Lit Lagoon
Some new links:
http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.php?gclid=CIm-4_fpiJ8CFY915QodwUp7lA
This site has different ways to explore letters, sounds, numbers, shapes, etc.
http://www.primarygames.com/reading.htm
This site has games for a variety of topics and subject areas. You can send postcards, solve puzzles, and print out all sorts of items.
http://www.teachers.cr.k12.de.us/~galgano/klinkslit.htm
The site above has a comprehensive list of links relating to kindergarten literacy skills.
http://www.abcya.com/kindergarten_computers.htm
The above link has some really great games for all sorts of skills. Be sure to check out the Alphabet Match, Upper and Lowercase Letter Match, and the Connect to Dots…just to name a few.
The above site offers a free web browser to use with children that prevents ads from popping up and helps with safe computer use. It makes using learning games on the computer fun, easy, and safe!
http://www.sightwordswithsamson.com/sw/sight_words.asp
The above link explores a variety of sight words with sounds, spelling, and sentence use.
http://www.mes-english.com/phonics.php
The above site provides free printable phonics materials.
http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooey.html
The above link is a funny one about phonics topics, such as letter-sound correspondence, spelling, antonyms, etc.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/flash/phonics/Index.htm
The above link leads you to a game for matching letters, sounds, and pictures with Clifford the Big Red Dog.
The above website is the homepage for the Handwriting Without Tears program we use at St. Matthew’s. You will find some helpful information about the philosophy of the program, as well as materials used.
The flashcards at this site are wonderful! They provide great picture cues along with sight words for early readers.
http://www.tomie.com/main.html
Tomie dePaolo is a very talented author and illustrator. Which of his classic books have you read? This is his official website.
Scholastic Reading Counts E-Catalog
The above website is a fabulous resource! I have used this to level the books in my library. When you look up a book, it will give you tons of information about the book, including reading level, interest level, genre, skills, content, themes, word count, etc. This information can help match students with “just right” books that they will enjoy.
The above site has many different features for children and parents alike. I particularly like the Kids Art section. It has some great info on famous artists. The Eye Bogglers are tricky!
Reading is Fundamental: Reading Planet
The above site has some really neat features that encourage writing and reading. Go to the Game Station and check out Poetry Splatter, where you can make your own funny poems online. The Super Sorter will help you find books to read based on your answers to some silly questions. When you visit the Activity Station, you could learn how to make your own fortune cookie or illustrate a story. Even the online coloring book is fun!
Language Arts Resources:
Read the above site to find out about the wonderful author who wrote Mrs. Buck’s favorite book, The Tale of Despereaux. Also, Kate DiCamillo has a new book coming out! How exciting!
http://www.andrewclements.com/
Visit the above site to find out about the author of Frindle and many other great books! His latest one, Lost and Found, is in bookstores now.
If you want to learn about manatees and even adopt one, go to the above site. We even listened to a baby manatee calling its mother! It is so cool!
http://pbskids.org/readingrainbow/Reading Rainbow is a classic! Check out the above website for games, books of the week, contests, printables, and more!
The above site has some really great games for all kinds of topics, including: math, grammar, phonics, Black History, and Charlotte’s Web!
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/quizzes/The above link is a great one for different grammar skills review by grade level.
http://www.mape.org.uk/startower/menu.html
The above link has some fun games to review a variety of skills, including vocabulary (Word Drop), punctuation (Star Punc), and order (Orderly Owl) just to name a few. You will also find some games related to math and social studies here.
http://www.readingrockets.orghttp://www.kidsreads.com
This site has some great info on cool new books, trivia, and author birthdays!
http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/la-read.html
http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/preview/harcourt_language/grammar_park.html
http://www.eduplace.com/tales/
http://www.roalddahlfans.com/index.php
Dolch Word List - Kindergarten
From 50-75% of all words used in school books, library books, newspapers, and magazines are in the Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary of 220 words (preschool thru Grade 3).
The Dolch word list is made up of “service words” (pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and verbs) which cannot be learned through the use of pictures.
You can put these words on flashcards.
Here are a few ideas for how to use the flashcards:
Ideas for Using the Flashcards:The flashcards can simply be held up, giving the child the opportunity to read each one. But if you’re looking for a more engaging activity, try combining the Dolch flashcards with the noun picture flashcards for a variety of activities (I’ve listed some suggestions here from simplest to hardest).
- ACTIVITY ONE:

- have an adult arrange the flashcards to form a sentence.
- Read the sentence with/to the child
- Remove one of the dolch words from the sentence and put it back in the pile (you may want to make the pile smaller in the beginning to make the activity easier).
- Give the pile to the child and have them find the correct card to place back in the sentence.
- Re-read the sentence.
- ACTIVITY TWO:

- have an adult arrange the flashcards to form a sentence, leaving one card out.
- read the incomplete sentence with/to the child.
- present between 2 and 5 cards to the child (one of them should make the sentence complete)
- have the child chose which is the correct card
- re-read the sentence with the card chosen. Talk about whether it makes sense or not.
- ACTIVITY THREE:
- provide the child with all or part of the pile of flashcards
- allow them to create their own sentences using the cards
- read the sentences with them and talk about what they’ve created.
- OPTIONAL: Have them glue their completed sentence to the bottom of a piece of construction paper and draw a picture of their sentence on the top. (author/illustrator of their own story).
This can all be found on http://www.kidzone.ws/dolch/kindergarten.htm
Dolch Kindergarten Sight Words
| all | am | are | at |
| ate | be | black | brown |
| but | came | did | do |
| eat | four | get | good |
| have | he | into | like |
| must | new | no | now |
| on | our | out | please |
| pretty | ran | ride | saw |
| say | she | so | soon |
| that | there | they | this |
| too | under | want | was |
| well | went | what | white |
| who | will | with | yes |
Dolch Pre-School Sight Words
| a | and | away | big | blue |
| can | come | down | find | for |
| funny | go | help | here | I |
| in | is | it | jump | little |
| look | make | me | my | not |
| one | play | red | run | said |
| see | the | three | to | two |
| up | we | where | yellow | you |
For more information about the Dolch Sight Words please visit the below links:
http://www.dolchsightwords.org/
http://lickitysplitlearning.com/Dolch-Sight-Word-Flash-Cards.html
Literacy Centers - Coming Soon!