Technology can be a powerful tool in your child’s education. The Internet, audiobooks, and eBooks can allow your child to have fun while practicing reading, writing, and listening skills.
- Encourage your child to correspond with friends and family members who live far away through email.
- Play an audiobook during a long car trip. It’ll be entertaining, and the narrator will provide your child with a model of fluent reading.
- Scan the Internet with your child for the age-appropriate information about favorite sports stars, influential figures, current events, and topics of interest.
- Work with your child to start a family blog. You can write entries together.
- Introduce your child to eBooks as well as print books. The choices can help make diving into a book more exciting.
Article: Get the Picture - Use movies to help your child create mental models.
It will help him or her tackle challenging books. READ 180 students are already familiar with the use of video to create mental models. Every time they begin a new topic segment in the READ 180 Student App , they watch a video. The video provides background information about the topic. Then they read short passages about the topic. And the video they just watched helps them to picture what they are reading about. As a parent, you can provide your child with a similar experience at home. Here are a few videos that may tie in with the material your child is learning at school:
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Winged Migration: In this film, airborne cameras
track flocks of migrating birds. The narrator speaks over spectacular visuals. He describes migration in easy-to-understand terms.
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Families of Korea: This visit to South Korea focuses on the lives of two families. One lives on a farm. The other lives in a city. We watch them go about their everyday school and home activities. The differences between the two families are striking!
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Mad Hot Ballroom: This is the story of some New York City fifth graders who love to dance. They take ballroom dance classes. Then they compete in a citywide dance challenge. It is a great study of hard work, hopes, and dreams. It also shows how kids handle it when they don’t get the results they had hoped for.
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Dear America: These are video adaptations of a popular book series. They let your child experience American history. The stories are told through the eyes of kids and teens from various times and places.
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Royal Diaries: Imagine if you could read the private journal of a real-life teen queen! These videos are also adapted from books. They give a peek into the young lives of famous royalty. Subjects include Cleopatra and Elizabeth I.So go ahead. Pop some popcorn. Turn on a video. And start building mental models.
Helpful Links
Common Sense Media www.commonsensemedia.org
This website gives parent-focused reviews of the media kids and teens love. From movies to websites and games, you'll find information that will help your child make media choices.
OnGuard Online www.onguardonline.gov
his comprehensive site informs through articles, quizzes, and games. Get the latest information on the many positive and negative aspects of exploring online.
Project Gutenberg www.gutenberg.org
Project Gutenberg offers more than 36,000 ebooks—in various languages—which can be downloaded to a PC, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Android, or other portable device.
Kids Learn to Blog kidslearntoblog.com
his site, created by an educator in San Francisco, California, offers blogging information and lessons for kids under 13, as well as parents and teachers.
KIDS Learn Out Loud kids.learnoutloud.com
KIDS Learn Out Loud is a directory of audio and video content for kids and teens. You’ll find reviews of the latest audiobooks, as well as many free learning resources, MP3 audiobook downloads, and podcasts.
Yahoo! Kids kids.yahoo.com
This searchable directory of kid-friendly Internet sites provides links to stories about celebrities, athletes, movies, games, and more.
Sports Illustrated Kids www.sikids.com
If your child loves sports, suggest Sports Illustrated Kids. This site offers breaking sports news and athlete profiles, as well as fun games and contests.