Useful Websites: Finding Leveled Texts

Recently I was asked for tips on helping find appropriate texts for students.  So, I've compiled a list of resources that  are free and accessible.  These resources offer suggestions for how to assess a students' independent level along with how to find texts on a variety of levels and topics.  

#1: Unite For Literacy  is a site that has a collection of picture books.  Students can flip through the books online, read the text themselves and then listen to the audio recording of the page being read aloud.  Students can search according by content area.  Two new books are added to this site each week.

#2: Reading A to Z is a resource that costs about $100, but they do have free leveled sample texts online to download.  They also have programs and apps that they offer two week free trials on.

#3: While this is not a free resource, it is a bit of free advice for quickly assessing students' reading level.  The formula for testing whether or not a book is a good fit for the child is pretty simple.  Listen to a child read aloud.  If they make more than 5 uncorrected errors in a 100 word passage, the book is not at their independent level.  If the child shows an interest in a book that is beyond their independent level, don't discourage the child from reading it.  Instead make that a book they read with a buddy reader.

#4: Scholastic has a book wizard where parents can go and search for titles and cross check the levels.  If there is a series that the kids like, I'd encourage them to go through all of the books in that series, as they will all be at approximately the same level.  (For example, the Henry and Mudge books are all listed at level 16.)

#5: Project Gutenberg  has an online collection of children's literature whose copyright has expired.

#6: There is a collection of audio books at: http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/library-audio.htm

#7: Students can listen to books read aloud to them at: http://www.readtomelv.com/

Wednesday Website: Sight Word Ninja

Sight Word Ninja is an free app you can download through itunes.  It is a fun way to do word work.  It is just like fruit ninja where the player slices through images on the screen.  Instead of fruit, though, students slice through the word that they hear as it appears on the screen.  It starts off easy with words that students only need to identify by matching the beginning sound to the initial letter.  Then it becomes increasingly challenging by requiring students to match all the sounds in the words.  If they miss a word, it appears a few more times for review.

Students enjoy playing this game and reinforcing their automatic word identification at the same time.  It is most appropriate for students in kindergarten or beginning first grade.  Still, this is definitely worth checking out.

My Favorite Sites for Teaching High School English

I have a pinterest board dedicated to useful teaching websites.  Here is a list of my favorite ones to use with my English classes...

Poem Hunter will provide you with the poems from any number of poets.  I use it all the time.  Whenever I need to find a poem it is the first place I look.  It has short bios on a ton of well known poets along with online texts of their writings.  It is very handy.  The site is super user friendly and comprehensive.  

Prezi.com is a website that allows students to make cooler versions of power points.  It takes them a class period or so to play around with it and figure out how to use all of the tools, but once they know how, they love it.  They can add videos, pictures, objects, colors, themes and pretty much everything else that they can do with powerpoint.  But, the visual effects are unique and fun to play around with.  They can save them online and share them with anyone who has an email address.  It is definitely worth checking out.

Purdue Owl is a great resource with a wide variety of writing tips.  The material is most appropriate for  students in middle school through college age students.  I use it all the time as a reference for how to create bibliographies and citations using MLA formatting rules.  Once my students have shown me they know how to format their bibliographic entries, I let them cheat by using easybib.com.

6 + 1 Writing Traits  is a well known writing, teaching and assessment framework.  The title refers to the traits in writing that we want all of our students to develop over time: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions and presentation.  The common language is useful in aligning teachers across contents and grade levels to provide united expectations of students.

Writing Fix and English Companion are websites that have a ton of resources for teaching writing and reading.  They include strategies, graphic organizers, etc.  They have a wealth of information and are worth perusing.

Finally, Grammar Bytes  has a wealth of grammar activities to help reinforce grammar rules with yours students.  The sentences are fun and contemporary.

Deals and Steals: Best Back to School Deals 8/23 - 8/29

Here is a compilation of the best back to school deals and steals for 8/23/15 - 8/29/15!

Walgreens
Use your Walgreens rewards card to get the deals listed below!

Deals under $1
7/$1 -  Wexford highlighter, 12 inch wooden ruler, or two pocket folder *Must use in ad coupon


$0.49 -  Wexford one subject notebook or pencil 8 pk. *Must use in ad coupon
$0.49 -  Wexford erasers or  5 pk. dividers *Must use in ad coupon
$0.49 - Paper Mate grip mechanical pencils 5 pk.
$0.79 -  Wexford carry all case or filler paper *Must use in ad coupon

$0.99 - Wexford one inch binder
$0.99 -Wexford sheet protectors 50 pk.


Deals $1 and more

$1.99 - Wexford mechanical pencil 30 pk.



Staples

Deals Under $1

$0.15 - Staples two pocket folder
$0.17 -Staples one subject notebook
$0.25 - Staples one hole hand pencil sharpener
$0.35 - Staples twelve inch ruler
$0.48 - Staples index cards
$0.50 - Staples composition book
$0..50 -Staples school glue or glue stick
$0.50 -Crayola crayon 24 pk.
$0.68 -Staples #2 pencil 12 pk.
$0.75 -Staples filler paper
$0.75 - Crayola washable ultraclean markers 8 pk.
$0.75 - Paper Mate mechanical pencil 5 pk.
$0.97 - Crayola colored pencil 12 pk. or classic marker 10 pk.



 Deals $1 and more

$1 -5 inch kids scissors
$1 - Bic mechanical pencil 5 pk.
$1 - Bic ballpoint pen 10 pk.
$2 -Staples 3 subject notebook
$2 - Reinforced filler paper
$3 - Elmer's clear glue sticks 3 pk.
$3 - Expo dry erase marker 4 pk.

Office Max/Office Depot

Deals Under $1

$0.01 - Office Depot paper folders *$5 minimum purchase required
$0.01 - Office Depot eraser caps $5 minimum purchase required
$0.01 - Office Depot ream of copy paper *$5 minimum purchase and after rebate price
$0.50 - Scholastic glue sticks 4 pk.
$0.50 - Clear pencil case

Deals $1 and More

$1 - Office Depot binder clips 36 pk.
$1 - Office Depot poly composition book
$1 - Expo marker 4 pk.
$1 - Sharpie marker fine point 5 pk.
$1 - Office Depot graph filler paper
$1 - Office Depot graph wireless notebook
$1 - Office Depot laminated portfolio
$3 - Crayola color erasable colored pencils 12 pk.
$3 - Bic mechanical pencils 24 pk.
$3 - Ticonderoga wooden pencil 24 pk.
$5 - Foray magnetic calendar board

Wednesday Website: Cool Tool for Word Study

Online Etymology Dictionary is an online source for looking up words and their origins.  There is a page orienting you to what information you will find there.  Then you are invited to search for words and scroll through alphabetically.  There are so many ways you could use this.  Here are just a few:

1) Have students look up the origins and meanings of content vocabulary with Greek or Latin roots.
2) Have students create words maps for vocabulary with a section for etymology.
3) Have students create a dictionary of made up words using real word parts.

My New Favorite App

Auto Rap is a fun new app that you can download for free.  You record yourself reading something (such as a poem) and it automatically synchs the syllables to a beat and turns it into a rap in your own voice.  I wish I knew about this when I was teaching high school.  It would have been so much fun to play around with when I was teaching poetry.

Here are a few ways I think you could use it:

1) Have students read poetry and listen to it as a rap for the fun of it.

2) Have students read information they are trying to memorize into the app to help your musical students remember it.  (Besides, chants and songs help everyone's memory.)

3) Use it to introduce meter since it uses the rhythm in the language to synch the text to beats.

Happy rapping!

Wednesday Websites: Using Technology to Teach Writing or Spelling

Looking for fun ways to get students to practice writing their letters or spelling words?  Here are four apps that you can download for free and start using today...

Chalk Draw is an application that lets students write in chalk and then shake the ipad to erase the writing and start over.

Bubble Snap is an application that lets students write letters in bubble wrap, popping the bubbles as they run their fingers over them to make the words.

Art of Glow is an application that allows students to write letters and/or draw on a black screen in a glowing rainbow of colors.

Sand Draw has students write in the sand.  They press a button to have a wave wash over their writing and erase it when they are done.  There are versions of this for $1.99 and versions of this for free.