Using Online Books to Push Learners in Choosing Good-fit Books

The Daily Five uses a concept called 'I PICK' Good-Fit Books. Simply put, the book is read meaningfully through the following ways:

• read the words
• read the pictures
• retell the story

I PICK Good-Fit Books concept include the following:

1. choose a book

2. determine the purpose for which a learner wants to read it

3. determine why the chosen book is interesting

4. check comprehension by throwing questions for understanding

5. check whether the child knows all the words in the chosen book (which leads to a sense of ownership of the whole reading process)

Teachers who are advocates of technology integration in the classroom can use the internet in encouraging learners to choose the books they can use in the Daily Five exercise. The internet is an alternative to the use of hard copy books. It also provides excitement, variety, and continuity of interest.

Keep on exploring sites to get the appropriate books that your learners need. However, it is very important to provide monitoring and guidance to learners who are using the internet in their reading adventure.

You may visit thislivebinder (Daily 5: Listen to Reading Livebinder) to explore more.

Click 'n Read Phonics: A Research-based Reading Lab Online

I recently attended a reading workshop conducted by the NC State Improvement Project. It was very inspiring and eye-opener. Having realized that I need to go back to basics in making struggling readers love reading, I spent hours doing research on what could be the most appropriate but handy reading lab that I could use in the classroom.

Among the numerous reading programs that I stumbled upon, I reviewed Click 'n Read because of its greater facility and flexibility. It is best to use for K through 3rd grade levels -- a real early intervention program! Likewise, it is very easy to use. Click 'n Read is purely online with hundreds of lessons and activities to choose from. The lessons are highly structured and developmental in scope. Best of all, it provides a progress report after lesson's completion. This is very helpful for teachers and parents in tracking the reading progress of the individual child.

Click 'n Read can be accessed here.

Category: Elementary

Free Text to Speech Converter for Struggling Readers

Unless you have all the time to personally address every need for differentiation in the classroom, you won't need a text-to-speech converter software.

Free Natural Reader provides the devoted classroom teacher a facility to convert a reading text instantly into an exciting audio material. How do you find your classroom filled with learners engaged in every way -- some are having a group guided reading with you, while others are quietly listening to the same reading piece that you are using to teach a skill?

Make the most of your students' experiences by providing them with strategies according to their need. The software can be downloaded here.


Category: All levels