Learning to read and write using the Internet: sites you don't want to miss!(Technology in the Classroom). Jan Lacina.

Full Text :COPYRIGHT 2006 Association for Childhood Education International
Like many of my students, I communicate primarily through E-mail. One evening last week, I needed to check my E-mail account; since my 2-year-old daughters were occupied with play dough, I thought it would be a good time to quickly glance at the computer screen. So, I said, "I'm going to check my E-mail quickly, and then we will eat dinner." Not expecting any resistance, I was surprised when one of my daughters said, "No, I check my E-mail." I was not quite sure I clearly understood her, so I asked "You will do what, Caroline?" "I check my E-mail!" she yelled at me, while running toward the computer. Although she does not have an E-mail account, she understands that when she types on the keyboard, letters appear on the computer screen. She even recognizes a few of the letters she types. If not watched carefully, Caroline will turn on the computer and begin to type--or when she thinks I am spending too much time on the computer, she turns it off. I learned a very important lesson from Caroline that night: When she is a few years older, I must model and scaffold telecommunications, just as I currently model fluent reading from a book.
Young children today are exposed to technology at a much younger age than they were five to 10 years ago, and technology is now an important component of literacy. With early technology exposure, children have become telecommunications literate. Telecommunications literacy means that a child can not only operate a computer, but also locate and analyze multiple forms of information (Valmont, 2003). As Valmont explains,
Students who use the new technologies effectively will be the new literacy "haves," while those who do not will be literacy "have-nots." As educators, we must be prepared to help all students become proficient in using advanced technologies in their development of literacy and thinking capabilities. In other words, we must do all we can to help our students become telecommunications literate. (p. 2)
To be able to function in the world today, children need to learn how to read beyond a paperbound book. In this column, I highlight Web sites you do not want to miss. I chose these sites because they provide unique opportunities for children by promoting active literacy learning through technology use.
Benefits of Using Technology To Teach Reading
There are numerous benefits of using the Internet to teach reading and writing. Many online stories published on the Internet offer young children a wide variety of choices. They can select such options as story animation, oral narration, or word pronunciation on-demand. Offering such choices when reading allows children to take ownership of their reading (McKenna, Labbo, & Reinking, 2003); as a result, reading becomes fun and relevant to their own lives. Second, to become a member of a global community in our technology-driven world, children must now learn to navigate, read, write, and think critically by using informational and communication technologies (Karchmer, Mallette, Kara-Soteriou, & Leu, 2005). Workplace demands changed radically with the infusion of technology; as a result of such changes, teachers also must think of new ways to not only integrate technology into the curriculum, but also teach students how to critically read, using technology.
Web Sites To Save as Favorites
The following Web sites were some of my favorites, since they were interactive and provided ways to practice literacy skills. I have categorized them as sites useful for phonics and phonemic awareness, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, or writing. With the federal government's focus on scientifically based principles in the teaching of reading (No Child Left Behind Act, 2002), the five principles deemed necessary for the teaching of reading--phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension--cannot be ignored. Despite a new emphasis on writing with the addition of an essay section to the SAT test, writing remains the neglected "r" in most states (National Writing Project & Nagin, 2003). Therefore, I also chose to include excellent Web sites that encourage the development of written communication.
Phonics and Phonemic Awareness
www.starfall.com
This Web site is excellent for early literacy, as it introduces the letter sounds and interactive online stories for intermediate and advanced readers. The online material offers beginning readers the opportunity to explore and interact with words and the sounds that make up those words. Users can order printed materials or download materials for free. Parents can take part in this online adventure with their children.
www.sadlier-oxford.com/phonics/control_page/front2.htm
This site offers excellent activities for Pre-K to 6th-graders, from matching pictures to working with high-frequency words and vocabulary development. These activities are great for classroom use or for practicing phonics skills at home.
www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/palmasola/rcompindex1.htm
This site offers games and activities to help children practice the elements of phonemic awareness. The aspect of phonemic awareness covered are: rhyming words, counting syllables, where is sound, from words to sentences, and making oral predictions. Each section includes interactive and colorful graphics.
Comprehension
www.literacymatters.org/18under/index.htm
The goal of the Literacy Matters project is to improve the literacy development of middle grade and secondary school students who might be struggling in certain areas. This site provides parents with ideas about how they can support literacy learning at home and offers students the opportunity to participate in interactive, online tutorials. The site also provides resources for teachers, including professional development activities and downloadable lesson plans. In particular, the section on using think-alouds is especially interactive and useful.
www.readwritethink.org
The comprehension Web sites below were developed by ReadWriteThink.org. The ReadWriteThink site was developed in collaboration with the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) and the International Reading Association (IRA). The site offers peer-reviewed lesson plans and interactive graphic organizers, all of which are aligned to IRA/NCTE literacy standards.
www.readwritethink.org/materials/trading_cards/
The interactive Character Trading Cards tool is a fun and useful way for students to explore a character in a book that they are reading, or it can be used as a pre-writing exercise when creating characters for original stories.
www.readwritethink.org/materials/plot-diagram/
The Plot Diagram is an organizational tool focusing on a pyramid or triangular shape, which is used to map the events in a story. This mapping of plot structure allows readers and writers to visualize the key features of stories.
Fluency
www.busyteacherscafe.com/units/fluency.htm
This Web site provides a research-based overview of reading fluency, while also providing Internet links to various Web sites that promote and encourage reading fluency. Links to assess reading fluency also are included.
www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htm
The Web site offers a large number of free scripts for implementing a Readers Theater. The National Reading Panel (NRP) (2001) explains that repeated and monitored oral reading is essential in the development of reading fluency.
www.texasreading.org/utcrla/materials/primary.asp
The Vaughn Gross Center for Reading at the University of Texas at Austin offers a wide variety of online materials. These materials include a number of professional development guides, in which fluency is a major focus.
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4446
Scholastic offers an oral fluency assessment calculator for grades 3-5. Many early literacy teachers throughout the United States are required to monitor their students' fluency rates, as recommended by the NRP. Scholastic's calculator will indicate if the child is at or above grade level, or if the child needs intervention.
Vocabulary
www.vocabulary.com
This site allows you to access various learning activities and lesson plans designed to foster vocabulary acquisition. It also provides recommended reading lists and test preps to help students practice their vocabulary skills.
www.idiomsite.com
This site provides explanations for the most common idioms we use. By clicking on a phrase, definitions are provided. This site would be an excellent tool for assisting ESL learners in learning everyday phrases.
www.infovisual.info
This site offers a different way to learn words by displaying pictures. It acts as a visual dictionary and encyclopedia all in one!
http://artsci.shu.edu/classics/ classics/rootsof.htm
This page offers free downloadable software to find Greek and Latin roots of words in the English language. Directions for downloading are explained step-by-step and both teachers and students can access the other useful Web resources mentioned therein.
www.randomhouse.com/features/rhwebsters/
This site offers various links where users can practice vocabulary, learn new words, and even look up popular books. It also features a dictionary game designed for students to learn new words and definitions and directions on how to select a dictionary that is right for you!
www.word-detective.com
This site is the online equivalent to a newspaper column that answers questions about words and the English language. You can access archives of questions from past issues or submit your own question about words. There are How Come? columns designed for science questions and archives to research previous questions as well.
http://puzzlemaker.com
This is an excellent site for teachers, parents, and students! You can create and custom-design various puzzles for students to practice vocabulary. Word lists are provided for certain topics, or you can create your own puzzles based on whatever words you choose to practice. Links also are provided for science facts, a teacher's store, homework help, and other resources that are beneficial to both teachers and students.
Writing
http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/scramble.htm
Magnetic Poetry is an excellent, creative way for students to play with words and create their own poems. Children also can unscramble popular poetry, and share these poems with one another.
www.kidpub.org/kidpub/
This site offers access to thousands of real-life stories written by children all over the world. You can post a story of your own or choose from the online archive. It costs a small fee to join the KidPub page in order to publish your own stories. This page is an excellent tool for students who want to learn how to publish literature as well as share their stories with others all over the globe.
www.stonesoup.com
This magazine is made up entirely of content by children from all over the world. It is an excellent resource to share with students in your classroom. There are links online to subscribe to the magazine as well as biographies of the children who have contributed to the magazine.
www:readwritethink.org/materials/letter_generator
The Letter Generator tool is designed to help students learn to identify parts of a business letter or informal letter, and then generate letters by typing information into letter templates. A sample letter is included, and students can learn about the parts of a letter by reading descriptions of each part.
www.readwritethink.org/materials/postcard/
The Postcard Creator helps students learn to identify the typical parts of a postcard, and then generate their own postcard messages by typing information into letter templates.
References
Karchmer, R. A., Mallette, M. H., Kara-Soteriou, J., & Leu, D. J. (2005). Innovative approaches to literacy education: Using the Internet to support new literacies. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
McKenna, M. C., Labbo, L. D., & Reinking, D. (2003). Effective use of technology in literacy instruction. In L. M. Morrow, L. B. Gambrell, & M. Pressley (Eds.), Best practices in literacy instruction (pp. 307-331). New York: Guilford.
National Writing Project, & Nagin, C. (2003). Because writing matters: Improving student writing in our schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
National Reading Panel, The. (2001). Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read. Jessup, MD: National Institute for Literacy.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 1-7-110, 115 Stat. 1425. (2002). Retrieved September 12, 2006, from www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA02
Valmont, W.J. (2003). Technology for literacy teaching and learning. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.Source Citation: Lacina, Jan. "Learning to read and write using the Internet: sites you don't want to miss!(Technology in the Classroom)." Childhood Education 83.2 (Winter 2006): 117(3). Professional Collection. Thomson Gale. Florida Gulf Coast University. 4 Apr. 2007 http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/itx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=SPJ.SP12&docId=A157032441&source=gale&srcprod=SP12&userGroupName=gale15690&version=1.0.

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my say:

This article explains the significants of younger kids are getting exposed to the computer at a early age. By getting younger kids to use the computer, they are helping themselves get ahead of the pack. As the author said, "As educators, we must be prepared to help all students become proficient in using advanced technologies in their development of literacy and thinking capabilities. In other words, we must do all we can to help our students become telecommunications literate." By doing this kids will become better readers and writers, and teachers won't have to do so much work. You make think the internet isn't for young children, but your wrong. The internet actually has some stuff that can help your kid with reading and writing before they enter school. The great thing about it is the technology these days, the infants can use to better themselve for there education.

I believe this article is important,because it explains some of the many steps kids have to take to be a better reader or writer, at such a early age. Any head start a 3 year old can get will only help them get a head start over there classmates. If technology was around when we were that young im sure many kids would of done that. The technology we have in this day and age is designed to make every generation a little bit smarter then the first.