Read, Write, Think
Wiki Authored by: Emily DelMonte, Ian Fralick, Haley Ault, and Haneen Babbitt
The tool that our group chose for use in our future classrooms is a website called Read, Write, Think (http://www.readwritethink.org/). This fabulous website is full of resources for students and teachers that are aligned with IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts and to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This website has many wonderful lesson plans for elementary and secondary educators to use in their classrooms; examples include “A World of Readers: Libraries around the World- Grades 6-8,” “Teaching Short Vowel Discrimination Using Dr. Seuss Rhymes- Grades K-2,” and “Can You Convince Me? Developing Persuasive Writing- Grades 3-5.” The Read, Write, Think website includes mini-lessons, units of study, and recurring lessons all based on standards and all grade-specific.
Readwritethink.org is also an exciting tool for students to use independently. The site has a section called “Student Interactives” which, to children, may appear to be games but in reality are valuable learning tools for students to use in order to improve their language arts skills, especially writing. These interactive tools, like the Read, Write, Think lesson plans, are standards-based and grade-level appropriate. On the list of the website’s most popular interactive student tools are “Word Family Sort- Grades K-5,” “Story Map- Grades K-12,” and “Comic Creator- Grades K-12.”
Cube Creator
The Cube Creator has four different options with which students can interact: The Bio Cube, the Mystery Cube, the Story Cube, and Create-Your-Own-Cube. This tool helps students with both reading and writing. The cubes identify specific questions that students should consider when thinking about specific kinds of texts. These questions can be answered about a piece they have read, as a way to review information, or can be used to help them in the writing process when creating their own works. This tool would be useful for students in a variety of grades, and can be adapted to fit children’s specific needs. It is also a helpful technique for English Language Learners to use, as their language skills become more advanced.
Flip Book
The Flip Book interactive tool can be used in a variety of activities. This program allows students to create their own book that they can print and assemble, in which they can include content of their choice. The Flip Book format would be a good resource to for students to use to create a personal dictionary. English Language Learners could create bilingual dictionaries, with vocabulary words in both their first and second language. The Flip Book tool lets children choose the layout of their book, and various other design features, which makes the activity even more engaging for students.
Celebrate El Día de los niños
Read, Write, Think also offers entire lesson plans to teachers for various literacy activities. This specific lesson focuses on building multicultural understanding, which is very important in a classroom of ELLs. The plan suggests that teachers explore bilingual and parallel books with the class, and then have students create their own. The website suggests the use of the Book Cover Creator tool to accompany the lesson and to help children develop their finished product. The Book Cover Creator teaches students the important features of a book, while giving them an outlet to be creative in their learning.
Poem
In the activity Theme Poem, the students learn how to write a poem with guided instructions. The students first select the theme they want their poem to be about. Then the students select a picture they want their poem to be about. Once this is done, the website gives them an example of what a poem looks like. After this, the students have to think of adjectives that describe the shape or anything about the picture they selected. The students are then able to create their poem by using the words they wrote down earlier. When they are finished, the students can then print their poems and keep it.
This activity would be great to use in a language arts activity. Before using this program, the teacher can discuss what an adjective is and provide examples. The students can then practice creating adjectives on their own. Once the students have grasped this concept, the students can proceed to doing this activity. By doing this activity the students will be able to practice creating adjectives and then applying them in a coherent poem.
Word Family Sort
In the program Word Family Sort students practice their vowels and the different type of endings. The student first selects the type of vowel they would like to work on. The program then leads them to a four columned chart with examples of different ending types. The student is then instructed to drag a work at the top of the chart into the appropriate column.
This activity would be great to use in a Language Arts lesson. The activity really focuses on what a word family is as well as being able to lead into the concept of rhyming words. The idea of being able to create a word family sort will help the students see the patterns between new vocabularies. This activity can be used for situations such as learning new vocabulary when reading a book. Moreover, this activity would be good to use as practice before students create their own word sort on their own. In a lesson, the teacher can discuss the different types of vowels. The students can then go onto the website and select which vowel they would like to work on. As they do the activity, the students should note the commonalities of the ending of the words and the reasons why they placed the word in each column.
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