Starfall is a highly rated website designed by educators to help children learn to read. The materials on the site are modelled on the five focus areas recommended by the National Institue of Child Health and Human Develpment: phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
The first section, “ABC’s” (let’s get ready to read), features each letter of the alphabet on colorful blocks. When a viewer clicks on a letter, they see the ‘big’ and ’small’ versions of the letter, hear the pronunciation of that letter, and see objects that begin with that letter. For example, when a child clicks on the letter ‘C’, they see both versions of a written C and then see a picture of an actual cat. This is followed by sections called “Learn to Read”, “It’s Fun to Read” and “I’m Reading”. You can also reinforce your child’s online experience by printing the free practice pages that accompany each section.
Thanks to a clear and simple organizational structure, kids will even be able to manipulate the site on their own. Be sure to check out Starfall.
