External Links to Resources

Web Information of Special Interest to Literacy Educators

The links below take you to sites of particular interest to Plains Council members. International Literacy Association (ILA) Literacy Research Association Alabama Literacy Association

Children’s Literature Sites

Writing Children’s Books The BookWire Index Jan Brett, author of many lovely children’s books, has pulled together teachers’ classroom applications of her books. She even has printable masks teachers can use to create reader’s theater. Oyate: Native American book review site focusing on children’s literature. Pretty radical, but worthwhile. They also have a long list of books they do recommend and distribute, some of which would not be readily available from other sources. Children’s Literature Web Guide. This is a comprehensive database for children’s literature. Includes awards, authors, subject-oriented children’s sites such as Native American sites, Reader’s Theater sources, Teachers’ Resources, Storytellers Resources, etc. Children’s Book Council Web Page. This non-profit organization of publishers provides a teachers and librarians page, a poetry page, authors and illustrators page, etc. Cooperative Children’s Book Center. Includes online book discussion groups for children’s books. Primarily, they provide annotated book lists for children of different ages. The On-Line Books Page. There are more free books to download. Publishers Weekly. In-depth author interviews, publishing news, and early reviews of adult and children’s books

Websites Designed for Children

National Geographic has a Kids Magazine section and has articles on animals and other topics under their'stories' archive. These are not fictional stories (or are a mixture of storyline and factual material). National Geographic for Kids Archive Uncle Ben’s Guide to U. S. Government has essays on a wide range of U.S. government-related topics, from money and how it’s minted to symbols of the United States. The site is divided into age ranges. The articles are from the different branches of the government and are very readable and interesting, from very interesting and readable to “ho hum.” National Wildlife Federation with links to Ranger Rick KidPub — Web publication opportunities for children KidsHealth — A safe place for kids to learn about their bodies and feelings AllConnect.com— Students’ internet research guide Exploratorium Dav Pilkey’s Web Site o’ Fun Jan Brett’s Home Page KIDLINK Little Explorers The Planets of Our Solar System Sesame Street Audrey Wood’s Website. An interactive look into her books FunBrain.com. Learning games are divided by age categories. Kinetic City Cyber Club. Learn about physics and energy in a quest for truth, justice, and deep-dish pizza. Redwall: The Brian Jacques Home Page. All about the author and his works Zoom Dinosaurs. An interactive online hypertext book about dinosaurs Between the Lions. A reading web site designed to be accessed by children, parents, and teachers Accompanies a PBS literature series for children.

Looking for expository text for children?

Dr. Judy Lechner suggests, “Go to Ebsco Host through the Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) and select Searchasaurus. The articles in this elementary school database range from articles from children’s magazines, such as Cobblestones, to material from popular newspapers that have a low reading level but were not designed for children, such as USA Today. I try to encourage students to get their AVL card through their public library, so they are used to using AVL when they get to their schools and demand it (because if we don’t use it, we’ll lose it). But they can also get to the same database through Auburn University Library’s Find Articles-Ebsco. They should select Primary Search. Also, through either the AVL or AU libraries, they can get to InfoTracKids and SIRS Discoverer. Each of these databases has magazine articles for children. SIRS even identifies the reading level (at least loosely). Finally, in Ebsco, there is also an Animal Encyclopedia, which is meant for children. Each animal has its own essay and pictures.”

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