4.1.2

4.1.2: Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and previous reading.

Story Placeis a children's digital library broken down by preschool and elementary level learning, in both English and Spanish. Learning is further broken down by themes. Each theme has an online story animated with text. The preschool versions have sing alongs with text which aids Verbal-linguistic and Musical learners, while elementary have participatory aspects like naming characters and kingdoms. This is a good way to engage Kinectic learners as well as Intrapersonal. There are also online activities to accompany each story told. These are interactive as well--there's read-aloud voice that matches all text and reasoning activities. On the elementary level there is more literacy required, as they are print out activities to complete, usually with matching skills or some other sort of logic activity. All of these aspects appeal to Active learning when students can manipulate the environment an observe the consequences. The cause and effect games can cause learners to reflect on their choices which enhances Constructive learning. The learning is also Authentic because all themes are situated in the real life experiances of children.

Also, both levels come with reading lists on the theme of the story and activities. Completing these helps goal-directed Intentional learning as well as possibly fostering Cooperative, group learning as well if the theme is enhanced by a classroom curriculum.

As for the NETS:

1) Creativity and Innovation-c use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues--this website fosters exploration by engaging students in the stories and having them complete activities requiring deductive reasoning.

2) Communication and Collaboration-c develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures. This can be accomplished asynechoronysly by switching languages, depending on what the students' native tongue is.

3) Research and Information Fluency-a plan strategies to guide inquiry--chosing themes and moving through activities lets students self-guide the learning.

4) Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making-b plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project. The stories, activities, and reading lists all can be managed and completed to the students' satifaction.

5) Digital Citizenship-c demonstrates personal responsibilty for lifelong learning--again, the self-guided aspect of the website lets the students take control of their learning.

6) Technology Operations and Concepts b) select and use applications effectively and productively. I love how this technology tool empowers students to make their own decisions, either through choosing themes, stories, activities, or books, or by making choices within the activities themselves.

4.1.2: Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and previous reading Kids Reads [|www.kidsreads.com]

Kidsreads is a great kid site about books. According to the “about us” section of the web page, “ Kidsreads is the best place on the web for kids to find info about their favorite books, series and authors. Reviews of the newest titles, interviews with the coolest authors and special features on great books are our specialties. And for even more reading fun we have trivia games, word scrambles and awesome contests!” The reason I think this tool is especially relevant to this standard is the fact that they have a Book Club section for children to lead and be a part of a club. This is a great way for kids to make connections with the world and their previous reading and share it with others. Several studies back up these ideas, but most notably, Goately et al. in the 1995 Reader’s Quarterly. They state that small educational readers book clubs are a great way to get students to draw on their own and their peer’s knowledge in the social construction of meaning. The best way to get better at reading fluently is to read often and being in a book club also encourages this. Nathan and Stanovich back this up in their article on fluency. They state that fluency can only be attained through copious practice. The site also recommends a wide variety of books and has interesting reviews that are likely to pique student’s interest in new genres and series.

The Book Club Homepage: Being in a book club would encourage students to be meaningful learners in almost all of the different ways listed in Chapter 1 of our text. It is Active because you have to read the book. It is constructive because you have to reflect on your impressions of the book and then articulate those reflections to be part of the discussion. It is cooperative because you are coming together to have a conversation with other students about their impressions of the book. It is authentic because you have a chance to discuss the text in a complex way. Finally, it is intentional because you have a goal of completing a book by a specific date and you cannot participate in the discussion if you have not done so. People with several different types of intelligences would enjoy using this site and being in a book club for various reasons. Interpersonal learners would enjoy leading a book club. Intrapersonal learners would get better at articulating their thoughts for others through their participation in book club discussions. Verbal linguistic learners could retell the story for others and summarize it as well as help others who were struggling with vocabulary problems. Visual-spatial learners could lead activities around illustrating books from book club. There are several state standards that can be met through the use of this website a book clubs. Most of the grade levels have fluency as an objective that is being worked on in the language arts curriculum. As far as the NETS standards go, use of the website to access the book club features and reviews lines up in the most simple way with a few of the standards, and especially: 6. Technology Operations and Concepts Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students: a. understand and use technology systems. b. select and use applications effectively and productively. Goatley, Virginia J., Cynthia H. Brock, and Taffy E. Raphael. "Diverse Learners Participating in Regular Education "Book Clubs"" //Reading Research Quarterly// 30.3 (1995): 352-80. //JSTOR//. Web. 15 Apr. 2010. .  Nathan, Ruth G.; Stanovich, Keith E.. "The causes and consequences of differences in reading fluency" //Theory Into Practice// 30.3 (1991). 18 Apr. 2010. < http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/00405849109543498 >