TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of May 3, 2015
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
Story Shares - Louise Baigelman and Gary Herman
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Story Share is the perfect solution for finding relevant and readable content for older students unable to read above the elementary level. Digital content provides interesting material...more
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Story Share is the perfect solution for finding relevant and readable content for older students unable to read above the elementary level. Digital content provides interesting material that doesn't condescend to teen readers. Use the drop-down menu tab for Explore at the top of the page to find Education and the eLibrary and filter the correct reading and interest levels. Login is required to read books, and it allows you to add books to a reading list and to bookmark the stopping point while reading books. Be sure to check out the The Blog to find books on current topics and ideas for reading nooks, etc.
tag(s): book lists (161), differentiation (88), digital storytelling (150), ebooks (39), multilingual (69), reading comprehension (142)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site to your reluctant or struggling readers on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups to find interesting reading material. Be sure to provide a link to Story Shares on your class website or blog for students to explore at home. Use this site to differentiate for students of all levels and for use with special education or ENL/ESL students. Have students write their own comprehension questions and answers based on the book to check their own comprehension and to exchange with classmates.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Edcite - 2014 Edcite Inc.
Grades
1 to 8
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Give your students practice and instruction in standardized test style format. Find an easy way to create Common Core assignments using PARCC and Smarter Balanced question types. Passages...more
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Give your students practice and instruction in standardized test style format. Find an easy way to create Common Core assignments using PARCC and Smarter Balanced question types. Passages allow for highlighting, graphs, image labeling, and video sections for background knowledge. Questions include a section for written response to improve evidence-based answers as well as multiple choice. Teachers can share their assignments or use other teacher created assignments. Students receive immediately graded feedback. With a free teacher account, save questions to your library.
tag(s): assessment (149), test prep (67)
In the Classroom
Use technology to motivate and engage your students. Give these quality text passages personalized to your class needs. Use as a teaching tool on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Continue to use individually or as small group instruction. Pair a weak reader with a strong reader for independent pair work. You can easily differentiate by creating tiered assignments to meet each students' needs. Share at your next staff meeting to provide collaboration between teachers. Use in a flipped classroom and have students complete the work at home. They will still receive immediate feedback! Use at parent gatherings to provide an example of the grade level expectations. Put on your classroom website as a way to practice at home. Before assigning questions to individual students you might want to check the readability of the questions or supplied readings. Use a tool such as The Readability Test Tool, reviewed here. This reviewer found the articles in some grade levels to be about two years higher in reading level than the grade listed for the question.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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M-Reader - Extensive Reading Foundation
Grades
2 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
This site offers an easy way for teachers to encourage students to do extensive reading. It contains quizzes for thousands of commonly read Penguin graded readers, and also a classroom...more
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This site offers an easy way for teachers to encourage students to do extensive reading. It contains quizzes for thousands of commonly read Penguin graded readers, and also a classroom management system. M-Reader also offers many classics rewritten for lower reading levels as well as the original higher reading level. After a simple institutional registration, teachers can select the books they want students to read outside of class, set up a classroom, and show student progress. Teachers do not have to make quizzes. It automatically displays grades and records quizzes. Each student, even ones reading the same books, receive different quizzes. Books are available at up to eight different levels so students can begin at a level comprehensible to them and go up. Once a student completes a book, a quiz is provided. If the student is successful on the quiz, they receive a book cover in their file. Students can see the progress of other students in the class and compare themselves to other readers. Check with your administration about the feasibility of setting up an institutional registration. Unlike other popular "read it and take a quiz" programs, it is FREE!
tag(s): guided reading (32), reading comprehension (142)
In the Classroom
Demonstrate how the program works using a projector or interactive whiteboard. Students can then read, quiz, and display their results and progress on their own. This program is perfect for differentiating in the classroom where beginning English learners are mainstreamed with English native speaking learners. You can assign the same book to all readers at a certain level, and they will all have a different quiz to take. This assures that you know exactly how each student is doing since they can't share quiz answers with each other. Share M-Reader on your classroom website or in your Google Classroom for parent and student use at home during distant learning or extended absences.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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