Help your students visualize the stories they read with Google Lit Trips!

Help your students understand the stories they read at a whole new level with Google Lit Trips! The site states, “Using Google Earth, students discover where in the world the greatest road trip stories of all time took place… and so much more!”

Imagine teaching Make Way for Ducklings with a tool that enables your students to visually follow the journey of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard as they look for a safe home for their family. Using Google Earth, students can track the Mallard family as the travel from the Public Garden to Beacon Hill to the State House and more! When students click on each location on the Make Way for Ducklings Google Earth file, they can see real pictures and learn factual background information about every place in the story!

This is an incredible tool for helping students visualize and learn about the places they encounter in stories! To get started on your journey with Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and other characters from famous children’s novels:

• Download Google Earth (click here to download the program for free)
• Return to Google Lit Trips
  
• Click on one of the grade level links at the top of the page
• Find a Lit Trip that suits your fancy!
• Enjoy exploring!

Off to the Public Garden with the Mallards!

Anna

PS Thanks Kate Reavey (Peninsula College) for supplying the YouTube video above!

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Looking for literature recommendations for your elementary school students?

My colleague Cynthia shared this link with me today. eMINTs National Center has compiled a list of recommended reads including great books for boys, great books for girls, and more!

Happy book recommending!

Anna

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators!

Yesterday while walking from my hotel to the Florida Education Technology Conference, I bumped into Kathy Schrock–creator of Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators! I’ve been a fan of her Guide for years, so as you can image I was super excited to meet her! Take a look at her recommended Literature and ELA resources! Through Kathy’s Guide, I found:

1) The Portland Public Schools Leveled Picture Books Database and The Beaverton School District Leveled Book Database

2) Professor Garfield’s Teachers’ Lounge reading fluency resources, tips and tricks

3) Read Print–a site filled with free copies of classic books for “students, teachers and the classic enthusiast”

Thanks Kathy!

Anna

Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2007

The New York Times just published a slide show of the best illustrated children’s books of 2007! Have a click through! I am particularly fond of the illustration featured above from, “The Frog who wanted to See the Sea” written and illustrated by Guy Billout.  Who doesn’t want to surf and think of turquoise waters when it is 30 degrees outside?!

-Anna