- Starfall http://www.starfall.com
- Letter Quiz: http://22learn.com
Starfall is an easy to use program for young scholars. I chose this based on the ease of use for younger students and the content. Starfall is a visually appealing website with many of the areas Kindergarten teaches - numbers, letters, colors, songs and so much more. The ability level can vary depending on the activities you choose so every learner is able to succeed. I envision using this as a choice area in my classroom. Scholars can work on their iPads with the Starfall App and learn at their own pace and choose their area of learning.
Letter Quiz is another program that focuses on letter matching. This could include upper and lowercase matching as well as matching a letter with a picture that has its beginning sound. Also, on Letter Quiz, it shows a scholar how to write/trace their letters. A friendly icon shows them the path of the letter and then gives them the opportunity to write it themselves in the app. I chose this website based on the ease of use and the way the game choices are structured. It has a specific focus on letter recognition. I envision using this app as a way to have students identifying letters and sounds, upper and lower case. This could be used as a whole group instruction or as an individual activity for learning.
Sample Lesson Blog
I love the idea of introducing yourself via pictures and voice. Our staff present our racial autobiographies through pictures and it is a very effective tool bringing faces to stories told.
How clear are the directions?
I think for older students, it is simple to understand. They use quite a bit of social media and would be able to grasp the concept of putting together a story to introduce themselves.
What level learner is this appropriate for?
I think for an independent activity, older middle school students and high school students would be able to complete this assignment. However, if they are not connected to social media, I can see obtaining the pictures needed being an issue.
With younger students, I can see this working in conjunction with the Star of the Week concept when they are introducing themselves to other students and pointing out their uniqueness. This would have to be completed with assistance from the teacher or classroom aide but I could definitely see students enjoying watching others and themselves presenting in a different way.
How effective is the sample lesson as a whole?
I think the sample lesson demonstrates the objective, but I wonder if there was a clear enough outline of what information to include in the introduction to the class. This might be a great brainstorming opportunity to see what they want included in the introduction so we don't miss something that may be important to them.
How might I use this with my learners in a different way?
As stated above, I would use this as a way to enhance introductions to one another in an Kindergarten setting. I know how much scholars like to see pictures of my own family so I keep them posted for them to look at and question. I feel that looking at other presentations of scholars would open up some authentic questioning opportunities at morning meeting.
Let’s try this again
ReplyDeleteBobbie,
Thanks for posting on Starfall.com. Even though I teach at the high school level, I do find it useful with a large number of my students currently. About half of my current population have no literacy background even in their L1 so we are working at a basement level to learn letters and sounds, etc. Starfall has been great to work with letter sound recognition, etc without being too “kid like”.