Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Loud Lit offers "literature for your ears and eyes" (although the site's visual appearance is quite plain!). This collaborative project with public domain offers recorded literature. You are given the options of listening to the literature, listening and reading the literature, or downloading the literature to an MP3 player. The number of items available for public use is constantly increasing. The current contents include novels, poetry, classic children's literature, a few historical items, and classic short stories. Some examples of the available literature includes A Tale of Two Cities, The Little Match Girl, The Gift of the Magi, The Declaration of Independence, The Gettysburg Address, and countless others. A separate column lets you know about newly recorded items.

tag(s): audio books (29), declaration of independence (16), gettysburg (15), gettysburg address (12), literature (221), poetry (195)

TaleTrove is an online collection of user-submitted stories offered in several different formats. Click Good Reads on the top left of the menu and choose from books for young readers (grades K-3) to browse through book titles. Click on the book icon to choose from different formats to read and hear stories. Options include viewing as PDF, listening to mp3 (audio), or viewing the flipbook. Most stories include all three options; however, a few offer only one or two. Each book also includes a learning guide with suggestions for pre and post-reading discussion as well as ideas for use when reading the book. The Create space menu accesses games, crafts, and other activities to explore and try. Users can submit reviews of the stories available on the site.

tag(s): audio books (29), digital storytelling (156), guided reading (32), preK (291), reading comprehension (152)

Google Read Along is an entertaining, interactive website designed to help young children learn to read. This site is currently available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, and Urdu. Though you can use Google Read Along on your computer, the best experience will be by using an Android device. Read Along engages young readers with a friendly character named Diya, who provides assistance and feedback when needed. Students receive immediate feedback by earning stars for each word they read correctly. In addition, Diya will help if children are stuck on a particular word. Gamification makes learning to read fun and engaging! Students earn stars and badges and can level up to more advanced books as they become increasingly better readers. Google Read Along also tracks how many minutes students spend actively reading. A Google account is required, and enable your microphone access for your browser.

tag(s): digital reading (18), gamification (86), independent reading (82), preK (291)

Crawford the Cat is a website that teaches young children about health issues like brushing your teeth and social skills like working together. There are numerous 5-minute videos teaching students about good table manners, trying new food, exercise, colds and flu, and several other health/science topics. The site includes videos, audio interactive books, printables and interactive games.

tag(s): audio books (29), dental health (14), hygiene (9), preK (291), social skills (23)

The Unite for Literacy Library offers many online books for young readers with audio. Browse through the home page to choose books to read from the library shelves. Narrow down your choices using picture icons for different themes such as animals or families. Select and click a book to read. Click the speaker icon to hear each page. The narration is also available in many languages, from Arabic to Vietnamese.

tag(s): audio books (29), independent reading (82), interactive stories (22), preK (291)

Engage young children in this colorful site, packed with songs, interactive audio books, art and music interactives, and emergent reading activities. Reaching a wide range of grades, this site offers over 50 different engaging activities. Visit the stories made by children. The free part of this site includes a great variety of topics: Boston Tea Party, alphabet, making mistakes, metamorphosis, Mars, a variety of popular children's songs, nouns, upper case and lower case, Beatrix Potter, jokes, Bach & Van Gogh, Mona and Beethoven, and much more! Some of the activities are also available in Spanish. Check out Teachers at the bottom of the page for Lesson Plans.
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tag(s): alphabet (52), independent reading (82), preK (291), sight words (23), songs (46), video (267)

This kids' branch of Learn English (created in the UK) contains interactives, short stories, crafts, songs, and even an opportunity for students to help their younger brothers and sisters learn English. A free log-in allows you access to printed versions of the stories (with questions), the ability to make comments, enter competitions, answer polls, and even create a "character." Another log in for teachers and parents opens up suggestions for teaching and using the resources of the site. Professionals can also find video tips and access to helpful articles. Access to the site is available in other languages such as Chinese and French, all aimed at teaching English. A text help feature using "BrowseAloud" opens up the English learning to students with vision or reading challenges. Note that vocabulary used is British, so you may need to explain a few words to US or Canadian students, e.g. "rubbish bin."
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): interactive stories (22), preK (291), songs (46), vocabulary development (96)

The goal of Signed Stories is to increase the literacy of deaf children; however, it is a great resource for all children. After choosing an interactive, audio, or text story, you will see the text, hear the story and see it in sign language. Almost 100 titles are available and can be searched by topic or by browsing all titles. Some stories offer all three options others only one or two. Many stories have pause and rewind buttons, so you can replay to see signs again.

tag(s): sign language (11)

Bring classic children's stories to your classroom in an engaging and easy-to-use manner! This site contains many stories such as Jack in the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, The Princess and the Pea and more in both audio and video format. Choose the story you want to read by genre, theme, author and other choices. Click to play and you are ready to listen and read along with the storyteller. One great feature of this site is that you can click on any word in the story and choose a language to see the word translated - a great addition for ESL students and families. All stories can also be downloaded in mp3 format, meaning that they can be played on most audio players and ipods. Note: This site may take long to load. Be patient.

tag(s): air (99), audio books (29), folktales (36)

The celebrated RIF program offers this site for parents to support their children's literacy. You will find resources from infancy to the teenage years and some for the entire family. While there is more available for younger children (through elementary school), the Whole Family area and some of the activities are enjoyable for teens, as well. Click to find practical tips to support your growing readers, monthly features, interactive books, activities for family heritage, authors, polls, a personal bookshelf to collect book recommendations, and more. You can even search for activities by age and activity type. Find interactive and audio with text in their "Skybrary." Some of the videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube they may not be viewable in your classroom.

tag(s): audio books (29), authors (108), literacy (122), summer (28)

This interactive site provides the story of the "Shoemaker and the Elves" to listen to and read along. You may read the story or play several games (not all games relate to the story and some are more for fun than education). The story does include some entertaining pictures.

tag(s): air (99), audio books (29), folktales (36)

Now you can listen to and read along with the classics and poems through the generosity of this site's creators. Download story files to your mp3 player or listen to the files on your computer. Don't want to just listen to the classics and other stories? Then, view the text on a webpage or in a printable PDF. Easily browse the site by author or title to locate literature. You are also able to search by reading level; the levels are broken down by month (ranging from 0.0 - 12.0). Stories and poems are added frequently to this site, so check back often.

tag(s): air (99), audio books (29), folktales (36), literature (221), nursery rhymes (9), rhymes (22)

Chuck Brown, the host of Light Up Your Brain, takes readers on audio adventures of timeless classics such as Cinderella and Peter Rabbit, as well as other various stories. Mr. Brown records the stories and provides them on his web site for FREE! The site also offers user-friendly directions for listening and downloading the stories. You can download the stories as a zip file or use Windows Media Player. You can get Windows Media Player from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

tag(s): folktales (36)

This site offers over 100 audio stories, downloadable to mp3 players. It also has constant updates, news about new offerings, and several complete books available as well. The stories available include animal stories, poems, fables and legends, modern stories, and some holiday stories. A few stories include an animated video. The text of the story is included, so students can follow along during the audio reading The audio quality is high, so enthusiasm will be contagious! This site does have some small unobtrusive advertisements. Be aware - this website is a blog, so students can add comments about a story (using first names only), if this is within your school policies.

tag(s): folktales (36), listening (92)

This site offers a list of short stories for ESL/ELL learners. Students can read the story, listen to the story, review the story, click on vocabulary words to access an online dictionary, and more. There is also a link to an online dictionary for other new words not featured in the vocabulary section at the top of the page. Many of the stories offer two listening speeds (slow and normal). Although the advertisements are a bit distracting, this website does offer a high number of ESL/ELL stories on a variety of topics. The subject matter of many stories is not appropriate for younger students. Preview!

tag(s): dictionaries (47), short stories (18), vocabulary (241)

Viewers of this very appealing site listen to and read a variety of stories and poems, while viewing accompanying drawings and test. Not all stories have the audio features. Teachers will like the Read a Story options with simple Dolch words. Children can submit their own poems and may see themselves published online, but you will want to get parent permission first! Many writing prompts and easy writing tasks look like fun on this site; additional games on the site have an educational aspect. In addition to online activities, there are a few stories and games available to print out. A few activities, and the audio poems require the Flash; however, the audio stories are now in podcast format.

tag(s): audio books (29), listening (92), poetry (195), reading lists (77), writing (323)

The Children's Television Network has created a delightful set of learning activities that strengthen skills in letter recognition, decoding, listening, problem-solving, and more. Led by the familiar cast of characters from Sesame Street, your youngest students will love to explore Elmo's World, the Game Room, and participate in interactive stories. The links include games, stories, art, music, mail, and Elmo's World. At the Games link you will find science activities about the weather, counting challenges, classification activities, musical fun, and numerous other educational activities. This site truly has something for all primary elementary classroom.

tag(s): classification (22), counting (61), listening (92), numbers (120), preK (291), sound (71), sounds (43)