Literacy/Reading Resources
Read Write Think
"At ReadWriteThink, our mission is to provide educators, parents, and afterschool professionals with access to the highest quality practices in reading and language arts instruction by offering the very best in free materials."
- Essay Map: Easy way to map out an essay.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/essaymap/ - Fractured Fairy Tales: What is a fractured fairy tale? It is a story that uses fairy tales you know and changes the characters, setting, points of view, or plots. Ever heard of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs of The Wolf Who Cried Boy?
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/fairytales/ - Heros Journey: The hero's journey is an ancient story pattern that you can find in texts from thousands of years ago or in newly released Hollywood blockbusters. This interactive tool will provide background on the hero's journey and give you a chance to explore several of the journey's key elements. Use the tool to record examples from a hero's journey you've read or viewed, or to plan out a hero's journey of your own.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/herosjourney/ - Comic Creator: Create your own comic.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/comic/ - Flip a Chip: Mad Lib type game.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/flip/
Doing What Works
Improving K-3 Reading Comprehension. Establish a motivating environment to engage students in reading and text discussion. Practice Tools and templates help you use the materials in the "Learn What" and "See How" sections as you tackle the hard work of school improvement. Each tool is a downloadable Word document that you can edit and adapt to serve your needs.
http://dww.ed.gov/Reading-Comprehension/Engage-Students-With-Text/do/?T_ID=36&P_ID=99&t=2#tc
Literature Circles
ABCteach has a great resource for literature circles. It includes handouts and role identifications.
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/basics/reading/literature_circles/
Six Trait Writing
The Literate Learner explains the Six Trait Writing Process which is one of the most popular writing methods used by Colorado teachers. It focuses on content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency and conventions.
http://www.literatelearner.com/6traits/page_template6t.php?f=main
Books
Leveled Books Database
Leveled Books Database: Search thousands of books leveled for guided reading, Reading Recovery, and Accelerated Reader.
http://books.atozteacherstuff.com/leveled-books/index.php?p=getdb&db_id=2
Find the Right Books
Search 50,000 books by reading levels. Use Book Alike to match similar books. Create your own book lists.
http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/
http://src.scholastic.com/ecatalog/
Assessment Tools
PALS
PALS has a number of free Phonological Awareness screening resources.
https://pals.virginia.edu/tools-activities.html
Early Reading Assessment Tools
"This searchable database describes in detail all available early reading assessment tools that are published and distributed in the SEDL region. It is intended to provide valuable information about all of the options available to teachers and administrators who are seeking reliable reading assessment tools for children in grades Pre-K to 3."
http://www.sedl.org/reading/rad/
Create Your Own Reading Probes
OKAPI - The Internet Application for Creating Curriculum-Based Assessment Reading Probes
http://www.lefthandlogic.com/htmdocs/tools/okapi/okapi.php
Comprehension Assessment (4th-6th grade)
Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) Maze passages are timed measurements that are used to gauge reading comprehension. The assessment can be given to a group of students and is typically used in 4th-6th grade. Students are presented with a maze passage which has the first sentence left intact. The preceding sentences have every seventh word replaced with a blank and three possible replacement, only one is semantically correct (A sample passage is shown to the left). Students are giving 2.5 minutes to read the passage silently and are instructed to circle the correct words. If a student makes 3 consecutive errors the test is discontinued. Skipped blanks are counts as errors. The number of correctly circled words is the raw score which can be charted to track student progress.
Description from Using CBMs for Progress Monitoring in Reading.
Intervention Central has a Maze passage generator.
Concepts About Print Assessment
When a child is an emergent reader, they will need to be taught how to hold and read a book. What is the front cover, where do you start reading and which direction to you read in. Marie Clay created the concepts about print assessment tool.
The major components a child should know are:
- Where to begin writing or reading, going from left to right
- Where to go after the end of the line (return sweep)
- The print, not the picture, carries the message
- Word by word pointing (one-to-one correspondence)
- Concept of a letter, word, sentence
- Concept of first and last part (of the word, sentence, story)
- Letter order in words is important
- There are first and last letters in words
- Upper and lower case letters have purpose
- Different punctuation marks have meaning
Below is a video of the test being performed.
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