TEXAS Adult & Family Literacy QUARTERLY

Teacher Spotlight

Click on Over. . .

Browsing the Web, TCALL staff found these literacy-related sites
particularly relevant, helpful, or just plain fun.

GCF LEARN FREE. Supported by the Goodwill Community Foundation, this website offers Everyday Life interactive lessons that give learners the opportunity to experience daily challenges without real-world consequences. Lessons in the growing database include such topics as using an automatic teller, completing a bank deposit form, filling out a job application, and using a bus map. A short tutorial helps low-literacy learners understand how to complete the lessons, which have both audio and text directions. GFC Learn Free also offers a Computer Training section with such topics as computer basics, Internet safety, and many popular software programs. The Computer Training lessons are primarily text and screenshot-based, so maynot be appropriate for all learners; however, they are moving to a video-based lesson format with supplemental text. And don’t worry – when you create a site user account, CFC Learn Free promises they will never share your information with others or email you unless you request their newsletter. http://www.gcflearnfree.org/

COMPUTER-BASED INTERACTIVE LITERACY ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS IN FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAMS. On the National Center for Family Literacy Website (www.famlit.org), use the site search feature to find “Using Computers”. (Developed by National Center for Family Literacy, this is also available as a book that can be checked out from TCALL’s Clearinghouse Library.)

FREE ONLINE GAMES AND ACTIVITIES YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS CAN DO TOGETHER

On the Fisher Price Website (www.fisherprice.com), see the menu link to “Fun & Family Time.”

Funbrain – Family Education Network sponsored by Pearson Education. www.funbrain.com

Hamster Tours – by children’s book author Peggy Rathman. www.hamstertours.com

Learning Games For Kids – multiple sponsors offering a multitude of free games. http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/

LiteracyCenter.net Play and Learn – nonprofit site with variety of lessons and exercises. www.literacycenter.net

MaMaMedia - safe and fun learning activities that encourage kids to create, play, publish, and share online. www.mamamedia.com

Nellie Edge: Excellence in Kindergarten - Nellie Edge is a kindergarten teacher researcher, literacy coach, nationally recognized early literacy trainer, storyteller, musician, and recording artist. www.nellieedge.com

Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. Website – free games and activities (some educational, some bilingual) based on popular children’s television shows. www.nickjr.co.uk

PARENTS’ SECTION OF THE READING IS FUNDAMENTAL WEBSITE – resources to help parents motivate their children from preschool throughout their school years, from the oldest and largest children’s and family nonprofit literacy organization in the nation. http://rif.org/parents

PARENTS’ SECTION OF VERIZON’S THINKFINITY LITERACY NETWORK – fun, interactive resources to support early literacy and vocabulary development, plus learn easy ways to incorporate literacy activities into everyday routines. Look for the Parent Resources section on the the Thinkfinity home page (www.thinkfinity.org).

PBS KIDS – stories, games, and printable activities based on Public Broadcasting System’s children’s programs. http://pbskids.org

SUSTAINED SILENT READING helps develop dependent readers (and writers). Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) -- or DEAR (Drop Everything And Read), as some people call it -- can be one more tool for developing lifelong readers. Article includes links to related resources.
www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr038.shtml

USING NEWSPAPER ARTICLES COMMUNICATIVELY IN THE ESL CLASSROOM. Newspaper articles are a readily available way of introducing students to real and topical English in the classroom. This article offers one way of exploiting newspaper articles based on a variation of the classic jigsaw reading technique in which the class is divided into groups and each group is given a different article to read which they then have to explain to others in the class. The variation on jigsaw reading presented in this article offers teachers a way of maximising student involvement and of covering the four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking).
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Clifton-Newspaper.html