Marsha Macaulay

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• Marsha Macaulay
• Crissy Wade
• Danielle Klaus

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About Starfall

• Dr. Stephen Schutz, who struggled with reading as
  a child, conceived the idea of an online program
  that would help students learn to read. With
  Stephens vision, a team of talented
  professionals designed an educational website
  that is now a free public service for educators,
  parents, and students.

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About Starfall

• is an excellent resource to
  help instill confidence and pride in students who
  are emergent readers. It is based around first
  grade, however, all children in the primary
  grades could benefit from the activities within
  this site.

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Research

• was the first ever internet
  site recognized by Childrens Software New
  Media Review as the highest rated product in
  their Early Elementary category, Spring 2004.

5
Research

• educational objectives are
  consistent with the findings of National Research
  Council in their report on Preventing Reading
  Difficulties in Young Children. The NRC report
  states that the following skills are indicative
  of successful learners in the first grade
• Accurately decodes orthographically regular,
  one-syllable words and nonsense words, using
  print-sound mappings to sound out unknown words.
• Uses letter-sound correspondence knowledge to
  sound out unknown words when reading text.
  

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EQ How can benefit young learners?

• teach phonemic awareness at a young age
• teach the common sound-spelling relationships in
  words
• develop vocabulary and language comprehension
• teach children how to say the sound and the word

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EQ How can benefit young learners?

• apply word-recognition skills and reading
  comprehension strategies within literature
• use simple engaging story lines with animated
  characters to explore the concepts of reading
• explore interactive games to practice phonics
  skills
• animated movies introduce concepts and are an
  incentive for reading

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Contents of the SiteStudent Interactions

• The skill contents of are
  arranged so that students can progressively work
  through the activities at their own pace.
• Children can easily navigate through the many
  interactive activities.
• Activities begin with simple letter sound and
  recognition introduction and move towards
  advanced reader activities.
• The seasonal activities are another area of
  investigation to help children explore skills.
• Children are able to click on words they are
  unable to recognize and the program will help to
  sound the word out for them.
• There are also animated characters with songs
  which aid in the comprehension of each story and
  skill.

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Contents of the SiteParent and Teacher Resources

• offers teachers and parents
  excellent resources to use at home and in the
  classroom.
• There are a wide array of free downloadable
  materials which include a scope and sequence
  organized in units for each skill.
• There are also materials available for purchase.
  
• These materials include
• reading and writing journals
• take-home books
• stuffed animal characters
• book sets
• phonics kits

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Contents of the SiteParent and Teacher Resources

• Educators can receive significant discounts if
  items are ordered in bulk, and parents can order
  kits that contain all of the materials at a
  reasonable price as well.
• Awards and bookmarks are available to download as
  incentive for students to continue to read and
  track their success through the program.
• This website, with its many resources, is perfect
  for home schooling.

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Conclusion

• The website is an excellent
  resource to help improve reading skills and make
  learning more enjoyable for students. This site
  is simple and engages the students attention and
  also provides teachers and parents with great
  resources. Along with its educational value,
  using in the classroom and at
  home will aid in meeting the requirements of
  students use of technology.

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Investigations

• Red Stars ABCs
• Yellow Stars Learn to Read
• Green Stars Its Fun to Read
• Blue Stars Im Reading
• Pink Stars Seasonal Activities

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Investigations

• Each group will explore their designated area of
  Starfall.com.
• Complete the corresponding activities within your
  area.
• Take a moment to browse the links for parents and
  educators on the left-hand side of the screen.
• Prepare to tell us one positive and one negative
  aspect of your area.

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ABCs Reflections

• Positive

• Negative

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Learn to Read Reflections

• Positive

• Negative

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Its Fun to Read Reflections

• Positive

• Negative

17
Im ReadingReflections

• Positive

• Negative

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Seasonal ActivitiesReflections

• Positive

• Negative