Free Mini Books

Do you need more reading resources for your classroom?  Do you have a classroom budget?  Then the free Mini Books from Scholastic are just what you need.  You can search by topic, reading level, and grade level. This tool is wonderful for reinforcing concepts from other subjects in your reading lesson.  If you have students that are above or below the level of books you have in your classroom library this could also be a valuable tool.  If you create an account, or have a Scholastic account all ready, then you can save books online to use in the future.  Happy reading!! 

Gotta Keep Reading

Next week is Reading Week at my school.  One of our teachers shared this video from Youtube with us. It made me want to dance....and then go read!

Ocoee Middle School - Gotta Keep Reading

Read Wright Think

The Read Wright Think page has lots of information for the classroom and for home or after school activities to engage students in reading. There are lots of lesson plans that you can search by grade level, topic, objective, or theme.  There are also student interactives, podcasts for students, and a text messages that are recommended for adolescent readers. The also have lessons set up by the month!  What a simple way to find reading lessons for your class!  There are 24 lessons for April and they have an Earth Day Lesson.

Poetry Month

Remember that April is Poetry month! Her are some pages that you can use with your classes. 


Poetry Idea Engine -Scholastic - Interactive white board 

Celebrate National Poetry Month - Scholastic 

Poets.org

National Poetry Month - Crayola 

Education World

Reading Rockets

Online Magnetic Poetry Kits - Like what you would use on the refrigerator at home.  Would work well with an interactive white board.

SMART Exchange Poetry Lessons

Promethean Planet Poetry Lessons

Learning to read with Startfall

Starfall has four different sections and several other activities to use with your students with using phonics. This page would work well with an interactive white board for full class instruction or with students on individual computers with head phones.  It could be uesed as part of your centers rotation. I find this page easy to use for teachers and students. My 5 year old pre-schooler has no trouble using this webpage with no help from mom or dad.

The ABC's section helps students get ready to read.  There is an activity for each letter.

Learning To Read has 15 book and activity groupings based letter combinations, sight words, and vowels. There are even some short videos.

The It's Fun To Read section is fun!  There are several different activities that the students can use.

I'm Reading has several eBooks for the students to explore.

There are several other activities that would be fun to do with you class for several holidays as well.  There is also an interactive calendar that is fun to use as well. It works well with an interactive white board and your calendar helper would love it!

Literacy Resources

The Reading Is Fundamental webpage has several literacy resources that can be used for professional growth, classroom activities, and making the home to school connection.

The text below is taken form the Literacy Resources section of the Reading is Fundamental webpage.

RIF Resources Provide Information and Inspiration

Literary Resources offers a wealth of support and information about reading and children. The myriad choices reflect our determination to provide teachers and parents with current trends in education, down-to-earth suggestions on reading in the home, and no-nonsense strategies to improve children’s reading.

The Activities section features scores of learning opportunities for every age group and skill level through various activities, such as cultural heritage, drama, and writing.

Our Booklists provide topic suggestions—from Early Literacy to Multicultural Books and Motivating Young Readers.

The Articles section is a treasure trove of insight and inspiration for teachers and parents, exploring diverse literacy topics such as reading aloud, having fun at museums, and creating home libraries.

Our Brochures are easy-to-read guides offiering tips for reading with preschoolers and choosing the right books for youngsters.

The Multicultural literacy resources are at the heart of RIF's Multicultural Literacy Campign. They provide children windows to other cultures and mirrors of their own experience. 

As you can see they have much to offer!  I like the Monthly Activities Calendar under the activities link.  There are two calendars one for birth to age 5 and another for ages 6-15.  Linking this to your web page, or sending home a hard copy at the start of the month, would give parents some ideas of activities to do with their child.  I have started using them with my kids and it is a lot of fun.   You can get the calender in English or Spanish.