I was going through my Google Reader this morning and came across this post on mentor texts that I found interesting. I thought I would share it with you. The book the author refers to sounds interesting.

http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2011/08/mentor-authors-mentor-texts-by-ralph.html

Let me know what you think.

Cindy

Check out this great resource for encouraging students to read, write and wonder!

I thought this site might be useful to use with students who need some basic phonics help. Here’s what the site creators have to say about their program:

Progressive Phonics is an all-in-one reading program that is easy, fun, and totally FREE—that’s right, totally and completely free! And with Progressive Phonics, ANYONE can teach a child to read and write in just a few minutes a day, which makes it ideal for parents, teachers, tutors, volunteers and home-schoolers.

• No experience necessary. Just pick a book and start reading it with your child/students.
• Matching handwriting worksheets and activity sheets for each book — when children write what they learn, they learn it better.
  
• Also teaches the essential sight-words (phonics rule-breakers) that most phonics programs fail to teach.
  
• Instant access — download and use today. (Free registration required, but there are sample books you can look at before registering.)
  
• Our books can be read on-screen or printed on your color printer. Each book takes 4–8 minutes to print and uses as little ink and paper as possible.

This might be a great resource to use with parents who want to do some extra practice at home. Be sure to check it out and leave a comment to let me know what you think of it.

Here is an online resource that might helpful for your students who read at lower reading levels or for your ESL students who are new to learning English. It has leveled readers, phonics activities and more that you can download and use on your computer. Here’s what the site creators have to say about Literactive:

“Literactive is the leading provider of reading material for pre-school, kindergarten and grade 1 students available online. The program is comprised of carefully levelled guided readers, comprehensive phonic activities and a wealth of supplemental reading material which gradually develop a child’s reading skills in a sequential and enjoyable manner. Developed and approved by teachers and parents across the United States, Literactive is the acknowledged leader in early learning online. All the material is available for free from this site but you need to register. “

You do have to register to use the site materials, and the files are .exe files which might be blocked for downloading at school, so you may need to download them at home and bring them on flash drive to install. If you find the site useful, I can talk to the tech department about having access to the files unblocked. Let me know what you think about it!

I know that many of you use Beth Newingham’s website as a resource for reading workshop. Here is a nice article by her about what reading workshop looks like in her classroom. The best part is that it has a video to actually show you what her workshop looks like! Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think.

Happy reading!

Cindy