ELA

= English Language Arts =

ELA is an integral part of every subject that students learn. If they do not have the necessary reading and writing skills, students cannot successfully comprehend any other subjects. ELA teachers have an important role in helping students develop the necessary communication and critical thinking skills required for daily life purposes. Nearly every facet of life requires reading knowledge, from learning science or social studies or math, to being successful in a job as an adult. We want students to be able to communicate successfully with the world in which they live.

In teaching English Language Arts, there are various ways in which technology can be integrated in order to enhance the learning process. With all the recent progress that has been made in technology, it is becoming increasingly easier to integrate it into the classroom. There are online discussion boards, chat rooms, blogs, messaging systems, and many other means of technological communication. There are various forms of publishing software that allow people to type and publish ideas. There are forms of digital storytelling that help communicate ideas and concepts. Many games and activities that enhance ELA are available, as well as lesson plans for teachers to gather ideas. Technology can be incorporated by using audio files of songs, speeches, or poems to study. These are just a few ideas of how technology and ELA can be integrated in today's classroom.

The tools and resources below can be used in different ways to teach each of the six national strands of Language Arts. Below are icons representing each of these strands. When you see an icon next to a technology entry below, the icon indicates that we think that particular tool or resource would be useful in teaching that national Language Arts strand.

**I. Reading Strand** **II. Writing Strand**

**III. Speaking Strand**

**IV. Listening Strand**

**V. Viewing Strand**

**VI. Visually Representing Strand**

= = =Technology & English Language Arts =

=Bitesize: Language Arts Games and Lessons= =@http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/=

//Larkin Shaw - October 1, 2009//
This site is a good resource that can be used in the classroom by teachers who want more interactive options for their students to practice and develop their language arts skills. It offers several fun interactive games and activities in the areas of spelling, reading, and writing for students to use to practice their Language Arts skills.

=Teacher Vision: Reading and Language Arts= =@http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/subjects/140000000000=

//Larkin Shaw - October 1, 2009//
This site is an extensive resource that offers much content related to English Language Arts and Reading, including lesson plan and activity ideas for teachers to use in teaching language arts at any grade level. There are thousands of lesson plans, graphic organizers, printables, themes, and much more from which teachers can draw ideas for their classrooms and students.

=iTunes= =@http://www.apple.com/itunes/= //Larkin Shaw - October 1, 2009// //iTunes// is a good (non-Website) technology resource available to help teachers incorporate creative teaching methods into their classrooms. It is free to download and will store audio files for easy access. There is an iTunes store that sells audio files, such as audio books and songs. These files are available for very cheap and would be useful to a teacher. A teacher could use this resource to present a book to students and reach multiple learning styles. There are also lots of songs that could be downloaded and listened to in the classroom for a study on lyrics or poetry or grammar.

=Spelling City= =@https://www.spellingcity.com/=

//Larkin Shaw - October 1, 2009//
This resource is very useful both inside and outside of school. It allows students or teachers to enter their own list of spelling words to work with. The user can then choose from several different ways to work with the words: Test Me, Teach Me, or Play a Game. The Web site instantly develops fun interactive games and activities using sentences and definitions for the words entered to help students learn that particular set of words. It is a fun way to have students review their spelling words either in the classroom or at home. Teachers can also upload a list of words they are working with in their classroom at a given time and students can find the list when they search for their school and teacher's name.

=Scholastic Book Report= =@http://www.scholastic.com/kids/homework/sandwich.asp= //Wes Padgett - October 1, 2009//

This is an interactive website that assists younger students when creating book reports. There are seven "key ingredients" students go through to fill out the information required in a book report. The "bread" is the title and author, the "cheese" the setting, the "lettuce" the plot summary, the "turkey" the student's personal opinion of the book, the "mayonnaise" the plot high point, more "bread" if the student wishes to add a drawing, and the "tomatoes" are the book's main characters. This website allows students to go through each step and then "make the sandwich" in which this site creates a document containing all of the information they entered in the form of a book report.

=The Electric Company= =http://pbskids.org/electriccompany/#/games/= //Alex Chiavacci - October 1, 2009//

This is another interactive website that's great for introducing students (Kindergarten - 12th Grade) to English/Language Arts concepts through interactive games. Some of these games include: Word Transformer, Sort It Out, Combotronic, Chain Game, etc. The Electric Company does a great job with making this a very kid-friendly website. Students can have a great time playing the interactive games without realizing that they are learning how to combine words and work with vowels and sounds. In addition, this website has an easy-access discussion board along with a Professional Development section. (Membership is available but not mandatory).



=21 Classes Cooperative Learning= =http://www.21classes.com=

//Charlotte Greene- October 1, 2009//
Teachers can create a classroom blog in order to communicate with students about various topics. This website is a great resource tool for creating a free classroom blog. All of the blogs can be used to upload text, photos, and insert videos. Another great aspect about this particular blog website is that it is secured where each student will have their own username and password and can make their writing private where only the teacher can view the posts.

=RIF KIDS= =@http://www.rif.org/kids.htm=

//Charlotte Greene- October 13, 2009//
This is an interactive website for children between ages six and fifteen. There is a "Reading Planet," and a "Learning to Read" section. Both of these sections are offered in Spanish. Under the "Reading Planet," there is an activity lab, a book zone, a game station, and various ways to express yourself through writing and sharing. Also, under Learning to Read, the reading ages are divided up into three parts: babies and toddlers, preschoolers, and grown-ups. Students can use this interactive website to work on their individual reading skills.

=Internet4Classrooms= =@http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills-k-langbuilders.htm= //Alex Chiavacci - October 15, 2009//

This is a somewhat interactive website (depending on the grade level) that enables children to learn English/Language Arts skills through use of the internet. This website offers activities and demonstrations for students (K-8) ranging from phonics and rhyming words to conjunctions and parts of speech. The really cool thing about this website is that it refers you to other helpful websites and also provides great resources for many of the ELA concepts. Some of the common instructional headings for each grade include: grammar, reading and skill builders. Another great aspect of this website is that for each grade, practice tests are available for students to sharpen their language skills. Lastly, even though this website was chosen for ELA, it's also a great tool for Math, Science and Social Studies as it offers activities and demonstrations for these as well. Either way, it's a very useful resource for any classroom teacher.



=Book Adventure= =@http://bookadventure.org/=

//Larkin Shaw - October 16, 2009//
This Web resource is free for use by students, teachers, and parents as a program to help motivate elementary and middle school students to read. Created by Sylvan Learning Center, this site offers quizzes and games to help students enjoy reading. There is a collection of over 7,000 book titles appropriate for this age group. To go along with all these recommended titles there is a book finder page on the site that is very useful. Students can select a genre or topic they would like to read and the book finder generates a list of titles that may interest the child based on their selections. There are also resources for teachers and parents to provide support and encouragement to students as they read.



=Microsoft Photo Story 3= =@http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/PhotoStory/default.mspx=

//Larkin Shaw - October 19, 2009//

This is a free downloadable resource that can be used in many different ways in the classroom. An Internet connection is required to download the program, but once it has been installed on a computer, it does not require an Internet connection to be used. This resource is one example among many of digital storytelling media. Digital photos can be downloaded to a computer and this program allows them to be collected and put together in creative ways for presentation. It is essentially a slide show tool but it has many useful features that make it applicable for use in teaching English Language Arts. Voice narration and text can be added to the pictures for a more complete show. The combination of pictures, visual text, and verbal narration make this a good presentation tool that is beneficial for all types of learners. This program could be used by teachers to present information about a topic and it is simple enough that students could create their own presentations about something they have been researching and learning.

=Poetry 4 kids featuring the work of Kenn Nesbitt= =@http://www.poetry4kids.com/= //Alex Chiavacci - October 19, 2009//

According to Kenn Nesbitt, the featured poet of Poetry4kids.com, this website is a great way for students to find a creative interest in reading and writing through poetry. There are a wide variety of poetry-related activities/topics to choose from including: poetry lessons, poetry games, poetry podcasts, poetry writing contests, poetry discussion forums and many, many more. You can also check out some of Kenn Nesbitt's other works, including his books. The great thing about Kenn Nesbitt is that he offers an exciting author visit program where he comes to your school to read and talk about poetry. This is definitely a great way to spark students' interest in poetry; that is, seeing a real-live poet! Educational resources say that you're supposed to read about 100 poems before you ever begin writing one. Poetry4kids.com would be a great way to introduce the concept of rhyming and poetry to students and would also act as a great springboard into other types of poetry. (Membership is available but not mandatory).

=Lovely Charts= =http://www.lovelycharts.com= //Charlotte Greene- October 21, 2009//

Lovely Charts is a free online diagramming program where teachers or students can create and design various types of charts, graphs, or other organizational tools. There are five categories for creating, representing, and organization information. Flow charts, site maps, wireframes, organization charts, network diagrams, and screenshots are all a part of LovelyCharts website. These diagramming tools are extremely useful in order to help students gain a better understanding by organizing information. "You Think, We Draw" is Lovely Charts motto in order to express how easy creating a diagram can be by using their application.

=Survey Monkey= =http://www.surveymonkey.com= //Charlotte Greene- October 21, 2009//

Survey Monkey is a free online software that enables anyone to design and create a professional survey in a timely manner. It contains several design features for questions, templates, editors, and other useful tools for creating a survey. In an ELA classroom, a teacher can use the Survey money for students to complete as reflections, to introduce ideas, or address concepts. This allows students to have a voice and give them a sense of responsibility. Furthermore, students could be allow to create their own survey for others in class or people in the community to complete. These surveys and the data collected can be used in presentations to the class and share time opportunities. Using this survey website is an extremely useful technological tool for students to use in an ELA classroom as well as others.

=Zoho Office Suite= =@http://www.zoho.com/=

//Wes Padgett//
Zoho is much like Google apps in that it offers productivity and collaboration applications online completely free of charge. Something like this would be a great asset to a teacher in an area of lower SES where not all students have access to a private computer. Using Zoho allows one to use tools such as a word processor or a spreadsheet, complete their work, and save their documents online. tools like Zoho and Google apps give students access to the tools necessary to work in today's classroom.



=Rhythm Rhyme Results: Educational Rap= =http://www.educationalrap.com= //Larkin Shaw - November 2, 2009//

This Web site is a unique and interesting resource for teachers who are tired of doing the same old thing every lesson, day after day. A group of professionals got together and decided to develop a verbal method of teaching information that varied from the traditional lecture. There are albums with songs that supplement important topics in the core subjects of language arts, math, science, and social studies. The Web site claims that the music is perfect for schools for multiple reasons: it is engaging and fun for students and all songs are written based on curriculum standards and research. One reviewer claims that Educational Rap is "School House Rock for the 2000s." Although these songs are not free, they are reasonably priced (approximately $20.00 for a single subject album with 40 tracks or $50.00 for all four core albums) and they are downloadable and easily accessible for use for many lessons and years. In addition to the core subject albums offered, there are themed albums as well as individual songs available for purchase. This resource provides the opportunitiy to meet the NCTE Strand of listening in a way that is fun for students and teachers alike!

== =Brainstorming: Bubbl= =@https://bubbl.us/beta= //Charlotte Greene- November 4, 2009//

//Bubbl// is a simple knowledge construction website tool for organization and brainstorming purposes. Brainstorming is an essential part of ELA and writing. Students could use this site to gather their thoughts and brainstorm about a particular writing assignment or to create a "mind" map that represents story elements. I think it is important to give students several opportunities to brainstorm and organize their thoughts in order to encourage writing. I choose this particular brainstorming website because students can create and save “mind” maps online for free. Each student can create his or her own username and simply start brainstorming by creating a title, editing text and information, adding color, and saving them within their username. With the username and password, all the maps and student work can be security safely. Student can print their maps, share them with classmates, and even embed their mind map in a classroom blog or website. I thought it was great the students could print their brainstorming ideas to use during their writing and that they can share their map with the teacher or other classmates.

=Diagram Software: Gliffy= =@http://www.gliffy.com/=

//Alex Chiavacci - November 5, 2009//

Gliffy is an interactive online organizational tool. This particular diagram software is designed to make creating professional-quality flowcharts, diagrams, floor plans, technical drawings, etc. extremely easy. (Membership recommended).

=The Owl at Purdue: Writing Help and Teaching Resources= =[]= //Wes Padgett - November 6, 2009//

OWL stands for the online writing lab powered by Purdue University. This website offers a variety of resources for the ELA classroom. For example OWL makes exercises available in the area of sentence structure, paraphrasing, grammer, punctuation, spelling, and others. Teachers can access minilesson ideas and even powerpoints with tips for teaching and assessing thier ELA students. Tools such as these are very helpful but I think the most valuable thing about OWL is the fact that if provides such a wide variety of material for teachers to access to assist students in the area of writing.



=Jacket Flap= =@http://www.jacketflap.com/= //Larkin Shaw - November 13, 2009//

This resource is a free Web site that provides access to many things related to ELA. It is a very comprehensive children's book resource and social network for people who create and use children's literature. Users are required to register, but the site is free to use and explore for all users, and is full of excellent resources and information about the world of children's literature. There is a database of children's literature, ways to connect with authors, illustrators, and publishers in the world of children's literature, and much more. There are videos about children's books, articles and suggestions to help teachers choose what literature to buy for their classroom and incorporate into their curriculum, links to blogs about children's literature, and the opportunity to interact with other members of the site to discuss books and ideas. This is a very useful resource for teachers to use in planning the ELA aspects of their curriculum.



=Funbrain=

@http://www.funbrain.com/words.html
//Wes Padgett//

This website offers a number of interactive games for children in the ELA elementary classroom. This site even helps promote multicultural education within the classroom because it offers a link complete with games on different cultures. There are also a number of other links for different academic disciplines on this website, however I feel the most useful links are the interactive ELA games. Students, particularly in my field placement classroom, need a gread deal of practice in the area of grammar and this website is a tool that could be implemented during workstation periods to drill students on their grammar skills.