Reading Comprehension & nT – December 2011
Reading Aloud – Riding the Sound Waves to Success
Did you know that netTrekker offers text-to-speech support for all of the content and information in our interface? How does adding auditory support to text-based information benefit learners? The benefits of bringing flat, text-based content to life for learners are numerous…
- Personalize a student’s experience by converting text to speech to increase comprehension – give them the independence and choice for when to seek assistance with material using the read aloud tool.
- Improve the skills associated with reading, predicting, writing, speaking and listening.
- Increase vocabulary by letting students listen to material well above their reading level.
- Develop imagination, foster curiosity and increase attention span with read aloud.
- Increase a student’s ability to maintain sustained silent reading.
- Engage students – listening to information being read aloud is fun! Leverage the power of a tool that is fun and works like a super booster to literacy at the same time with netTrekker’s Read Aloud.
netTrekker Global Portfolio
Check out some of the great ideas for using Read Aloud with resources in our Global Portfolio collection. Be sure to hover over the item to see the description of how to use the Read Aloud tool most effectively and what settings to pick – launch the resource and turn on the Read Aloud tool and highlight text on the page to begin.
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How can the Read Aloud function in netTrekker help you reach more of your literacy objectives with your students? Are there specific students that you see this tool being more useful for than others? Join us on Facebook for the conversation! Share your thoughts on our Facebook wall!
It’s Not Too Late to Plan a Great Earth Day Celebration for Your Classroom
This is a hand-drawn image of the Earth from the Pics4Learning Collection in netTrekker’s reference feature.
Earth Day’s 40th anniversary is only two days away. Have you made your plans to spend some time outdoors with Mother Nature on Thursday, April 22? It’s not too late to write a quick note to send home in backpacks today. Ask parents to pack a lunch that requires no electricity and contains minimal packaging waste. A paper bag containing a peanut butter sandwiches, a piece of fruit, and milk or bottled water make for the perfect eco-conscious meal. Save the beverage containers to recycle and weigh the limited packaging and/or food waste. Keep a record of this and compare it to a “regular” lunch next week. Students will be amazed at the difference. Visit Educator’s Reference Desk: Cleaning Up for Earth Day. This site contains an activity for students of all ages to do on Earth Day. It shows students the things that humans waste as well as how to sort objects to be recycled.
Plan to begin your day with an Earth poem or song. Lin and Don Donn: U.S. History Lessons: Holidays: Earth Day contains lessons for Earth Day as well as coloring books, songs, and the like.
Go outside and observe nature. Have students complete a sense chart and record the sights, sounds, smells, and tactile qualities of natural objects.
Plant a class tree to commemorate this 40th anniversary. EcoKids provides simple tips for proper planting. To properly dedicate your new tree and honor Mother Nature, take the Earth Pledge.
Have students sit under your newly planted tree and work together in groups to create a Haiku, a traditional form of Japanese poetry about nature. The Kennedy Center resource, Kennedy Center: A Fact Haiku, will provide you a guide and assessments.
Enjoy a picnic lunch. Use any of the recyclable lunch containers to build a creative statue. Name this statue and keep it in your classroom as a reminder to REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE.
A great book by a treasured author.
Wrap up the day reading Just A Dream by Caldecott-winning Chris Van Allsburg. This story will serve as the perfect resource to reinforce your Earth Day activities and to motivate students to continue to make responsible choices as they play a part in preserving Earth’s resources. Chris Van Allsburg’s website is wonderful! It includes a Kids’ Corner, Teacher Resources and many other great literature resources to use anytime of year.
Do you already have some great plans for Earth Day? Post a comment to this blog. Also, visit netTrekker Village and start a discussion of Earth Day reflections. Post photos, quotes, or any other artifacts and let us know how you celebrate this important day.