Literacy and Reading Skills, Page 3
Read the Signs
This short downloadable video encourages emerging readers to look for the words on signs they might see every day.
Reason to Read
In this 2-minute downloadable video, Patty Loveless and Buddy Jewel sing a catchy country tune that shows people reading everything from books and recipes to maps and song lyrics. The song and accompanying images provide motivating reminders of the importance of reading in everyday life. Video is captioned. Scroll down for a background essay and teaching tips.
Reader's Theater
Background, scripts, and ideas for using RT in the classroom.
Reading and Writing via the Myths
Strategies to motivate students to read, write, and follow their interests into other areas. This unit is designed for grades 4-6 and includes an extensive related reading list.
Reading Quest: Strategies for Reading Comprehension
Originally designed for social studies, this site offers 27 strategies for developing student literacy.
Reading Response Journals
Suggestions for responding to reading.
Trading Card
This page was not designed with education in mind, but it will serve nicely for responding to reading, especially character analysis. Students upload a picture, add some icons and text, save the resulting picture to their desktops, and then print a "trading card."
Sentence Segmentation
Twelve activities to help K-1 students separate sentences into words. This 54-page document includes all the printables needed and requires Adobe Reader for access. (Suggestion: save the document to your computer and print only the pages you need.)
Shared Reading
Description of the strategy and tips for success.
Sight Words
Free lesson ideas to help emerging readers master Dolch and Fry sight words: games, printable and customizable flash cards, more.
Skimming and Scanning: Using The [New York] Times to Develop Reading Skills
In this lesson, students practice and explore the reading skills of skimming and scanning with the front page of The New York Times and come away understanding how and when to use these skills. The process outlined here will translate to other texts, as well.
Songs 4 Teachers
Free, original theme-related songs and poems for educators to download, activities, books suggestions, midis, links and more.
Strategies for Reading Comprehension
A list of 28 strategies to support reading skills. All include a description; some also include printables.
Storyline Online
Members of the Screen Actors Guild read children's books aloud. Each book comes with activities and lesson ideas.
StoryNory
At this site children can read and listen to a story.
StoryPlace: The Children's Digital Library
Available in both English and Spanish, this site offers reading activities for preschool and elementary readers and their families. Follow the link to Book Hive to find a site for middle school readers.
Storytelling