Walls Second Graders Use Digital Tools for the Daily 5

Over the next three weeks the second graders will be using several digital tools that fit within the Daily 5™ framework that is used for literacy instruction in their classroom. The Daily 5™ is a framework for structuring literacy time so students develop lifelong habits of reading, writing, and working independently. The framework encompasses the following authentic reading and writing formats: Read to Self, Work on Writing, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, and Word Work

Yesterday Mrs. Wilbur introduced students to Vocabulary-Spelling City for Word Work. This morning in the AT&T Classroom Mrs. Wilbur introduced two online tools for Listen to Reading - StarFall and StoryLine Online.  Both sites offer access to free online stories that include audio narration with accompanying text. Opportunities for Listening to Reading can have a tremendous impact on the development of students’ overall literacy.   

Opportunities to Listen to Reading play an important role in a child's development of literacy skills. It is believed that up until around the eighth grade, a child's listening level (the level of text that he/she can understand when it is read aloud) is far above their reading level. When a child listens to a text that is above his/her reading level, they comprehend more difficult and interesting material and also broaden their vocabulary. Additionally, the students become familiar with the phrasing, expression, and flow of sentences in stories or texts as they are read aloud to them.