This morning during their Daily 5 rotations in the AT&T Classroom, the Cornerstone first graders were introduced to the EPIC! website for Listen-to-Reading. EPIC! is an ebook library designed for students ages 12 and under. Epic is accessible on all platforms and devices giving students access to thousands of books straight from their device. Paid subscriptions allow for student profiles to be created for tracking students’ progress and offering personalized recommendations based on the reading level and interests of the student.
Opportunities for Listening to Reading can have a tremendous impact on the development of students’ overall literacy. 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.
Also during their Daily 5 rotations, the first graders were introduced to Doodle Buddy iOS, a free creativity app for iPads. The Doodle Buddy app offers several design tools including text for typing, paint brushes, chalk, glitter, stencils and stamps. The first graders are using the tools within the Doodle Buddy app for Word Work to give them practice with correctly writing and spelling their target words.
