Reading in the Content Areas
TeachersFirst offers this collection of web resources well suited to teach reading in the content areas, especially in science and social studies classes, but in almost ANY subject area. See "In the classroom" ideas and strategies for teaching reading across the curriculum and find texts to use on the computer, in print, or in interactive whiteboard/projector. Sometimes using web-based texts can be more engaging, and often these are more up-to-date. Practice with these resources is certain to help student mastery of informational texts.
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SIKids - Sports Illustrated for Kids &CNN
Grades
3 to 8
2 Favorites
0 Comments
All about sports: top sports news stories, sports polls, displays of readers' artwork, AND MORE, this site is sure to appeal to those reluctant readers and any sports lover. Users ...more
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All about sports: top sports news stories, sports polls, displays of readers' artwork, AND MORE, this site is sure to appeal to those reluctant readers and any sports lover. Users can get up-to-date statistics from the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NBA. Readers can enjoy sports jokes.
In the Classroom
Share this site on your teacher web page or classroom desktop for fast student access to sport statistics and a way to submit creative works. Use sports statistics for math practice and to teach graphing or data organization skills. Use the sports stories as non-fiction examples for reading comprehension. Share a Top Story on your interactive whiteboard as you ask students to highlight parts of speech, cause-effect words, main idea, and more. Suddenly your students will actually READ!You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Citebite Bookmarklet - Abstract Factory
Grades
K to 12
7 Favorites
0 Comments
Imagine being able to give students (or parents) an exact link to a specific quote within a web page. Why would you want to? Perhaps you want to send students ...more
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Imagine being able to give students (or parents) an exact link to a specific quote within a web page. Why would you want to? Perhaps you want to send students to a certain paragraph for an activity: for reading comprehension, for reading a specific portion of text, or even for highlighting a literary device within a text or poem. Students will no longer waste time, announcing, "I can't find it!" or return to school saying they couldn't do the homework! Use for FireFox, Safari, and Internet Explorer browsers.
tag(s): internet safety (118), literacy (124), quotations (19), safety (64)
In the Classroom
Tool can be used in less than 30 seconds. Open TWO windows in Internet Explorer or any web browser. One should be open to citebite; the other to the web page you wish to reference. On that web page, locate and "highlight" the exact passage of text you want to "send" people to see. Copy/paste the passage into the quotation box at Citebite (copy, then change windows). Return to the target web page and copy/paste its actual URL into Citebite. Click "Make Citebite." Copy/paste the new url, indicated after "Your citebite link is:" Note: if the original quote is within a FLASH presentation, it will not copy/paste or generate a Citebite. See this example of a Citebite link to a tip about TeachersFirst Edge tools.Have your middle and high school students do a web page "credibility critique" on their potential sources by using Citebite before they start a research project. They can highlight passages as proof of credibility -- or lack thereof -- and give you the Citebite links. They will love this easy way to reference a specific portion of a page. You will love the ease of finding it. If you give them a Word document table as a web site evaluation rubric, they can paste the Citebites there, with their comments in the neighboring cell!
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Public Domain Books On-Line - Jeff Kelley
Grades
3 to 12
3 Favorites
2 Comments
This privately done digitized library focuses on books published before 1923, primarily those with magnificent illustrations. Books digitized are in the public domain and are also available...more
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This privately done digitized library focuses on books published before 1923, primarily those with magnificent illustrations. Books digitized are in the public domain and are also available through the large digitization projects underway, such as Google Books. This site's charm is its ease of use. Users can search by the author's last name or by using a list of subject categories. Because the project is relatively small, it's fun to browse through the offerings before deciding on a specific choice. The quality of the digitization is excellent and appears to offer complete works. Some books have been reformatted, presumably to allow viewing consistency.
tag(s): digital reading (18), ebooks (48)
In the Classroom
Because these books are in the public domain (i.e., older), their language is not "contemporary." The texts would make excellent reading comprehension passages or cultural studies of past times, and you need not worry about copying/pasting text from these into other software or making copies. You could even use them as passages on an interactive whiteboard to practice "main idea" or parts of speech.The illustrations are beautiful and straightforward. Print out some great artwork for your classroom bulletin boards, copyright-free!
The myths/legends collection would be great for upper elementary or later mythology units. Students can also use the passages and illustrations to create multimedia "tales" of their own. Give them the opening passage and let them write the rest.
Comments
The myths/legends collection would be great for upper elementary or later mythology unitsDavid, VA, Grades: 4 - 8
The illustrations are simple and beautiful.David, VA, Grades: 4 - 8
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Headliners - Headliners/formerly Children's Express
Grades
3 to 12
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Formerly Children's Express, this relaunched site offers contemporary stories, mostly about life in the UK, at levels children can easily understand. The site is intended to develop...more
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Formerly Children's Express, this relaunched site offers contemporary stories, mostly about life in the UK, at levels children can easily understand. The site is intended to develop learning through journalism for ages 8-19. Although a bit slow to load, the archive offers stories organized by subject matter. The focus is on young people, with lots of interviews and hot topics. Qualified UK youngsters can become writers for upcoming news pieces, and all readers can read about how these young people became reporters.
tag(s): journalism (72), reading comprehension (143)
In the Classroom
Use the stories to teach reading comprehension skills, especially inferencing, since American students will need to use context to figure out some of the terminology and background written by British students. Try projecting a story and asking student how to find context clues to explain what the story is about. If you have an interactive whiteboard or projector use the tools to mark clues. Then use these stories as models for writing activities on topics that matter to your students. You may want to create a guided reading activity using Read Ahead, reviewed here.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Graphic Organizer Maker - Recipes4Success/Tech4Learning
Grades
1 to 12
14 Favorites
0 Comments
This handy online tool lets you create customized graphic organizers "on the fly" and print them from the web site. There is a paid version of the site, but this ...more
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This handy online tool lets you create customized graphic organizers "on the fly" and print them from the web site. There is a paid version of the site, but this FREE tool lets you choose the type of organizer you want, customize the Title and Directions, and print. Organizer types include Venn diagrams, KWL, scientific method, and many more. Learning support teachers will want to use this for students to create study materials.
In the Classroom
Use these printed organizers as study support for any content area topic. Many are excellent options for reinforcing reading skills in the content areas, even for senior high students. Include this on your teacher web page so students can create their own organizers to study for tests or prepare presentations.To make a new organizer, simply click "new," write title and directions, and print the small "print" icon. It may be easiest to take their default directions and change them for your purposes. Note that you LOSE your work when you close the page, so make sure you have printed first!
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WorldWise Schools - Teaching About Culture Lesson Plans - Peace Corps
Grades
2 to 12
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This site is a much-expanded remake of the Peace Corps collection of lesson plans and activities for cross-cultural understanding around the world. Teachers can search for lesson plans...more
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This site is a much-expanded remake of the Peace Corps collection of lesson plans and activities for cross-cultural understanding around the world. Teachers can search for lesson plans by topic and region of the world. All readings and materials are included (many as PDF - Acrobat Reader files). Many lessons include readings that would also work well for teaching reading comprehension, especially for your less-than-proficient readers. Simply choose the area of the world for which you want a lesson plan, and you will see quite a list.
tag(s): cultures (268)
In the Classroom
Search for lessons on a specific region as you teach about it or use these selections as general readings for comprehension. Consider using a guided reading activity with a tool like Hypothesis, reviewed here. Hypothesis is perfect for introducing any reading passage to struggling readers, special education students, and ENL/ESL learners. The lessons may also be helpful in getting to know students who enter your classroom from other cultures. The lessons would be very helpful in developing background knowledge to understand cross-cultural literature selections in a language arts class.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Black Wings: African American Pioneer Aviators - Smithsonian- National Air and Space Museum
Grades
5 to 12
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Inspire future aviators or encourage students to pursue their dreams with this site that traces African American aviators through the years. There are many images and short passages...more
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Inspire future aviators or encourage students to pursue their dreams with this site that traces African American aviators through the years. There are many images and short passages of text. The reading levels are not for younger students. Black Wings permits students to download and use images in their reports, as long as they are classroom projects, either printed or electronic, such as in PowerPoint or other tech tool. Images may not be published on web pages or burned to CD. Be sure to visit the What's New section for featured interviews with aviators. What a terrific and interesting primary source!
tag(s): african american (120), black history (128), cultures (268), flight (32)
In the Classroom
Use this site and Read Ahead, reviewed here, as part of reading comprehension practice and find your students are actually interested in what they read. Have students create projects about their favorite aviator or aircraft on a poster using Genially, reviewed here, or PowerPoint Online, reviewed here. Make sure students understand they have to give proper attribution to the images and information they use.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Comprehension - RHL
Grades
4 to 6
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This collection of printable worksheets addresses a variety of comprehension skills using short poems, essays, articles, and stories. Each text sample is followed by content-related...more
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This collection of printable worksheets addresses a variety of comprehension skills using short poems, essays, articles, and stories. Each text sample is followed by content-related discussion questions or multiple-choice quizzes.
tag(s): reading comprehension (143)
In the Classroom
Add to your arsenal of educational tools for state assessment testing preparation. Distribute the worksheets and divide your class into cooperative groups so that students can share in discussions of the readings and related activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ABYZ News Links
Grades
9 to 12
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Choose a country and publication, then tap into the latest news of the day with this easy-to-use directory that links to newspaper Web sites from around the world. This is ...more
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Choose a country and publication, then tap into the latest news of the day with this easy-to-use directory that links to newspaper Web sites from around the world. This is an excellent resource for building authentic reading comprehension skills in a world language class.
tag(s): news (221)
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Brainchild Online Assessment - Brainchild
Grades
5 to 7
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Simulate a reading comprehension assessment with this interactive quiz. Multiple-choice questions follow short texts. After completing the activity, students can view a summary report...more
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Simulate a reading comprehension assessment with this interactive quiz. Multiple-choice questions follow short texts. After completing the activity, students can view a summary report that provides links back to missed questions. Click on the "Study" buttons to practice specific areas of weakness. A great prep activity for state assessment testing.
tag(s): assessment (135), reading comprehension (143)
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What Makes A Compound Word? - Education Development Center
Grades
5 to 8
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This interactive tutorial introduces compound words and strategies for revealing their meanings. Includes an instructive slide show followed by some completion, click-and-drag, and...more
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This interactive tutorial introduces compound words and strategies for revealing their meanings. Includes an instructive slide show followed by some completion, click-and-drag, and reading comprehension activities. Preview content and difficulty level before turning your students loose on this one.
tag(s): word study (58)
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Children's Picture Book Database
Grades
1 to 5
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One of the faculty Miami University of Ohio has created an on-line database designed to help teachers build thematic units for young children around picture books. The only user interface...more
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One of the faculty Miami University of Ohio has created an on-line database designed to help teachers build thematic units for young children around picture books. The only user interface is a fairly sparse search engine which prompts with selections of keywords for each of the various categories. While awkward at first, this becomes more intuitive as you use it. Search results include bibliographic information and short plot summaries. Once you get the hang of it, this could be a nice way to build thematic units for younger children.
tag(s): book lists (160)
In the Classroom
Use the book reviews on this site for recommendations to parents who want suggestions on outside or summer readings. The lists are separated by topics, concepts, and skills for building content area reading across all academic subjects. You can also browse by categories, abstracts, or an A-Z list.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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