Interactive Reading

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go."
— Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

This is a list of my favorite audio, interactive, literacy sites.

Free:
storylineonline.net/

www.learner.org/interactives/story/index.html - This website is very interactive that goes through the story elements.
www.wegivebooks.org/

www.starfall.com/


http://www.youtube.com/  (Search for any book you are interested in and you will probably see it on YouTube.)


Seussville- I need to admit, I am in LOVE with Dr. Seuss.  If I could have a room filled with all his things, I would. This is a great website for educators. It goes to the current month and gives suggestions of Dr. Seuss books.
www.seussville.com/Educators/educatorPlanningCalendar.php

App Store Books:


LAZ books, some are $.99 and some are FREE. LAZ is a fabulous tool. www.learninga-z.com
Subscription required: (Our district pays for this service)

www.tumblebooks.com/

Happy Reading!

Fact vs. Opinion

Do you want to go to college? Yes, please!

We had College Week in our district. Our ELAR learning objective for the week was Fact vs. Opinion. I showed my fourth students YOUniversity TV Texas colleges and they fell in love with the information they were given from these videos. So in true teachable moments, we threw out the other plans I had to teach them Fact & Opinion and decided to use this real world application to their new favorite topic, college. There are more facts than opinions in these videos, but it was a great learning tool for them. I loved all the discussions and questions they asked me about college.

http://www.youniversitytv.com/colleges

In whole group, we watched a video a day. They were instructed to find the facts and opinions and write them down in their interactive notebook. After the video was over they shared with their "shoulder partner," what they learned and their opinion of the school. At the end of the week, they had to write a paper telling me the facts and their opinion of their school of choice. Most of my students’ school of choice, is my alma mater, University of Houston. Go Coogs!

Here I go...

          Hello, my name is Christina Shaw. I am a mother of two busy boys, a wife (married 9 years, but together since high school, so 15 years), and a devoted educator.  I am also a professional student, because I am a professional and a constant learner. I love to learn from my students, colleagues, family, and professors. I have been teaching for 8 years in public school district, outside of Houston, Texas, but I have been working with kids and teaching over 10 years.  I am currently a graduate student and expected to graduate in August 2012 with a Masters of Education with specialization in Advanced Literacy from Concordia University-Austin. I have a Bachelor’s in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Houston. Go Coogs! I have always wanted to be a teacher, but I wanted to learn about how children develop and to understand them before teaching.  I cherish and adore my kids, because I want them to feel safe and secure, which they may not experience at home.  My district is considered an urban and Title I district.

I am very new to blogging!  My successful, blogger SIL, Heather Shaw, has been so encouraging and helpful through this process.  Thank you so much Heather, I love you!

I am going to share my thoughts, ideas, and quirks with the world. I hope you will walk with me in this journey to help inspire the next generation with a hands on, loving, laughing, and exciting environment.