Authenticity of starfall.com (it's great)

A great site for free printouts is
http://starfall.com

Web Site Evaluation

Does starfall.com meet the the five checks??

1. Authority - The authors of starfall.com are family. Dr. Stephen Schutz (phd), wife Susan Polis Shutz (who is a poet and former educator in NJ and NY City) and son Jared Schutz Polis (who served on the Colorado Boad of Education) got together and created this educational site. Why? Dr. Schutz was a stuggling reader as a child and wanted to create a place for parents and teachers to go to help children learn to read in English. Any sponsors? No, this site is not sponsored by any other corporations. However, Starfall.com does sell products that they have created and designed. What is great about this site is that you do not need to purchase anything to use the free resources designed by the Polis-Schutz family. The purchases are additional means to teach reading.

2. Accuracy - Starfall.com has 4 main heading - ABC's, Learn to Read, It's Fun to Read and I'm Reading. Within these four main areas there are various printouts and online activities. All of the activities that I tried were age appropriate for the kindergarten and first grade level and contained zero errors. There are so many games and activities to engage in that I couldn't try them all, but each one I did try had 100% great value.

3. Objectivity- This page is designed to inspire and help foster a love for reading. There is no "swaying" of opinion. Children learn to read by being enagaged in fun learning activities and that is exactly what starfall.com offers. Even though this site does have additional resourses to purchase, I was never exposed to any "offers." There are no advertisement pop-ups and games aren't stopped prematurely. I found myself feeling a little guilty that I was getting what I was getting for free.

4. Currency - Starfall.com is copywrited with a 2007 date. They also were name one of the "5 Internet Sites to Good to Miss" by The Reading Teacher (May 2006). There are some links to home schooling sites as it geared not only to teachers, but parents to. I did not check out the home schooling links to see their authenticity.

5. Coverage - The topics covered on this site are wide. Everything from calendars, writing a letter to grandparents, two styles of handwriting (each letter having its own printout), poetry, music, tongue twisters, riddles, story making and seasonal activities (Thanksgiving, snowmen, 100th day of school, pumpkins and Groundhog day) is included. This only covers the activities I tried....what else can you discover???

Learning with Curious George

http://pbs.kids.org/curiousgeorge/games

Curious George is ready to learn with your child. These games are recommended:

Banana 411 - number recognition
Monkey Faces - using click, drag and drop features of the mouse
Cows don't Quack- listening skills
Snapshot - great science games (float and sink, magnets, tools)

This site also includes printables. Bring in to school to share.

abc match

www.readwritethink.org/materials/abcmatch/

Children can match letters with pictures while also using their memory skills. How many letter and sound combinations can your child identify?

Helping Parents Connect to Room 88

I. Overview & Purpose - Why am I setting up a classroom blog for kindergarteners?

There are a wealth of web sites geared for children, but which sites connect with what your child is currently learning in kindergarten? This blog is designed to keep parents updated on quality web sites that children will enjoy.

II. Education Standards Addressed

*to be researched (technology for kindergarenterners is most definitely in our Masschusetts Curriculum Frameworks, I need to reread for the accurate numbers. Also, language arts, science and mathematics are a part of our frameworks.)

III. Materials

Parents need access to the Internet (and of course a computer). I also strongly suggest that parents pull up a chair and work with their child as he/she engages in these suggested web sites (remember one wrong click can take anyone anywhere online).

IV. Objectives

My objective in approaching this type of blog is to help parents get involved in their child's education. Children are highly motivated to use the computer and parents are more motivated to have their child play games on line oppose to opening up and setting up board games.
This blog will suggest teacher approved sites that correlate with what the students are currently learning in class. With only two computers in my classroom for 22 children, it takes 11 school days for everyone to get a chance to use technology. By then, we have covered several new concepts.
I also plan to use this blog to get feedback from parents regarding the suggested sites. Were the sites too easy, difficult or hard for the child to play? Also, any posititive feedback would be great to hear.

V. Procedure
Every week I would like to suggest three or four sites or links that correlate to the week's content. Every week in room 88 the children learn a new letter and sound, additional sight words, continue to build their science knowledge and learn about upcoming holidays and special events.

VI. Verification
As the blog is visited, it is hoped parents will post a response to any web sites they visited. Any feedback will be followed up with a response. Based on this communication, I will be able to see if the blog is well received (or not).

VII. Reflection
Weekly I'd like to post a reflection on the students performance. Are the students who engage in online games gaining more success in the classroom. Are the students making connections to the games they play and the learning we're doing in the room?