Ben's Resource Share

I am sharing http://www.biguniverse.com/

This is a website that I have been playing with for a while. It offers hundreds of online books to be read from over 24 different publishers. The books range from non-fiction books to classics such as Moby Dick. It is a resource that could help to reach reluctant readers by offering a different medium in which to read those books. This could be a resource that allows kids who are more into technology than reading to get hooked on books.

Big Universe also includes a writing component that allows students to write and publish their own works on the web so they can be read by others.

To completely use this site, a fee must be paid and they have rates for single classrooms, or group rates for full schools. Without paying the fee, you still have access to the books to read including the ones written by kids.

In using this site, I have enjoyed the large quantities of non-fiction literature that they provide. I also like how some of the classic novels are put into a graphic novel form. They add more pictures for context clues and understanding. I believe there are several great starting books on here for struggling readers, or even ELL students.

Jevy's Resource Share

I would like to share a wonderful website with you. It is www.readingrockets.org. This website can be a resource for teachers, librarians, principles, kids, parents and so many more. For teachers there are classroom strategies for teaching reading and ways to help struggling readers. For parents there are free reading guides, newsletters, tips for reading with your child and developing literacy at home. There's even a section devoted to school psychologist and a free tool kit they may download for helping students with reading achievement. You can even watch a video interview with award winning authors. Reading Rockets also hosts several TV shows on reading and education. The schedule and information about each show can be seen on this website as well. This is just an awesome website overflowing with ideas and good information that is sure to get you excited about reading. Check it out!

Erika's Resource Share

I want to share a new find, and that is the website www.storylineonline.net.

On this site, actors and actresses such as Betty White, James Earl Jones, Robert Guillaume, former Vice President Al Gore, and more read aloud some favorite children's books. As they read, the text of the book is shown beneath the video and the illustrations of the books are perused.

Books like Thank You, Mr. Falker, Enemy Pie, Harry the Dirty Dog, Stellaluna and more are read by these excellent readers, who put emotion and enthusiasm into the reading. We all know how vital good read alouds are to inspiring students to read, and this is an excellent way to have a reading center for students where they can hear the book from another passionate reader.

I can also see huge potential for students learning English as a new language. They can, as individuals, see and hear the same story many times, which will build better connections to the text. The books are all picture books, so they have built in support for understanding the story.

Watching Jane Kaczmarek (from Malcom in the Middle fame) nearly choke up with tears as she reads Thank You, Mr. Falker will be all you need to be sold on this site.

Emily's Resource Share (#3)

AudioOwl and Librivox are two sites that offer FREE downloadable audiobooks. You may ask: How can these books be free? Are these legal sites? The answer is yes! These books are free because they are in the public domain, meaning that the intellectual property rights are expired. It is perfectly legal to download the books from these sites onto your Ipod or computer. I prefer AudioOwl because it divides the books into genres, making it much easier to find children's books. Most of the books are displayed with original covers, which are more pleasing to look at than Librivox's book lists. However, the Librivox library is much more extensive.

Here some examples of books you'll find at AudioOwl:

Librivox is really better if there is a specific book or poem you want to find. For example, since it is nearly October, I wanted to look for a recording of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven." After I ran a search using the title, I found a few recordings of it. Here is my favorite.

We all know that reading aloud is an enjoyable experience for students, but it also has some great intellectual benefits. Listening levels differ from reading levels in that students' listening levels are usually at least two levels ahead of their independent reading levels. By providing audio books, students can enjoy books that they can not yet read, giving them access to much more literature. Increased listening levels promote vocabulary development as well.

Paige's Book Share: The Dot

In one of my classroom observations for my ET2T program, the teacher was doing a writer's workshop.  She started by reading the story The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds to her students.  From there they proceeded in basic writer's workshop instruction, but I was so enchanted by the book I could not pay attention! This is such a great book for all ages!

Reynolds is both the author and illustrator of this book and his pictures tell so much about the story, as well as his words.  The theme of the book is creativity.  A little girl is convinced she cannot draw so her art teacher tells her to make a dot on the piece of paper.  The little girl does and the next day her dot is in a gold frame above the art teacher's desk.  From there her creatively is sparked because she has confidence.  The story ends with the little girl helping a boy find his creativity, so the ending is a ripple effect.  I think this book does a great job of encouraging children to harness an idea (any idea!) and running with it. 

Kate: Book recommendation #2

If you are looking for a book with a strong, female heroine this is the book for you. I loved Avi as a young reader, and have loved rediscovering him as an adult even more. I taught this book with 6th graders, but I also think it could be used for 5th graders or possibly even advanced 4th graders. It would be a great way to introduce students both to an exciting time period (takes place in 1832) and a unique setting (a cargo ship voyaging from England to the United States). It also provides the opportunity to explore social justice issues regarding classism and is an excellent book for teaching about foreshadowing. To top it off, it is beautifully written, and most of my students (even several boys) said it was their favorite book of the year. A little more about the story:

Charlotte is the daughter of an American businessman. Her family is highly educated and wealthy. They had been living in England for several years but are now returning home to Rhode Island. The rest of the family went ahead of her because her father wanted her to finish out the school year. He arranged passage for her on one of his company's ship, Seahawk, along with two other families who will serve as her chaperones. Her father has instructed her to keep a diary on the voyage and warned her he will be paying special attention to her spelling. She credits the journal for her ability to retell her story (first person narrator) in vivid detail. The story immediately grabs the reader's attention by starting with this shocking statement:

"Not every thirteen year old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty."

As you can imagine, things on the voyage didn't go as planned! I can't say enough good things about this book!!

I am writing to recommend the book Flotsam by David Weisner.

David Weisner is an incredibly talented artist and author who is known for his wordless books. Flotsam, which earned him the Caldecott Medal, is one of his best in my humble opinion. It shows the story of a young boy who discovers a camera washed up on the beach. After developing the film, secrets of the ocean are revealed to him, such as mechanical fish, tiny alien tourists, sea shell cities on the backs of sea turtles, and giant starfish that house islands.

However, his most interesting find is a photo of a girl holding a picture of a boy holding a picture of a girl. As he examines this picture-within-a-picture with his microscope with varying levels of magnification, he finds his way to the black-and-white photo of the camera's orginal owner. Knowing what he has to do, he takes a picture of himself holding the photograph and throws the camera back into the ocean....destined to have more adventures and be discovered by another curious child.

Because this book is wordless, every student can "read" the story, including English Language Learners. It is terrific for writing extensions as well, because you can have your students write the story, either for part or all of the book, and then reread the book with their words. This book is a high interest way to use the strengths of every level of reader to have an experience with literature.