QUESTION: e-books - anyone else using them with Reluctant Elementary Readers?

If you aren't I suggest you explore http://sylvandellpublishing.com . I applied for a grant and got the grant giving us access to their great science/math connections library. These books are available on every school computer AND families have home access too! Each title has online comprehension questions in reading and math. I then linked a blog to do book talks and ultimately a voicethread with students speaking about their favorites. You can visit this blog at:

http://www.northallegheny.org/schools/pes/PES%20Events%202008-09.htm

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by patty mcnichol on July 15, 2010 at 11:13am

How do you find htese grants? This is something I have never done.

Permalink Reply by Jan Spohn on July 15, 2010 at 11:51am

http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/ResourceGrant.htm

this should take you right to the resource grant application.

Permalink Reply by Jan Spohn on July 15, 2010 at 11:54am

should add that the entire application is done ONLINE! (Gotta love that!) I would first suggest you become familiar with the site and copy out the overview and provide an email with the links in it for your administrators. (I started with the Principal, then to the PR person who does our grant review --- then submitted it to the Elem. Supt and Supt. then got the go-ahead to apply.) Heard back from Sylvan Dell very quickly!

Permalink Reply by patty mcnichol on July 15, 2010 at 12:09pm

Thanks! I just e-mailed our principal and am hoping to hear back that we can do this :0)

Permalink Reply by Julie Johnson on August 1, 2010 at 6:43am

Hi There!

I am an elementary spec ed teacher and I have used two kinds of on line books with struggling readers in Gr. 2:

http://www.raz-kids.com/ and http://tumblebooks.com/

both of which require a subscription (for raz-kids I split the cost out of pocket with another teacher, for tumblebooks our school board bought and so we have access)

There is also http://www.storylineonline.net/--which is by donation.

My favourite of the 3 is raz-kids. It is easy to implement, track and I like the comprehension questions. The animation is great. They are also aligned with specific reading levels, so progress can be tracked. You can also print off hard copies of the books if you also have a subscription to http://www.readinga-z.com/.

It also has a built in incentive program...as students progress they earn 'stars' which they then use to buy decorations for their space ship/planet.

I had very positive results with raz-kids this past school year, with Gr. 2 students with ADHD and also low readers responding very positively. They loved buying things to decorate their rockets/planet and having the concrete feedback as to how well they were doing.

As it is web-based, they could also access at home. It is something I intend to keep using next year!

Regards,
Julie Johnson, SERT

Permalink Reply by Jill Rubinstein on September 2, 2010 at 6:09pm

SOmeone already mentioned tumblebooks (and that it requires a subscription) but most public libraries have a subscription so if students have a library card, they should be able to access tumblebooks from home (i use my library card to access tumblebooks from school).... great site to work on fluency and vocabulary for ELL's