Introduction
I would like to introduce you to starfall.com which is a website designed to develop phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Starfall.com address groups of students in the younger years like preschool, kindergarten, first and second grade and ESL learners. The website presents four different levels of learning. They are leveled as followed;
· the alphabet (ABC); with speech sounds
· when you first start to read
· when you read shorter texts
· when you are reading
www.starfall.com for teachers
The website shows different strategies of English learning. With the Starfall ABC you develop a phonemic awareness since the whole alphabet is based on speech sounds. The next step is to apply letters into your first words, also based on speech sounds, when you first start to read. All the exercises are on levels from beginner to advanced. Teachers can choose to do these exercises in class (everyone), one-to-one with a couple of students or in groups of just students. All the material online has teachers manuals and downloads for further, more advanced studies.
www.starfall.com for students
The students might use Starfall for improving their pronunciation and to get a better understanding of letter-sound relationships and all this with child-directed instructions. They can play word games, sing songs and do different tasks according to subject. The pictures are colorful and funny, and the sounds are happy and motivating for students to copy and later on to learn.
Considerations when using www.starfall.com
When you first start using Starfall it is essential to be oriented and familiar to the website before introducing it to the students. This is to avoid students starting at a level that is too easy or too hard to work with. With both ways it can be frustrating and boring instead of motivating, educational and fun!
// Jenny Engkvist
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