Books+Online+-+Reading+2.0

= Give students the opportunity to read books online! = == Please find below a list of sites that offer online audio books for students. I have visited the sites and have briefly reviewed each one below. Please let me know what you think of these sites. I will be adding them shortly to the Information Center page, as well. If you have any trouble linking to the sites directly from my email, just copy the URL and paste it in the address bar of your browser. == =__ Free sites… __= [|Public domain images] Copyright friendly - public domain images, free for any private or commercial use, credit or back link is not required.

[|http://www.storylineonline.net] This site is offered by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. It features actors reading well-know children’s books. Each narrated and animated book includes related activities. Students can turn on captions in order to read along with the story.

http://pbskids.org/lions/stories Website for PBS’s //Read Between the Lions//. Excellent collection of animated audio stories. One downside: the full screen view is a bit grainy. Also includes games and video clips. Check this site out!

http://www.kennedy-center.org/multimedia/storytimeonline Currently, there are just three stories, but look for more in the future. They use the Real Player for high quality playback. Stories are read aloud and include the original text and illustrations from the story.

[|http://storynory.com] Great storytelling site. Lots of retellings of old and new favorites. Students can listen to a story and then leave a comment about the story. The storyteller is BRITISH.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/story/sbi.shtml Interactive stories from the BBC. Lots of British vocabulary, but very cute stories.

[|www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/stories] From the BBC, various stories and rhymes (British).

[|http://www.robertmunsch.com] Under the link “Storytime with Robert Munsch,” there are lots of Munsch favorites read by Robert Munsch himself. To listen to the stories, students need to download the audio file and listen to it with a media player (ex. Windows Media Player). The stories are great fun!

[|http://www.starfall.com] Especially designed for first grade, this site will appeal to PreK-2 grades. This site includes stories related to various themes and supports the emerging reader.

__ h __ [|ttp://www.biguniverse.com] From the site: “Big Universe® is an award winning web community devoted to beautiful children's picture books. READ hundreds of offerings from today's best children's book publishers, CREATE e-books with the help of an easy-to-use Author Tool, and CONNECT with other Big Universe members to share your creations and to learn what books they have read, created, or recommend. Parents, teachers, kids, authors, and others can share and learn while they enjoy this educational and entertaining website.

=__ Subscription sites… __=

[|http://www.tumblebooks.com] (See Mrs. Russo for login and password) This great resource, provided through the MWR Library, offers many excellent read-along versions of well-known picture books. Most books have a quiz, a quiz with audio and a book report form that can be completed about the book.

[|http://www.mobistories.com] This site offers downloads of audio/video books at around $3.00-$4.00 per book. High quality books and narration. Downloads can be stored on your hard drive or burned to a DVD.

[|http://www.raz-kids.com] From the site, “The Raz-Kids online leveled books and reading quizzes give educators choices. Students listen to books read aloud, read with vocabulary and pronunciation support, and read without support. They read freely in the bookroom. Or, teachers easily limit students to appropriate reading levels and specific books and track student reading progress. Students can practice reading to improve reading comprehension and reading fluency anywhere with Internet access.”

[|http://www.onemorestory.com] From the site: “//One More Story// is an online library of the best of children's classic and contemporary literature. Through a simple point and click process, children can choose a book, see the illustrations and have the book read to them whenever they want.” School sites licenses cost approximately $1.10 per student per year.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/bookflixfreetrial/lite.htm From the site: “Scholastic BookFlix is an exciting new online literacy resource that engages students, reinforces core reading skills, and introduces children to a world of knowledge and exploration — it's a direct path to deepening students' love of reading and learning. Now you can try BookFlix FREE in your classroom or library for 30 days with this featured pairing of a video storybook from Weston Woods with a related nonfiction eBook from Scholastic.”