Digital Books Starring Your Family

I'm sure you have seen those adorable JibJab videos - the ones where you place pictures of your friends and family on dancing characters.  But, did you know that they also have a site for creating digital books starring your family?







What a great way to motivate your little readers when they see a book with familiar faces!  Simply go to Storybots to create your own book.  You can choose from a variety of stories and change the characters around to suit your needs. 

Dr. Seuss Read Alouds

While we all know there is just no substitute for reading aloud with your child, there are times when it would be nice to have someone else to do it for you.  Think those days when you have a long list of things to do, those days when your voice is cracking from the flu, or those days when you are driving on a long trip.  Instead of having your child watch a video, you might want to share some of these great Dr. Seuss Read Alouds.  Not only will they entertain your child, but it will increase their reading skills as well!




 Some other videos include:

Fox in Socks

The Lorax

Hop On Pop

Vowel Sound Videos

If your kids are beginning readers working on vowel sounds, they will LOVE the videos below!

Vowel Bat (kids song by Shari Sloane)

The Magic E Song Kids TV 123

Super "e"!!!!!!!!! (hip children's song by Mark D. Pencil) (Preview)

The Electric Company | "Silent e" music video | PBS KIDS GO! (Preview)

Silent 'e' - Silhouette Blends (The Electric Company) (Preview)

The Sight Word Song- (High-frequency word song/rap for kids) (Preview)

Two Letters Go Together (Jack Hartmann)

Magic e (Preview)

When Two Vowels Go Walking (Starfall.com) (Preview)

Learn To Blend! Elf Kids Videos   (Preview)

The Electric Company - Question Marks, Periods, Exclamations (Preview)

Veronica Jackson - "Bossy R" Music Video (The Electric Company) (Preview)

Learning Color Words Turkey Style Freebie

 

If your kiddos are learning how to read color words (or just need a little practice), you will love this adorable color word turkey from Kathy Griffin!

The best part? It's a freebie!

Click here to get the Color Word Practice - Turkey Style freebie

I Can Read Free Downloadables

I am sure you have seen the I Can Read books before.  They are relatively affordable and available just about everywhere from books stores to grocery stores. They also have levels on the top to help you choose books that are at an appropriate reading level for your child.  Well, did you know that they have free downloadables available to go with the books?

Simply go to their website icanread.com to find these and other great resources!

Books For The 4th of July

It is almost time to celebrate the birthday of our nation!  Here are some books to read to your kiddos to help them learn more about our country:

 The 4th of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh introduces young readers to all of the major players in the Declaration of Independence and how and why the document was created. It also shows how the news of this document spread and how it affected those along the way. The illustrations are beautiful and show what life was like during this amazing time in our history.

The Story of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Patricia A. Pingry tells the story of what inspired  Francis Scott Key  during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 to write the poem that would  later become our National Anthem. The book also explains all the ways to show respect as the song is played or sung.

We the People by Lynne Cheney teaches the history and importance of our Constitution.














  The Story of America's Birthday by Particia Pingry is suitable for toddlers on up.  It teaches about our country's birthday with beautiful illustrations and simple text.


Crankee Doodle is a humorous take on Yankee Doodle's ride to town.  It also explains what they mean by "calling it macaroni"!

On-Line Games for Reading Practice

 Here are some fun games for helping your child to increase their reading skills:
  

Word Search

URL: abcya.com/word_search_jr.htm
Levels: Grades 1-3
Skills: Vocabulary, Spelling
Description: This is a unique spin on the classic word search puzzle. It's a good idea for the teacher to set each game up as the user is prompted to decide how the game is played (on a printable, or on the computer) and which words will be featured in each puzzle. Once the game destination is selected and the words entered, students are presented with what appears to be a random set of letters. Somewhere in that set is a word, however, and the player must find it. Finding the most words wins the game.

ABC Bingo

URL: abcya.com/kindergarten_alphabet_bingo.htm
Levels: Grades K-1
Skills: Letters, Spelling
Description: In this version of bingo, students get to choose the size of their game grids, whether they'll be asked to identify letters based on the sound they make or their name, and whether they will be working with upper or lower-case characters. After all the choices have been made, the player will hear either a letter's name or the sound it makes. S/he must then identify that letter on the game grid. If s/he correctly identifies enough letters so that a straight or diagonal line is formed across the whole game grid, the player wins.

Alphabet Action

URL: learningplanet.com/act/fl/aact/index.asp
Levels: Grades K-1
Skills: Letters, Spelling
Description: This game is terrific for early learners. The entire alphabet is laid out, with each letter serving as a clickable link. Clicking a letter will activate an animation that both says the name of the letter out loud, and displays a picture of an object whose name begins or ends with that letter.

ABC Finder

URL: learningplanet.com/act/abcorder.asp
Levels: Grades K-1
Skills: Letters, Spelling
Description: Students encounter a section of the alphabet. Flatbed train cars roll onto the screen, with two letters placed in alphabetical order. Players are asked to decide which letter, from the alphabet section below, comes next. A correct answer results in an animated celebration on the flatbed car. Ten correct answers win the game.

Missing Letter / Busy Letter

URL: meddybemps.com/MissingBusy/Index.html
Levels: Grades 1-3
Skills: Letters, Spelling
Description: One of the letters of the alphabet is missing because it is busy being used in words. Students identify the missing letter, then must identify that letter in a writing sample. Once all the letters have been correctly identified, the player wins.

Free Printable Summer Reading Chart

I love this freebie from Busy Mommy Media! This free printable summer reading chart is a great way to motivate your kiddos to read.  Not only do they get the incentive of earning a reward for reading, but there is a great sense of satisfaction in completing the task of reading as many books as they can.  Print one out for each child and be ready to reap the rewards of amazing readers! 

You might want to laminate it to use for future years as well.

Free Printable Summer Reading Chart

Creature Features - Learn About Animals

Do you have a kiddo who loves everything and anything about animals?  Well, now you can get them to practice their non-fiction reading skills learning about the animals that interest them the most at National Geographic Kids.  You can see the picture from the honeybees section above, but your child can choose to read about other animals including: penguins, elephants, and bullfrogs.  Not only can they read facts and look at photos, but some of the animals include videos and sound clips as well!

You can also use them for lesson planning as well.

National Geographic Kids

On-Line Storytime from Barnes and Noble

Did you know that Barnes and Noble has a free on-line story time where authors read their stories? You can find several great reads for your kiddos including one of my favorites, The Kissing Hand.

Other stories include:
Pinkalicious
Green Eggs and Ham
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Guess How Much I Love You
Tickle Monster
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
And more!


Barnes and Noble On-Line Story Time

Jellybean Color Emergent Reader

I found an adorable jelly bean themed emergent reader over at Teach with me. It is a perfect way to both celebrate Easter and the spring holidays while practicing reading color words. Your child will also get practice tracing then writing each color word before they practice reading.

Book Builder

You can personalize and print out free books from Pioneer Valley Books! You can even enter your child’s name and it will appear throughout the book as if your child is a character! There are several different levels of text, so here are some guidelines to let you know what book will be most appropriate for your little readers:

If the text is a Level C, it will be appropriate for grade K and first graders should be able to read independently.

If the text is a Level E or G, it will be appropriate to read to grade K and first graders may need some support if reading independently.

If the text is a Level H or I, it will be most appropriate for grade 2 and Kindergarten and first grade students will need support or will need you to read the text.

You can find the site here:  Bookbuilderonline.comhttp://bookbuilderonline.com/

Chinese New Year Lesson Plan Ideas

February 10th marks the new Chinese year - the year of the Snake.

The Chinese New Year is always in the month of January or the month of February.


Each year is named after an animal.

Snake - February 10, 2013

Horse -January 31, 2014

Goat - February 19, 2015

Monkey - February 8, 2016

Rooster - January 28, 2017

Dog - February 16, 2018

Pig - February 5, 2019

Here are some activities to learn more about the Chinese New Year:

Reading:

Here is a great book about the holiday.  You can view it on Youtube here.

Writing

When children in China wake up on New Year's Day, they find red envelopes with money inside.  What would you spend your lucky money to buy? Why?

For more Chinese New Year Resources visit these links:
For grades 4 and up

For grades K-3

The Mystery of the Lost Mitten - Free I Can Read Book

If you're looking for an easy reader booklet for your kiddos to make that reviews some high frequency words,  you will want to check out The Mystery of the Lost Mitten which reviews colors and spatial direction words.


The Mystery of the Lost Mitten

Free Classic Ebooks - Treasure Island and More

If you have a Kobo or the FREE Kobo app there are a TON of awesome classic ebooks for FREE!! Just head over to the Kobo website and look for the “FREE EBOOKS” section at the top (or the FREE APPS section to download the Kobo app) Here is a list of just a few of the classics and other ebooks that I spotted:



Anne of Green Gables (3 Book set)

Star Wars Books 1-6

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Hound of the Baskervilles

On the Origin of Species (Darwin)

The Communist Manifesto

Persuasion (Jane Austen)

Peter Pan

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Eyre

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

Oliver Twist

Don Quixote

Emma

Frankenstein

Grimms Fairy Tales

A Christmas Carol

Aesops Fables

Beowulf

Around the World in 80 Days

The Invisible Man

The Jungle Book

The Last of the Mohicans

The Phantom of the Opera

The Prince and the Pauper

The Scarlet Pimpernel

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

A Journey to the Interior of the Earth

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

War and Peace

The Secret Garden

Pride and Prejudice

Dracula

Little Women

Anna Karenina

Three Musketeers

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Treasure Island

The Odyssey of Homer



I also spotted The Mouse and the Motorcycle and the 1st Lemony Snicket book for just $1.99 each! So head over to see what KOBO has to offer and fill up your digital library!

Get Set For A Pet Hen

Get Set For A Pet Hen tells the story of a girl who gets a pet hen.  It focuses on the vowel word family -et (pet, get, set).

Washington DC

Washington DC focuses on a trip to Washington DC with lots of real world pictures and photographs. The text focuses on the sight words: from, go, and here.


Get Set Go!
Get Set Go!  tells about a little boy's trip to a Dinosaur Museum with his parents.  The text focuses on the sight words: go, see, and you.  It also focuses on the vowel word family -et (get, set).






For more free beginning readers, visit these posts:

Free Beginning Leveled Readers

Free Beginning Readers

Here are a few more freebie beginning leveled readers, perfect for your beginning reader.

Nan the Red Hen

Nan the Red Hen is about a cute little red hen.  It focuses on the word hen, but has several sight words throughout.

A Walk in Antarctica

A Walk in Antarctica tells the story of a boy taking a walk in Antarctica.  The story introduces your child to arctic animals such as seals, whales, and penguings. The text focuses on the sight words: from, go, and here.

Ten Red Sleds

Ten Red Sleds tells the story of two sisters sledding.  The text focuses on the phonics -ed famuly (i.e. red, sled).


  For more beginning readers, check out these posts

Free Leveled Readers

Where Do Monsters Live Freebie Book for ipad

If your kiddos are anything like mine, they are constantly asking to play with your iphone or ipad.  It is easier to hand it over when you know they will be using them for educational activities, and for a limited time you can download the book Where Do Monsters Live for FREE! About the App:


Children ages 3 and up will enjoy interacting with this colorfully illustrated story through this app, which includes playful, animated monsters and fun activities that reinforce the learning process.

The Where Do Monsters Live? app is based on the award-winning Learn to Read children’s book series. Features of the reading app include the following:


•Read-along narration options with text highlighting.

•Record-and-play selections that allow children and parents to record themselves reading the story and play it back.

•Easy, swipe-friendly navigation.

•Special effects and colorful, mom-approved games, including multiple levels of matching games, mazes, and path play.

•Certificate of completion that can be personalized with a photo and emailed to parents or grandparents.

Additional popular Learn to Read titles, Cinderella Dressed in Yellow, Who Took The Cookies from the Cookie Jar?, and The Bugs Go Marching, are currently in development and will be available as apps in Spring 2013.


Get it for FREE until January 31st!



Where Do Monsters Live App

Even More Free Beginning Leveled Readers

Gib Got It

Gib Got It is about an adorable squirrel and a raccoon who are out picking flowers.  The text focuses on number words and a few sight words such as: got, and it.

Five Bears, All In A Den


Five Bears, All In A Den tells the story of a bear family. The text focuses on number words and a few sight words such as: got, and it. Family names such as mom and dad are also featured.

Five Stops

Five Stops tells he story of two sisters ride on a school bus.  The text focuses on number words




For more beginning readers, be sure to check out these posts as well:

Free Beginning Leveled Readers

Free Printable Beginning Readers

I have found a few more beginning readers that you can print out (or read on-line) with your beginning readers.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five

One, Two, Three, Four, Five features fun photographs of real-life kids playing at the park.  It focuses on the number words as well as a few common sight words.

A Home for Flap The Cat

A Home for Flap The Cat is about two sisters and their cat, Flap. The text focuses on the number words as well as a few common sight words.


The Path to Frog's New Home

The Path to Frog's New Home tells the story of a frog looking for a new home. The text focuses on the number words as well as a few common sight words.



For more beginning readers visit this post.