Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

TaleTrove is an online collection of user-submitted stories offered in several different formats. Click Good Reads on the top left of the menu and choose from books for young readers (grades K-3) to browse through book titles. Click on the book icon to choose from different formats to read and hear stories. Options include viewing as PDF, listening to mp3 (audio), or viewing the flipbook. Most stories include all three options; however, a few offer only one or two. Each book also includes a learning guide with suggestions for pre and post-reading discussion as well as ideas for use when reading the book. The Create space menu accesses games, crafts, and other activities to explore and try. Users can submit reviews of the stories available on the site.

tag(s): audio books (29), digital storytelling (155), guided reading (32), preK (289), reading comprehension (149)

Google Read Along is an entertaining, interactive website designed to help young children learn to read. This site is currently available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, and Urdu. Though you can use Google Read Along on your computer, the best experience will be by using an Android device. Read Along engages young readers with a friendly character named Diya, who provides assistance and feedback when needed. Students receive immediate feedback by earning stars for each word they read correctly. In addition, Diya will help if children are stuck on a particular word. Gamification makes learning to read fun and engaging! Students earn stars and badges and can level up to more advanced books as they become increasingly better readers. Google Read Along also tracks how many minutes students spend actively reading. A Google account is required, and enable your microphone access for your browser.

tag(s): digital reading (18), gamification (86), independent reading (82), preK (289)

Embark on an incredible literature adventure as Astronaut Anne McClain reads a book on video. Ada Lace, Take Me to Your Leader by Emily Calandrelli is a story about a third-grader and "inventor extraordinaire." Listen to this three-part story as you learn about Ada Lace's latest invention, a ham radio used to contact people on this planet...and beyond. Strange noises are heard over the ham radio leading Ada Lace to believe that aliens are planning to invade Earth. Listen to the story to find out what happens next on this journey! The story is divided into three short videos ranging from 13 minutes to 22 minutes in length.

tag(s): audio books (29), ebooks (46), space (220)

Engage young children in this colorful site, packed with songs, interactive audio books, art and music interactives, and emergent reading activities. Reaching a wide range of grades, this site offers over 50 different engaging activities. Visit the stories made by children. The free part of this site includes a great variety of topics: Boston Tea Party, alphabet, making mistakes, metamorphosis, Mars, a variety of popular children's songs, nouns, upper case and lower case, Beatrix Potter, jokes, Bach & Van Gogh, Mona and Beethoven, and much more! Some of the activities are also available in Spanish. Check out Teachers at the bottom of the page for Lesson Plans.
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tag(s): alphabet (52), independent reading (82), preK (289), sight words (23), songs (46), video (267)

The goal of Signed Stories is to increase the literacy of deaf children; however, it is a great resource for all children. After choosing an interactive, audio, or text story, you will see the text, hear the story and see it in sign language. Almost 100 titles are available and can be searched by topic or by browsing all titles. Some stories offer all three options others only one or two. Many stories have pause and rewind buttons, so you can replay to see signs again.

tag(s): sign language (11)

Bring classic children's stories to your classroom in an engaging and easy-to-use manner! This site contains many stories such as Jack in the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, The Princess and the Pea and more in both audio and video format. Choose the story you want to read by genre, theme, author and other choices. Click to play and you are ready to listen and read along with the storyteller. One great feature of this site is that you can click on any word in the story and choose a language to see the word translated - a great addition for ESL students and families. All stories can also be downloaded in mp3 format, meaning that they can be played on most audio players and ipods. Note: This site may take long to load. Be patient.

tag(s): air (99), audio books (29), folktales (35)

The celebrated RIF program offers this site for parents to support their children's literacy. You will find resources from infancy to the teenage years and some for the entire family. While there is more available for younger children (through elementary school), the Whole Family area and some of the activities are enjoyable for teens, as well. Click to find practical tips to support your growing readers, monthly features, interactive books, activities for family heritage, authors, polls, a personal bookshelf to collect book recommendations, and more. You can even search for activities by age and activity type. Find interactive and audio with text in their "Skybrary." Some of the videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube they may not be viewable in your classroom.

tag(s): audio books (29), authors (108), literacy (121), summer (28)

This site includes FREE lessons in English and Spanish. Prospective English or Spanish learners start lessons with free registration. Registration is not required to USE the site, but it is required to track progress. When registering, an email address is optional. After registration, students can choose a course at the appropriate level. There are 3 in English and 3 in Spanish. Students can then choose the specific lessons and follow its specific activities in order for each featured topic. Learning activities include videos, transcripts for the video text, questions, listening, stories, vocabulary practice, writing exercises, quizzes, and even voice recordings for pronunciation practice. Although registration is not absolutely necessary, doing so allows students to keep a record of the activities they have already completed. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

tag(s): pronunciation (34), spanish (112)

Find interactive reading activities for emergent/beginning readers at Starfall. It combines instruction in letter-sound relationships, word recognition skills, and reading comprehension strategies. Seasonal activities can also be found on the main page. The four "levels" of reading at Starfall include "ABCs," "Learn to Read," "It's Fun to Read," and "I'm Reading." There is also a premium option, this review is only for the free interactives. The app (available on iOs, Google Play and Kindle Fire) offers more free intereactives than the web version.
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tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (146), phonics (52), reading comprehension (149)

Now you can listen to and read along with the classics and poems through the generosity of this site's creators. Download story files to your mp3 player or listen to the files on your computer. Don't want to just listen to the classics and other stories? Then, view the text on a webpage or in a printable PDF. Easily browse the site by author or title to locate literature. You are also able to search by reading level; the levels are broken down by month (ranging from 0.0 - 12.0). Stories and poems are added frequently to this site, so check back often.

tag(s): air (99), audio books (29), folktales (35), literature (221), nursery rhymes (9), rhymes (22)

Viewers of this very appealing site listen to and read a variety of stories and poems, while viewing accompanying drawings and test. Not all stories have the audio features. Teachers will like the Read a Story options with simple Dolch words. Children can submit their own poems and may see themselves published online, but you will want to get parent permission first! Many writing prompts and easy writing tasks look like fun on this site; additional games on the site have an educational aspect. In addition to online activities, there are a few stories and games available to print out. A few activities, and the audio poems require the Flash; however, the audio stories are now in podcast format.

tag(s): audio books (29), listening (92), poetry (195), reading lists (77), writing (325)

This wonderful site has a collection of original stories read by actors and actresses. This is an excellent way to show children that reading is valued by folks in all walks of life! An example is "Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy" read by Jason Alexander. Many of the story titles are parodies of famous tales. Viewers can see the actor holding the book and turning the pages as he hears and sees the story being read. An accompanying Teacher's Guide with activities and an activity guide complete the offerings. The activities are terrific comprehension checkers and build solid reading strategies. The videos are available in two different programs: YouTube and SchoolTube.

tag(s): reading comprehension (149), reading lists (77), reading strategies (96)

If you're looking for a resource that will engage reluctant readers or help new readers with unfamiliar vocabulary words, you may want to incorporate these fun and interactive stories into your classroom. Students can read through the interactive texts independently, click on troublesome words, and listen to their pronunciations. Select from movies, videos, and games that illustrate special sounds, pronunciations, and spelling rules.

tag(s): sound (71), sounds (43), vocabulary (242)