Web 2.0 Tools for Literacy at the Elementary Level

Web 2.0 Tools for Literacy at the Elementary Level

Tools for literacy to help in the classroom.

By: Rebecca Krampl

Little Bird Tales  

https://www.littlebirdtales.com/

Little Bird Tales allows students to create their own Read-Aloud stories and lets them add life to stories they have written. This website allows students to either draw or upload pictures to illustrate their stories. They can also record their voices to add audio to the book. Little Bird Tales can be used directly on the computer or it can be downloaded as an app on an IOS device (Apple Products) such as an iPad.

This tool can be used to help students discover a new way of presenting stories they have written. This gives students the opportunity to interact with their stories on a visual and aural level. This tool can also be used to give a presentation for other subjects such as social studies, science, etc.

This tool can be useful for students who struggle with writing as it allows the student to interact with their story on a visual level it gives them a means to convey their ideas through drawing and pictures. It also allows students to express their stories using audio because they can record themselves speaking.

The terms of use states that this website is intended for children between ages of 3-14 years old and does require registration. 

Storymaker

http://www.carnegielibrary.org/kids/storymaker/storymaker.swf

Storymaker helps students create a story with interactive writing prompts. This website provides students with a selection of characters, emotions, interactions and objects to help them write a story.

This tool can be used to help students identify the main components of a story and help students with story writing which are important keys to literacy.  

This tool is useful for students who struggle with writing because it simplifies the writing process and gives them a selection of characters, objects, actions, and emotions to choose from as this can eliminate potential writer’s block. There is also a character on the website that acts as a coach to help guide students and further their writing. For example, the coach will ask why does the character do an action or why do they have a certain object to help add depth to the student’s written content.  This tool also provides a visual structure for the key components of a story.

This website does not require registration and it did not indicate a minimum age group that is required to use the website. 

Reading Bear

http://www.readingbear.org/

Reading Bear is a website that teaches young children how to read. This website contains over 50 presentations which help teach the basic phonic principals by using videos which displays the letters, mouth movements and a sentence involving the phonic principals.

This tool can be useful for students beginning to read as it provides them with a visual and audio. It can be beneficial for parents who want to introduce reading to their children and it can be used in the classroom to introduce various phonetic concepts.

This tool would be helpful especially for students who need both audio and visual simultaneously and because it comes in a video form it allows them to replay it as many times as needed. It would also be beneficial for students who struggle with learning difficulties.

To use the website it does not require registration and it does not indicate a minimum age group that is required to use the site.