10 places to find reading and writing resources for primary school learners – part 1

Submitted by Fiona Beal

One of my passions is developing reading and writing in kids. Nowadays the web is full of the most amazing sites – is it any wonder that some of us feel that free internet should be a basic human right!  Today I came across some amazing new sites and thought they would be great to share in a blog post.

I have written two previous posts about reading resources for primary school learners so would like to add the links to those in case you are interested in looking them up:

• Bring technology into your Foundation Phase reading lessons

• 12 more places to find reading material for Foundation Phase learners

1. Share what you are reading

 http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/swyar/

 

This is a great site where children can write reviews about their favourite books - fantasy novels, biographies, mysteries, sports... They can then also  share with other students what they are reading and discover new books based on other kids' recommendations.

 

2. Children’s books forever

http://www.childrensbooksforever.com/

 

This site features free and children’s books written by  Frans Wilhem. As I was paging through the site I recognised the Waldo books.

3. McGenius

http://meegenius.com/store/books/free/

This is a site that has free and paid resources. One really good feature is that the books have  automatic word highlighting to accompany the narration of each book so that the readers can follow along.

4. The Woodlands Junior School website

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/onlinestory.htm

This site is a good place to find educational games for elementary age students. They also have a great collection of links to free online talking storybooks.

5. Magic keys

http://www.magickeys.com/books/

Here is another site with a good collection of talking picture books for children.

6. Skype an author network

http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com/

This is a fantastic way to bring authors into your classroom – arrange a Skype meeting with an author. The site gives directions for authors and directions for teachers.

7. You are what you read

http://youarewhatyouread.scholastic.com/kids/

This is a place where kids can share information about their favourite books. After creating a simple profile You Are What You Read asks participants to name the five books that mean the most to them.

8. Scholastic’s summer challenge
http://www.scholastic.com/summer/

9. International children’s digital library

http://en.childrenslibrary.org/books/index.shtml

Read books written by authors of all cultures. This site has a wide selection of reading material. 

10. Character scrapbook

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/02/character-scrapbook-tool-for-student.html

This site has a template that elementary school students can use to write about and reflect on the characters in their favourite stories.

This is just a start! Watch this space for another ten amazing reading and writing resource site - coming soon!