diamond Phillips

Me and My Cat, by Satoshi Kitamura; read by Elijah Wood

Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy, by Jason Alexander; read by Jason Alexander

When Pigasso Met Mootisse, by Nina Laden; read by Eric Close

White Socks Only, by Evelyn Coleman; read by Amber Rose Tamblyn

Romeow and Drooliet, by Nina Laden; read by Haylie Duff

Enemy Pie, by Derek Munson; read by Camryn Manheim

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The books come with a choice of related activities. You can view them online or download the activity pdf for each book. This would certainly appear a tremendous resources for the primary age kids, and any timesavers that teachers can find they should avail themselves of.

Site – www.storylineonline.net

Popularity: 45% [?]

: Literacy, Resources, Web2.0
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WallWisher

2
February 15, 2010
by Mark


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Application: Wallwisher

Wallwisher is an online application that is easy to use, setup and lends itself to some great applications in the classroom. It is essentially an online noticeboard, that uses the ‘sticky note’ format for messages. Easy to set up, there is no need to have an account; although signing up does give the user some advantages in managing multiple walls. To enable you to ‘dip’ your toes in, there is a demo wall, which you can write and play with the tools without any consequence. wallwisher3

When writing on the wall, you are limited to 160 characters (nods to Twitter and SMS) but you can add images, video, music and links to web pages, so you can add a lot more content than just the usual text. And that’s what helps make it so practical for the classroom. I have been in touch with @missbrownsword in the UK via Twitter. She has used it for her Year 6 geography classes. Sarah tells me;

I’m using wallwisher with my year 6 geography classes (I have 2). Our topic is ‘How are you connected?’ and we’re looking at our connections to other countries. Last year I got them to list 5 countries they’re connected to, write them down and bring them in but this year I’ve asked them to post their lists to wallwisher. I’ve set up 2 so the classes have one each http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/6sgeog and http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/6ageog , feel free to have a look. The children were really excited today when I told them what they’d have to do and it’s definitely improved motivation, some of them have already done the homework! Also I think it will make it much easier for us to discuss and compare our connections to different countries in the next lesson as I can dispay the walls on my IWB. Next the children will be plotting the connections onto maps and after that choosing one country to do a presentation on, I’m planning on introducing some more new things for them during that part too.

Being the end of year here in Aus, I haven’t been able to use it for and extended curriculum, but I did use it to send messages to a student who had recently been in hospital.   Some students made her a physical card, but I got all of my students to write to a message to her. I was able to edit and correct any errors, and students could upload pictures and link to movies. We then emailed her the link, and she was able to join in from home. I agree with Sarah, it certainly helped motivate students and provided a novel way of keeping in touch with my students.

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With options to create your own URL link, 12 themes and controls over who can post and edit notes there’s some great potential for teachers in the classroom to use this tool. It’s not just for glorified sticky notes to yourself to pick up some milk – although that application can work too.

Being a firm believer in ‘learning by using’ I’d encourage you to have a look yourself (http://wallwisher.com) and contact Sarah @missbrownsword if you need some further ideas or help. I’m sure too, that if you are on Twitter and put out the call to your PLN for some advice or ideas they would help.

* I originally wrote this article in December last year, and looking through my drafts, realized I hadn’t published it.

Popularity: 29% [?]

: IWBs, Literacy, Tools
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Free Audio Books

1
December 8, 2009
by Mark

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I like freebies. I like freebies that I can use in the classroom. I like freebies that I could use outside of the classroom. The site Open Culture lists an incredible array (mostly classic) literature that can be downloaded for free. A book’s listing tells you too whether it’s from iTunes, Audible or an external source. Very easy to navigate through, the books are listed in alphabetical author order and start with Aesop’s fables and the fiction section finishes with Johann David Wyss’ ‘Swiss Family Robinson’. Look through the list as its quite comprehensive; Fiction and Literature, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Audio Book Podcasting Sites. There are also further links that expand these categories. Great for any one who teaches literacy and is wanting to use tools such as iPods in the classroom.

Link: Open Culture

Popularity: 7% [?]

: Literacy, Resources
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Interactive Snowman

0
November 17, 2009
by Mark

Application: Interactive Snowman

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Here’s a cute and worthwhile flash application for the classroom, especially as Christmas is around the corner and the northern hemisphere heads into cooler months. The site gives students the opportunity to build their own snowman.

Why It’s Good

As a junior teacher I would possibly use it as a literacy activity.

I would ask students to create their snowman using the templates provided. Students can choose the snowman’s hat, eyes, nose, mouth, arms, tops and some accessories.

Once they have chosen how they want their snowman to look, they are able to write a short message and give their snowman a name. There is also the option to print their finished product. Alternatively to writing a message, 2nd or 3rd grade students could write a more detailed story about their creation, using their design as a catalyst for their writing.

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Popularity: 10% [?]

: Literacy, Resources
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Where The Wild Things Are – Video of the Week

1
November 6, 2009
by Mark

This week’s video was first uploaded by Bob Greenberg on the Classroom 2.0 website. I love it and think that his little group of animators prove you don’t need to be old to work technology or understand the process.  He writes of it;

My second graders, the Brainwaves, made this stop motion animation as part of the Monster Project, which is organized by Terry Smith of Hannibal, MO. We read Where the Wild Things Are. Next, we made a flow chart and wrote a summary of the story. Then we made a story board. We wrote the script. We had to estimate how many pictures we would need at 10 frames per second to fit with our narration. Some of us worked on the project during lunch and gym. We want to thank. Garret Ferguson, of Lafayette Regional School in Franconia, NH. Garret came to Bridgeport, CT last year and taught us how to make a stop motion video. Garret this one’s for you and “wild things” everywhere.


Find more videos like this on Classroom 2.0

Popularity: 20% [?]

: Literacy, Video
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