Stories Read Aloud Online

Early elementary teachers, have you heard some of your students complain that they have no one at home to read to them? Sad to say I have more times than I could have ever imagined. Storyline Online is a free on-line streaming video program featuring Screen Actor Guild members reading books. Using this program students can see and hear books read directly to them via the computer. Also, they can check out the books in the library so that they can read along with the actors.

One of my favorites is A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon. Not only can the books be read to them but each book is accompanied with activities and lessons that they can do by themselves or (hopefully) with parents. It makes a terrific listening center for a classroom too!

TextMarks - Breaking Through the 21st Century Divide through Text

Teachers, do you find it's difficult to get ahold of your students' parents, or communicate on a daily basis with them? How easy would it be to send one mass text to your parents every day letting them know what homework your students have? Not so easy, you say? Not anymore! 


With TextMarks, sending a free text message to all subscribers is simple and easy. After you create a FREE account, all you need to do is create a  "group keyword", announce it to your parents and tell them the simple directions to sign up for your daily text (they text the keyword to 41411 and are automatically signed up). You login everyday to TextMarks and send a text. Simple, easy and fast. The most important part? Most parents text and would appreciate that daily text. It doesn't cost them anything (only if they don't have unlimited text - they would have to pay their own standard text messaging fees). TextMarks does NOT charge any fees, but they do send ads in the text. A short ad at the end of the text to have better instant communication with your students' parents? I'll take it. 


Sign up today and simplify your life! You can even embed a widget on your website that sends the text to that widget, so parents can just check your website every day if they don't want to receive the text. 


Says Jeromy Sumner, a Sixth Grade Teacher in Springfield Public Schools, 

"Textmarks helps me to reach my students on their level! I am able to forward my homework assignments to the entire class with one click. Parents even signed up so that they could receive homework lists and special announcements from me. Every classroom should use this service - it has helped increase the percentage of homework turned in each day, as well as reminding students of school events, library day & to bring in that field trip money!”