CYSD Reading

"Parents often ask us to suggest good books for their kids -- ones that will engage, entertain, and maybe even enlighten them. So we've scoured our recommendation lists and consulted with teachers, librarians, and book critics to assemble what we consider essential titles for your home bookshelves or to download to your ereader, smartphone, or tablet. From the classics to more recent must-reads, fantasy to funny, we have more than 150 great book suggestions for your kids and teens, from bedtime stories to chapter books to true literature, and more. Just search our themed categories, and you'll find all of our picks arranged by age groups."

Downloadable writing paper for individualized needs

Great collection of nonfiction ebooks from National Geographic Explorer. They are free and can be read independently or read aloud with text help. Great for the SMARTBoard!

It begins with a story start. A story start is the first chapter of the book. The rest of the story is up to you. The story start could be written by a professional writer, a teacher, you or your classmates, or maybe even a celebrity! You write your version of Chapter 2. Take the story where you like. The only limits are your imagination and a word count. At the same time, other BoomWriters will be writing their own version of what happens next. Submit your entry. When you're done (and before the deadline), you submit your entry for review. If it's accepted, you'll get points and BoomDollars. You'll use BoomDollars to purchase accessories for your Boomer avatar. Vote, Vote, Vote! You and the other BoomWriters vote on the entry you think is the best. Of course you can't vote for you own entry, and you won't know whose entry it is you're voting for. You may be able to vote more than once, which is good, as voting also earns you points and BoomDollars. Did you win? If so, then your entry becomes the official Chapter 2 of the book. If not, don't worry because there will be many more chances for you to win. It's a book! The competitions continue until the book is finished. Then, *Boom!* you're a published author! The end result? A real book that you, your friends, family, and the whole world can buy. Imagine that, a book with your name in it that you helped write.

"At its core, the six-word memoir teaches us to be concise but also introspective. Try describing yourself in six words. Not easy, right? So, for English teachers, the six-word memoir is a great way to get students to focus on getting a point across in as few words as possible. Students have to choose words precisely since they can't waste any. The six-word memoir teaches all of us writers a critical skill: words are valuable and have meaning -- don't waste them. "

Great website for boys about writing haiku, enjoying nature, and letting your voice be heard. (Girls can enjoy this too! Write your own "galku")

"1,000 Non-fiction Passages! - Aligned to the Common Core and State Standards - Research-based question sets - Lexile Leveled"

"On April 3, 1988, the Los Angeles Times Magazine pub­lished a 25-year look ahead to 2013. This year, USC pro­fess­or Jerry Lock­en­our is us­ing the series of art­icles in a gradu­ate en­gin­eer­ing class he teaches."

Great chance to use this authentic text for some deeper discussion and critical thinking...Maybe take a look forward another 25 years from now? What will our world look like then?

"About a year and a half ago, a few of my colleagues and I had our students begin blogging about their independent reading. Some students finished four posts a year. Some students finished ten. Some more. Below are my top ten takeaways from our students' blogging experience."

Love this idea of making visual prompts for all different subject areas...even better, having kids make them! How cool!

Blogging for Kids | Make a Blog for Kids

"This is a world full of stories where YOU are the Storymaker and can choose all sorts of ways to tell your tale. Here you can create your own story, share it with friends and visit the gallery to see what other Storymakers have made"

"Select one of the passages listed below. Complete the passage by selecting the words that best fit the context of the passage. Press the 'Check My Answers!' button when you are done to see how you did!"

Many science/content area reading passages. You can even add your own passages and select the vocabulary to highlight.

The sample passages look appropriate for middle school level but would be great for learning support students and struggling readers at the high school level. I would be interested to see how you can add your own passages, which would make it great for all levels!!!

"Imagine your whole class in the pages of a book together...NOW IT'S POSSIBLE WITH SUBTEXT, A NEW IPAD READING APP FOR SCHOOLS. Subtext makes it easy to interact with your students in the pages of digital books. You can post and answer questions, link to relevant Web content and create assignments and quizzes-all right in the text. Better yet, your students can share ideas and work together to make connections as they read. Think of it as anywhere, anytime classroom reading guided by you."

"Represent your country in the Olympics! You not only have to be strong, but you have to be smart to win. Play "It's Greek to Me" and learn about Greek influences on the English language. "

Might be better for upper elementary

In this online activity, children first select one of nine word endings. They then begin making words by choosing beginnings, including single letters of the alphabet and letter blends like cl-. When children form a word, they get the satisfaction of seeing it deposited into the word bank. When they're finished, they can print their word bank. Adobe Flash is required. (Grade 1)