Tuesday Teacher Tips - Digital Texts

There are SO many digital text resources.  Many are free!  This is a list that I received at the Literacy Retreat.  My favorite is NEWSELA.  You can choose a topic and differentiate the article by Lexile level.  Many of the articles have quizzes too!

Resources for digital text

• ReadWorks.org offers FREE articles on any subject at a variety of Lexile levels.
• NEWSELA is a FREE website for current news event articles. Lexile range can be manipulated to make the text easier or harder. You can add students to your group and assign certain articles to the group. Want to know how to use NEWSELA? Read the Reading Today article that explains all the benefits to teachers and students.
• Time for Kids is a news magazine geared toward students in grades K-6 that offers age-appropriate news stories.
• National Geographic Kids has a FREE website for information and games related to current news around the world.
• Starfall is a FREE website to use with primary students. It is filled with interactive e-books and activities.
• Would you love to use digital text, but you don't own a Kindle? No worries. The Kindle app is free for any device. Order e-books through Amazon, but send the books to any tablet or smartphone.
• At wegivebooks.org, books are scanned and can be projected up on a full screen. Use interactive white board tools to annotate the text. It offers loads of nonfiction texts. Kristi's tip: Don't always go by age level. The text might have high-level content even if it is labeled "ages 4-7." Yellowstone Moran is a perfect example. This site is sponsored by Pearson.
• TumbleBooks is a subscription website for digital recordings of books. Most public libraries have links to their subscriptions and can be accessed by any computer with an IP address from the same state. Check it out before you pay for a subscription. Example:http://www.carmel.lib.in.us/child/games.cfm.
• Gutenberg.org houses classic literature in a digital format perfect for middle school and high school students. The books are free due to the fact that their copyrights have expired.
• Search for old children's books like the original version of The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter in Gutenberg's children's picture book section.
• The Teacher Created Materials explor-ebooks app gives 4 free books when you sign up. Then you can purchase e-books to add to your "bookshelf." They sell books for a single classroom copy or many copies with a site license.
• Scholastic is a great resource for teachers to get economical books in the classroom. The Storia app allows teachers to buy digital copies for their virtual "bookshelf."