Technology Review #4

http://www.storylineonline.net/

The picture above is what you see on the homepage of the link above. I love how it shows children engaged in reading.  This is a great website if you have an extra few minutes before lunch or a rainy day recess.  

Reading to children has been repeatedly shown to improve their reading, writing and communication skills, logical thinking, concentration and general academic aptitude… as well as inspire a love of reading. The Screen Actors Guild Foundation records well-known actors reading children’s books and makes graphically dynamic videos so that children around the world can be read to with just by clicking a video book image.  Many teachers play Storyline Online videos for their students along with doctors and nurses for children in hospitals. Parents and children around the world watch Storyline Online videos millions of times every month.

I use this site in my classroom on a regular basis.  A great way for students to hear others read stories aloud to them and best of all, it is free!  The stories are read by actors and sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation (they use wonderful expression when they read the stories which of course helps with students fluency because they hear others doing it) and EIF-Entertainment Industry Foundation.  There is an A-Z directory of books on the site, activity guides for books (PDF files), you can purchase the books (when you click on a book it goes to Amazon.com, if you start shopping here then Storyline Online will receive 8% of you purchase from Amazon), you can make donations to help reach even more children around the world, and it is very user friendly.  My daughter's favorite book (which I have probably played 100 times by now) is I Need My Monster.  New books are placed on the website periodically and I have signed up for updates so I can make sure I know when a new book is posted.