What is Reading?Traditionally reading meant reading hard copy books. There are many ways to present information to students other than physical books. If you favour reading hard copy books in your class consider multimedia formats as a way to change things up and as a way to reach and engage all the learners in the room.
Do not get rid of your books but be open to other formats. Our students will be exposed to many different forms of reading in our media rich environments. Below are some resources and ideas of how you could utilize multimedia formats for reading in your elementary literacy program. |
Audiobooks
Storyline Online
These are books that are read aloud by members of the screen actors guild. Tumblebooks You can access these online books through many public library websites for free. Youtube Search YouTube for a book title to see what adaptations are available there. Kindle or Kobo Ebooks are a great way for students to access books through text to speech accessibility features on a mobile device. Read & Write for Google This extension will allow students to turn text to speech inside the Chrome Browser |
FilmThere are many film versions of stories available. Check the local library, YouTube or online streaming services to see what is available.
One of my favourite books to read to my class was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There are 2 film versions available, one from 2005 of the same title and then an older version from 1971, titled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Checkout YouTube to see what other adaptations others have created. |
Play & GamesAre there game versions of the story your class is reading? Minecraft allows users to create their own worlds. Often people create scenes from books or films and then narrate them as they play. Above is an example that someone created for Harry Potter. Share them with your students.
What other toys or materials can you bring into the classroom for students to expand on the text? It could be branded materials like a themed lego set or more generic things that students can build and create. How can you encourage this type of play in your class? |
MultimediaUse a class blog or website to share various types of media available for a given story. Sites like these are easy to create. There are several free platforms available to help you create a site. My favourites are Weebly, Edublog, Kidblog and Google Sites. All these sites allow you to add text, audio, video and
hyperlinks to just about anything. Pull from various types of media then organize and share them in one place with your students. |
Ask a librarian!Not sure where to find various texts to share with your students? Ask a librarian! They are the experts and can point you in the direction to various multimedia that you probably were not even aware of.
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