Effective Literacy Project #2

Evenger Waltu

ED638 Intersession 2018

Dr. Rivera

IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website #2

            I went on searching for the best websites that can improve students' skills and development of literacy and reading. I came across lots of different sites that I really like. One that really made me to start looking more deeply at is the Story Online (https://www.storylineonline.net/).

            According to the research I did, Storyline Online is a program of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. The Foundation is a nonprofit organization that relies entirely on gifts, grants and donations to fund Storyline Online and produce all of its videos.

            Reading aloud to children has been shown to improve reading, writing and communication skills, logical thinking and concentration, and general academic aptitude, as well as inspire a lifelong love of reading. Teachers use Storyline Online in their classrooms, and doctors and nurses play Storyline Online in children’s hospitals.

            As I walked through the site, I realized how interesting the site was because it used stories that can be shared. I really like the site because people have done lots of stories for children/students to listen to and learn from it. As I said earlier that today's students are more interested in a lesson they the watching on a TV while they listen to the things going on. When they see something while they listen to the explanation, they are more likely to learn the lesson well. The Storyline Online uses videos, good videos, that students would really like to listen. All the stories being read in the website are very clear and interesting as I watched a few of them. I really like that as the story teller tells the story, pictures representing the characters and the setting were visible for the students to see. I know that for sure if I show these to students in the classroom, they would really love the stories and they would probably learn a lot of things from the story. This will help students to gain different skills. They will learn how to communicate with others, they will learn how to narrate or tell a story to someone else, they will build up their speaking skills, and this will also help they write story of their own. They will be able to create visuals in their stories.

            Another reason why I really like this site is because on each of the stories, there are activities that the students will be doing after they listen and watch the story being told by a story letter. For instance, one activity on the sheets is asking for the theme of the story. In the activities that go with each story have objectives and other important information things that will help student to really understand the story.

            Storyline Online is available 24 hours a day for children, parents, caregivers and educators worldwide. Each book includes supplemental curriculum developed by a credentialed elementary educator, aiming to strengthen comprehension and verbal and written skills for English-language learners.