"Literacy is changing. It really is. Even in my grade one classroom as the students begin to learn their letters and sounds, as they start to put those letters and sounds together into words, and as they take their first hesitant steps to read and write.
The change in our classroom was subtle at first. When my students began writing the word we with two i's, I smiled and talked about the more traditional spelling of the word. When students came to school with a clear understanding of what it meant to get to the next level or to have several lives, I took notice of the new vocabulary they had."
Technology tools also have value beyond teaching the core curriculum. Here are our recommendations for research-proven tech tools that can enable more comprehensive assessment and better collaborative discussions. We also explore the best resources for teaching digital literacy in the classroom.
"ur FREE materials are designed to empower students to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly in our digital world. Use our interactive SCOPE & SEQUENCE to find the lessons that are just right for your classroom. These cross-curricular units spiral to address digital literacy and citizenship topics in an age-appropriate way. Browse by grade band or click a category to highlight lessons that address that topic."
We received such a response from last week's article entitled Vision & Literacy Resources for Down Syndrome that this week, we wanted to continue to offer assistance and support for teachers as well as families by providing them with some helpful apps for children and teens with Down Syndrome.
A great organisation, lots of amazing work going on, also a great website for older grades to explore and gain their own insight into Indigenous literacy and issues and the challenges they present for our nation.
The free version of Voki.com lets you create colorful characters who can replay your voice recordings or convert text to speech in a variety accents. These characters are easy to place on blogs and websites, and they each have their own unique URL. It's possible to save the characters you create as HTML code in a text editor like Notepad or Word, but it's easier and more convenient to save them directly on Voki.com using a free account.
This could be a great shared literacy exercise.
Great list of digital story telling apps and web apps . Some of these are worth exploring if you are looking to integrate ICT into your literacy lesson.
"Looking for some good interactive eBooks for your kids to read this summer? The list below is a great place to start with. These are basically iPad storybook apps that are designed specifically to enhance kids early literacy skills most specifically reading. All of these eBooks come with awesome graphics and animations and include a wide variety of interactive activities to keep kids engaged in their reading."
"Use our Scope & Sequence tool to find the lessons that are just right for your classroom. These cross-curriculular units spiral to address digital literacy and citizenship topics in an age-appropriate way. Browse by grade band or click a category to highlight the lessons that address that topic. You can download a PDF of the Scope & Sequence (en español)."
My first year teaching a literacy coach came to observe my classroom. After the students left, she commented on how I asked the whole class a question, would wait just a few seconds, and then answer it myself. "It's cute," she added. Um, I don't think she thought it was so cute. I think she was treading lightly on the ever-so shaky ego of a brand-new teacher while still giving me some very necessary feedback.
"Teachers have known forever that happy, engaged students are better learners - especially when it comes to tough material. And learning how to spell is so hard for many kids."