Literacy and Reading Tools – April/May Edition
Welcome to this combined April/May edition of the Tools for Reading and Literacy. Traditionally, the Resources post is a monthly annex to the Literacy and Reading News Roundup, a collaborative effort with with Jen Robinson (Jen Robinson’s Book Page), Carol Rasco (Rasco from RIF), and Susan Stephenson of The Book Chook blog!
In each issue you will find links to articles, websites, and online tools that facilitate the processes of reading and learning. Whether the information is recently published or a couple years old, it’s new to her and may be new to you. Enjoy!
Starting off
Literacy Lava is one of my favorite tools … and one I wish I had time to contribute to! With every issue (and we’re now up to nine) Susan and her crew just blow me away with their creativity and ideas for incorporating literacy into our ‘everyday’ lives. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve smacked my head and said “why didn’t I think of that?” or “man, I wish I had known that when Catherine was in first grade …” (or similar).
Thanks to a link Susan sent me about Ten Reasons to Love Your Library (Technorati), I found PublicLibraries.com. In addition to finding your local library/state libraries / Presidential libraries /etc., there are great search boxes for 4,500 media and broadcast sites, library resource sites … leave it to the librarians to make this really cool tool!
Resources for Kids
Interactive Encyclopedia – Let me just say, this is awesome. There is lots to learn and it is largely done with pictures and sound. Thanks to @LitLass and @ReadAloudDad. Nancy Jo Lambert (@lambertN) had a tip on ways to use EncyclopediaInteractica.com … but I forgot to paste it in. D’oh!
Resources for Parents
I can’t remember if Gail (@GailTerp) found me first or I found her … either way, it’s a match made in heaven. Her Best Blog for Kids Who Hate to Read is a “family blog for reluctant readers and their parents.” You’ll find practical, everyday tips, book recommendations, and websites, too!
Kiboomu.com – There is a lot to love about this site created by two Montreal Moms. There are pages with songs (and download links), crafts, and recipes. The front page is a blog, where you’ll find lots of ideas and book reviews, too.
Resources for Educators
thebOOklight – Isn’t that image just adorable? This is a resource I discovered when Caitlin (@thebOOklight) started following me on Twitter. The bOOklight (double o) describes itself as a blog resource for storytime. I loved this line from the about page: “Ultimately, theb00klight’s goal is to shine its light on underrated medium and the treasures within it.”
NextVista.org – I couldn’t say it better than the website: “An online library of free videos for learners everywhere – our goal is to gather a set of resources to help you learn just about anything, meet people who make a difference in their communities, and even discover new parts of the world.”
Unwrapping Literacy
In this short video (1:50), Ann Kennedy shows you how to share nonfiction with kids. Her emphasis is on learning, but her style offers a nice example of how to read aloud with young children. There is a playlist of 14 videos in this series.