Better Book Reports — 25 Ideas

From site: 

Tired of the same old book report formats? Do your students grumble every time you mention the words book reports? Spice up those old book reports with some new ideas. Education World presents 25 ideas for you to use or adapt. In addition: Ideas for cyber book reports!

Are you a teacher who keeps saying “I wish I could find a way to make book reports more fun and interesting for my students”? Education World offers 25 ideas that might help you do just that!

Mr Nussbaum Reading Comprehension

This is an interactive site and app with multiple-choice quizzes to short reading passages for students in grades 1-8. Select a grade level, choose a reading passage, then answer the questions about what you’ve read.

The site says the passages “mirror state-mandated assessments.” However, I found the reading passages to be too difficult for the suggested grade levels. I chose a few random passages from Grades 1 and 2, and scored them at reading levels between grades 6 and 8. A few passages from the Grade 5+ section scored at grade 12. So I recommend scoring the reading level of a passage before assigning it to a student.

Content aside, pop-up ads often appear when moving to a new page and must be closed before viewing the content. The authors say there will be an option to block ads sometime in 2018, after a site redesign.

Sections for parents and teachers suggest ways to support your student’s use of the interactives at home and in the classroom.

Additional premium features and app versions are available for a fee.

 

 


Techniques for Teaching Reading Effectively

From site: 

If reading came naturally, teaching would be a much easier job. Children would learn to read as readily as they learn to speak. Teachers would only need to give students the chance to practice their skills.

But children don’t learn to read just from being exposed to books. Reading must be taught. For many children, reading must be taught explicitly and systematically, one small step at a time. That’s why good teachers are so important.

Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.

The Reading Rockets project is comprised of PBS television programs, available on videotape and DVD; online services, including the web sites ReadingRockets.org and ColorinColorado.org; and professional development opportunities. Reading Rockets is an educational initiative of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation’s capital, and is funded by a major grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.

ReadWriteThink: Doodle Splash

From site:

Teaching K-8 students to visualize what they are reading and to create graphic symbols helps them develop as readers. Doodle Splash interactive combines the process of drawing with analytical thinking about a text by pairing an online drawing space with writing prompts that encourage students to make connections between their visual designs and the text. The tool can be used for whole-class discussion of a short story (or part of a novel), small-group work, or individually, where students use doodles, symbols, drawings, shapes, and colors to construct a graphic of their story or chapter. After completing their individual or group images, students have the ability to print out their final versions for feedback and assessment. 

ReadWriteThink: Cover Guide and app

From site:

Explore the parts of book covers and dust jackets with this online guide, designed to allow users to review the content that appears on each portion of these artifacts. Students can use the tool to review the parts of a book cover before analyzing how book covers work or creating their own book covers.

The Cover Creator app is also available for iPad/iPhone and Android devices.

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