ReadWriteThink URL: http://www.readwritethink.org/

ReadWriteThink is made up of a community of literacy expert advisors and a diverse group of educators who share a passion for literacy learning. It has partnered with the International Reading Association (IRA), National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and Verizon Thinkfinity to provide access to best practices in literacy. Visit the ReadWriteThink site at http://www.readwritethink.org/

Literacy Sites

Featured URL: http://www.lislelibrary.org/lldliteracysites.htm

Literacy Sites – ESL & ABE is maintained by the Lisle Library District, which promotes the three E’s of “Enrich, Educate, and Empower.” This site further focuses on ESL and Adult Basic Education (ABE) websites.

Second Language Acquisition Sites

Check out the following websites for information on SLA,ESL, assessment, language diversity, bilingual education, technology and language learning, two-way immersion, and more. Enjoy! http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SLA/ http://www.cal.org/siteMap.html

University of Richmond’s Writer’s Web

URL:  http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb.html

Features:  Writing in the disciplines, peer editing, brainstorming, clustering, freewriting, outlines, reading strategies, and other resourceful writing activities.

EarlyMoments.com

Reviewed by Johnavan Tamayo

This website and organization is dedicated to giving children the gift of reading. Earlymoments.com was founded by a group of editors and publishers, to include Julie Stan, that are educators and parents. Early Moments has been around for 45 years publishing popular titles and series such as Baby Einstein, Dr. Seuss, and Disney.  It is their firm belief that reading to your children at a very young age will prove most beneficial to a lifetime of learning.

Early Moments provides 10 strategies that parents can incorporate into their routine.  With each strategy it requires that the parent be enthusiastic about reading and model ideal practices.  The strategies included are quite easy to incorporate. Words are everywhere, thus at every corner have children read the text in sight. Taking regular trips to the library is another way to keep children interested. This website also details games and activities parents can simply do at home with their children.

Lastly, they provide booklists of all those published under Disney, Baby Einstein, and Dr.Seuss. When you click the title it gives a detail description of the books origins, a summary, then an activity that can be performed in the home. Early Moments effectively promotes literacy, while focusing on reading at the early stages of a child’s life.

Reading Rockets: www.readingrockets.org

Reviewed by Erik Miller

Features: Reading Rockets is possibly the most comprehensive reading strategies website available. It offers a multitude of research, strategies, and multimedia learning tools. It includes resources for parents, such as booklists, tips on creating a home library, tips on finding books at the right reading level for your child, and tips for reading with your child. Most importantly, it includes booklists, watch and learn videos, author study toolkits, and author interviews.

In particular, the author interviews can be useful in the classroom. The video interviews are the cheapest and fastest way for students to connect with authors before the write or read. It would be excellent to show the Marylin Singer before a poetry unit and have the students analyze what she said poetry can be. Likewise, it would be fun for students to listen to Lois Lowry’s interview about “The Giver” before or after reading it, and discuss her point of view regarding how controversial it is. Students can then decide for themselves after reading it if it controversial and should be removed from a school reading list.

To go directly to the author interview sit of Reading Rockets copy and past the following link into your URL bar: http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/