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Weaving The Internet Through Your Elementary Literacy Curriculum Enhancing and Extending Literature Lessons  with Technology   Presented by Julie Coiro Last updated May, 2004 This list of resources can be accessed online at  http://www.lite.iwarp.com/weaveint.htm

THE BIG QUESTION:
How can I use the Internet to enhance and extend the range of literacy opportunities for my elementary school students?

Enhancing Texts

Build background knowledge for learners of all ages with this incredible resource.

Enchanted Learning : Zoom Learning Units, Little Explorers Picture Dictionary (with vocabulary in five languages!), hundreds of animals printouts, great graphics, Rebus Nursery Rhymes, Easy Crafts, Geography Units, coloring pages and even activities for preschoolers.  Reading level gets harder as you follow more links within their site, and then eventually link to outside resources to extend even further.  There's enough to keep your students, Grades K-6, busy and learning all year long!

Fill extra learning minutes with an assortment of word games: start one up in a learning center each day, and provide links to two or three others for each day of the week.

FunBrain.com Word Activities

Yahooligans Word Games Index

Literacy and Math Flash Games from Toftwood Primary School in the United Kingdom


Look, Cover, Write, Check


Provide literacy extension activities for a range of students at each grade level that are updated and archived every week.

My Weekly Reader Grades PreK-6 series provides update articles related to printed materials, respond in interactive voting polls, monthly Internet links, respond to writing prompts online, Mystery Photo Contest, Jeopardy style News Busters game, This Week in History, Sports Quest, activities that compliment Science Spin, weekly News Cruise contest, CyberWord Search and Crossword Puzzles, Galaxy Gazette (news from your community), interactive quizzes and much more.

My Weekly Reader's for Grade 6-10 students who read Current Events, Current Science, READ (and Write), Know Your World Extra and Teen Newsweek, all Weekly Reader publications which you can subscribe to online and receive print versions in your classroom.

Provide numerous opportunities for students to interact with non-fiction formats of text that cover current events issues for a wide range of topics.  Link up to a different one each day of the week to encourage variety!

Scholastic NewsZone: includes Top News, Pop Zone, Special Reports, Games and Quizzes and Vote Now (main page for Grades 3-middle school, but special index of activities for Grades PreK-2

Time for Kids Classroom  includes links to current event articles about politics, science, and kids views. Link to the latest online issues of World Report, News Scoop and special issues, all designed for kids.

Sports Illustrated for Kids includes online surveys, sports trivia, reports on athletes and sports personalities, draft your own team with "fantasy sports", and challenging sports cards to interact with.

National Geographic for Kids includes online articles about current topics with an accompanying talk board, as well as links to amazing facts, a cartoon factory, a great online "Geobee" challenge with 5 new questions every day, science experiments, online family cyberhunts, interactive quizzes, a pen pal network and archives of past main articles. You can also visit the home page for World Magazine for Kids which has similar resources, but links to articles from previous issues of the magazine.

Smithsonian Magazine for Kids includes What's New, email message topics, facts & photos and feature articles about science, animals, personalities, sports, the arts, worldwide, history, air and space

New York Times Learning Network and Multimedia Collection


Encourage students to read both fictional and non fictional texts about a topic they are studying.

Magic Tree House Series from Random House gives students access to related fictional books and non fictional web sites as well as new research guides to help plan an entire unit.  This is a great example of how to link trade books and the Internet together for students.

Lesson ideas like Text Sets from Virginia, Carol Hurst's Theme Collections, and a lesson idea from Read, Write, Think.


View texts created by others to locate information created within an age appropriate format.

Lots of informative web sites created by all grade levels of students at Pocantico Hills School in New York

An individual example of a hard to locate topic: Native Americans Unit created by fourth grade students

Inventive Genius proudly displays the work of elementary students in a gifted resource center in Arizona.


Created professionally: Ace on the Case: Secrets at Sea  fun online investigative game exploring topics in Ocean Science. Learn about oceanography, marine animals, and water pollution as you collect clues to solve a mystery.

Created professionally: Discovery Kids Online -- Explore by topic including Animals, Dinosaurs, History, Planet Earth, Space and Technology or Discovery Games


Interact with real authors and illustrators.  Hear storytellers tell their personal stories online to help students realize they are real people!

Tedd Arnold Read answers to questions from other kids, post your own illustrations in the art gallery, look at works in progress, access step by step drawing instructions and invite the illustrator to come to your school

Eric Carle Send snail mail, read answers to kids questions, and find out about craft activities that help you create illustrations like this author

Jan Brett: Participate in contests, listen to her speak, and watch Jan Brett video descriptions of some of her stories

Mary Pope Osborne: Help her title her new books, ask her new questions each month, find out what's coming next and publish stories of your own online

Jean Craighead George: Read answers to letters from children, access great biographical information in the form of text, audio, video and photographs

Interact with online storybooks. Encourage students to compare and contrast these electronic versions with the traditional printed versions.  Most have a range of multimedia options.

Magical Kingdom Stories: many interactive folktales


Alfie's Stories and Fairy Tales to select and view

Steven Cosgrove's BookPop includes animation, audio and read alouds.


Whootie Owl: read, listen to, talk about and illustrate online stories from around the world

Storyplace: The Children's Digital Library: Thematic stories and online activities to complete

The Big Myth invites readers of all ages into this flash animated study of world creation myths.



Give students an opportunity to participate in a full length, web designed learning activity that complements your classroom literature studies.

SCORE Cyberguides Designed by California Teachers

• Bread and Jam for Frances, five Internet activities designed for Grade 2 students
• My Brother Sam is Dead, four questions guide these Grade 5 students
• To Kill A Mockingbird, four activities for Grade 9-10 students frame the study of persuasion and point of view
  

Bernie Dodge's Web Quests

• In Search of Stellaluna's Family: (Gr. K-3) Help Stellaluna learn more about bats as she searches for her mother
• The Light in the Forest (Gr. 6-8) Students "capture" another Native American and create a new identify for  him/her so they fit into the Lenni Lenape culture in this extension of the novel "The Light in the Forest" by Conrad Richter.
  
• Edgar Allen Poe: Father of Horror (Gr. 8-12) Students work in editorial teams to create a program and a playbill that celebrates Poe's life and work.
  

Thinkquests: Designed by students

• Rat Tales: A Unit Study for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Contest winner)
• The Art of Storytelling: American Folk tales (created by 10 and 11 year olds)
• American by Pen: A Collection of American Literature related to society (created by high school students)
  

 



Extending Texts

Create interactive multimedia texts and use the Internet as an audience. Use HyperStudio to create your books and then save them as web pages or create them directly in Netscape Composer or Claris HomePage.  Students can also 
      join interactive writing projects online.


Whale Tales Project is the product of a unique form of second grade student directed research in action


Crystals and Unicorns is an illustrated hypertext story by 2nd graders

2nd graders can also create informational text collections about Colonial Life to illustrate what they've learned.


This Harriet Tubman Quiz was created by second graders at Pocantico School in New York to share with others.


Collaborative Interactive Stories created over years by writers sponsored by Writopia.


Global Story Train includes thousands of stories and illustrations constructed by children partnered together from more than 100 countries. 


The Magic Scroll invites readers to explore this hyperlinked environment like a choose your own path story frame.


Make your own quizzes / activities to go along with books / themes you are covering or encourage students to design their own to exchange with other students.

Quia: create twelve different types of games (hangman, jumbled words, Java concentration games, ordered lists, scavenger hunt, and more) and two variations of interactive quizzes or access a huge database of already created activities; students love to create games here related to their book studies  (Explore their directory of activities)


• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
• Children's Book Characters and Their Creators

Quiz Lab at FunBrain.com: Access ready made interactive quizzes, create your own online quizzes, print out a paper version, assign particular quizzes to individual students, access quiz scores, and have scores e-mailed to you weekly

TrackStar: easily compile a list of Internet sites related to a topic/book/author/illustrator and post a question or activity for students to complete while visiting each site.  Try the new QuizStar as well!


• Westward Ho, designed for a "Reading Through Technology Lab" used by 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students that are reading substantially below grade level to supplement the reading and activities that are done in the classroom
• Invite an Author: students explore a variety of web sites to help them through a simulation in which they invite an author to visit their school. 
  
• Tricksters in Children's Literature supports a lesson on Trickster stories for elementary students
  
• A Medieval Pilgramage: A journey through daily life during the Middle Ages as high school students begin preparation for the Christendom simulation and the study of medieval poetry in British literature.
  

Join an interactive telecommunications project that enriches your student's study of literature based topics.  Better yet, try to create your own and ask others to join in.

First Grade, First Grade What Do You See

The Day I Was Born Online Project invites you to use the Internet to find and share important and interesting information about what was happening in the world when you were born.


A great place for elementary literature based projects is Susan Silverman's Webfolio

Stellaluna's Friends

Kidspired Frosty Readers 2004

Lemony Snicket: Students in Grades 5 & 6 work collaboratively with pre-service teachers in this project


Create your own project and ask others to join at the Global Schoolhouse Project Registry

Read about many types of tele-collaborative projects compiled by Judi Harris

UNICEF Voices of Youth Projects and Learning Activities like Children's Rights or Environmental Issues

Provide access to "kid-proof" search engines that enable them to locate new information.

Yahooligans: browse through topics or search safe sites designed for kids

Ask Jeeves for Kids: ask real questions and get help narrowing your search

Kids Click: Designed by librarians. It also includes nine Internet searching lessons that teachers and parents can do with learners.

Fact Monster provides easy access to a children's atlas, almanac, dictionary, encyclopedia and much more.


Provide an interactive forum and larger audience for students to publish book reviews.

Germantown Academy 5th Grade Super Readers have compiled an amazing set of book reviews that grows each year.


View and write your own Book Reviews at the World of Reading

Spaghetti Book Clubs: Search by title, reviewer or grade level; visit clubhouse too.

Encourage readers to move beyond traditional reading and writing activities and use the information they've read to create something new to share with others.
 
 

Genre Study	Kids Mysteries on the Web: Read, write and solve all kinds of mysteries!
Genre Study	Poetry Genre Study: Complete four web-based activities for high school students.
Responding  with Writing	Comic Strip Webquest: Collaborative team of Cast Director, Story Editor and Layout Engineer research and create their own cartoon
Author Study	Literary Fan Club:  Create some promotional materials to target the right audience for your fan club.
Creating Picture Galleries	Emu Picture Gallery: Use this model created by second graders to inspire your own picture gallery linked with text.
Online Diary Project	Online Diary of Mr. Gall's Class: Encourage students to record their daily memories and share them with others in this simple, well organized format.
Pre-Reading  Activity	Sadako and the Paper Cranes Explore the land, culture, and history of Japan during the time the story takes place. Then read the book while thinking about how you feel about war.
Responding  with Technology	Wonders of the World: Design and create a travel advertisement for their destination using a word processor, digitized pictures, and multimedia slide show creator.
Responding with Technology	Fairy Tale Project: Share an entire learning unit from start to finish with a wider audience to celebrate your accomplishments

Design your own class web page for students to use in your classroom and at home

Create age appropriate icon links for beginning readers.

Design a list of online links for themes covered in your classroom like Marci McGowan's 1st grade or advertise class projects like Mrs. Elliot's Second Grade.

Communicate with parents with electronic texts like Mrs. Abernathy's 5th grade class

Use software tools that create opportunities for students to transfer their classroom work into an interactive, hyperlinked web page to publish and share information with others.

Animals in our backyard home page map created with Kid Pix Studio

Tons of classroom ideas created with Inspiration

Harriet Tubman slide show created with HyperStudio

Provide scaffolded support for students with diverse needs still learning how to master effective reading strategies.

CNN Learning Resources: current news stories accompanied by a range of multimedia interactive activities (video clip, sound clips, read text online) to build reading comprehension skills for older students

Export images from an Internet web page onto a PowerPoint slide show and use to provide access to age appropriate topics. The teacher or the student (depending on your goal) can add text at a lower reading level.

ReadPlease.com's FREE speech-text reader reads Internet text to your students.

Provide support for ESL students with an Online Translator.  You can translate a word, phrase, sentence, paragraph or even an entire web page into one of six languages including English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian and Portuguese

Dave's ESL Cafe on the Web. The Internet's Top Site for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World

Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab... Interactive Conversational Quizzes woven with Real Audio sound clips

Access information about software and hardware for your student's literacy needs.

Don Johnston Software Write:Outloud 3.0 talking word processor

Are you using your high powered computers only as a word processor; or do you need access to more computers for your student's writing needs?  Look no further than the AlphaSmart 3000 keyboards for an easy solution.

You must visit Inspiration and Kidspiration to download demos of their electronic graphic organizers!

Visit web sites designed for teachers about using literature in your classroom.

Imaginary Lands is a new directory for young adult and children's literature

Literature Learning Ladders from Eduscapes has lots of great lessons!

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site: discussion starters, extension ideas, research starters, activities, book lists, author highlights, free newsletter, articles for professional development, subject and thematic Book Lists

VanderGrift's Children's Literature Page: Offers information for enhancing literacy and tips for sharing literature with young people. Examines various genres in children's literature, including modern realistic fiction, fanciful fiction, regional and historical fiction, biography, informational materials, and poetry.

Reading Online:  link to international literacy experts, online communities, ideas for technology integration, great articles and discussions of new types of literacies

Education Place's Reading and Language Arts Center: lessons and projects galore

Education World's Language and Literature Center: matrix of teacher tools and thematic lesson plans

Making Cultural Connections Through Tradebooks: Access this database that links together trade books, software and Internet resources for classroom instruction

Clearinghouse for books written in non-English language

Author Study: Helping teachers create an Internet project that integrates children's literature

Teachers.Net Chatrooms and Discussion Forums: Chat online with authors/illustrators or share discussion comments with other teachers