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Free Support for the Third Grade Reading Guarantee
If not already available, the results of this year's reading diagnostic tests are coming. Once you know which students need extra help, the hunt for tools to support them begins.
Start your search with INFOhio's collection of free resources, which are linked from ODE's Third Grade Reading Guarantee page as well as from INFOhio's webpage at www.infohio.org. Students can use them at school or at home. Not only do they give students reading practice, but many of them help you track growth in specific reading skills, such as phonemic awareness, comprehension, and vocabulary. Below is a sampling of just a few:
BookFlix. New this year, BookFlix pairs classic video storybooks from Weston Woods with related nonfiction e-books. The combination of read-aloud stories with read-along nonfiction builds a love of reading while improving reading skills. Lexile scores included.
World Book's Early World of Learning. The Early World of Learning offers students in grades K-3 narrated stories, interactive reading games, leveled reading practice, and an online encyclopedia.
A Welcome to Reading section focuses on developing phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency. Two other areas on the site--Trek's Travels and Know It--help children develop vocabulary and comprehension.
Although designed with older elementary students in mind, World Book Kids offers simple navigation, easy-to-read articles, multimedia, comparison tools, interactive games and activities, and teacher resources.
Searchasaurus. Searchasaurus helps students in K-3 practice reading and searching skills. Searchasaurus allows for Lexile-level searching, which lets you target articles specifically to the needs of your student.
Discovery Portal. INFOhio's Discovery Portal--which is offered at no charge to all schools this year--contains many tools to encourage literacy. For example, the Elementary Reading and Vocabulary Room gives teachers and students a game area to practice reading and vocabulary skills. The Educator Guide includes a section on literacy and reading tools to help educators learn the latest techniques for reading education.
If you'd like help sorting through all the available tools with practical tips on applying them in the classroom, call on an ICoach. ICoaches, usually housed in an ITC or ESC office, are available in all regions of Ohio. Or watch some of our free webinars, like the upcoming BookFlix webinar.
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Ohio libraries--school, public, university, and special--are once again banding together to show the difference libraries make in their communities. You can take part by picking any day in November to take a snapshot of your library activities. Take pictures, collect stories, and share with your administrators and board.
You'll find lots of ideas for making the most of Library Snapshot Day in the State Library's Snapshot Day Toolkit. For more information about the purpose behind Snapshot Day and results from past years, go to www.library.ohio.gov/snapshotday.
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Free October Webinars
If you need to earn a CEU or just want to learn something new, log in to one of INFOhio's upcoming webinars.
All sessions are held on Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Can't join us at that time? You can still earn a certificate of attendance for CEU credit by watching the archived version and answering a few questions afterward.
To register for an upcoming session or to view a previous one, go to the Learn With INFOhio! webinars page.
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Discovery Portal Offered Free to All Districts
New this year, Discovery Portal with its librarian- selected content is available to all districts across Ohio, not just those that license their library software through INFOhio or who pay a fee.
Discovery Portal includes thousands of websites organized by curriculum area--including related arts-- and grade level--elementary school, middle school, and high school. In addition, each grade level features a comprehensive Educator's Guide, Librarian's Guide, and Parent's Guide.
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