Spelling City

Site: Spellingcity.com

I am not a premium member, so this will just deal with the free content.

Test Me: States the word and a sentence that uses the word (if it is a word in their audio database) and lets you enter your spelling of the word (capitalization matters). If you miss words you have the option of being re-quizzed on the ones that you missed.

Teach Me: States the word, spells the word, states the word, uses the word in a sentence, states the word. You can replay the sound files as often as you need to hear them.

Free Games:
Sentence Writing Practice - Goal - create a sentence for each word on your spelling list. This can either be printed as a worksheet or typed in the online game. Premium members can have the results sent directly to them. Those using the free service have the option of saving their paragraph as a PDF - which would still allow the parent/teacher to look over it.
Paragraph Writing Practice - Goal - use every word on your spelling list in a paragraph. This can either be printed as a worksheet or typed in the online game. Premium members can have the results sent directly to them. Those using the free service have the option of saving their paragraph as a PDF - which would still allow the parent/teacher to look over it.
Match It! - match your spelling words to a sentence your word completes. This can either be printed as a worksheet or played online.
Alphabetize - Alphabetize your spelling list. This can either be printed as a worksheet or played online.
HangMouse - A cute version of hangman that uses your spelling words and adorable cat & mouse animation.
Word Search - Online game or printable worksheet. It looks like it generates a new word search each time you play. I've always loved word searches, so I think that this is fantastic!
Unscramble - So bridal/baby shower goers hate me when this game is introduced. There is just some part of my brain that sees all the letters and reads the word they make. I think this is a great way to quiz someone on the spelling of words. This is an online game and a printable worksheet.
Audio Word Match - A card matching game based on words and sounds.
WhichWord? - gives you a multiple choice fill in the blank sentence in which you need to choose the correct word to properly finish the sentence. This is an online game and a printable worksheet.
Sentence Unscramble - put the sentence back into the proper order. This is an online game and a printable worksheet.
Missing Letter - pick the letter that completes the word. This is an online game and a printable worksheet.
Crossword - a crossword puzzle that uses sentences for the words as clues. Only available online at this time, but they are planning to eventually make it printable.

Overall, this is a fantastic site for learning and practicing your spelling list.

Starfall - Reading

Starfall.com is a free public service designed to motivate children to read with phonics. It is a very interactive reading site that quickly engages children. I have a little brother with a rather short attention span and this site can keep his attention for longer than 30 minutes and he's having fun. I recommend this site for anyone who knows a child who is starting to learn how to read or is struggling with reading. I would also recommend this site for those who are learning English as a second language, because of the great systematic phonics approach.

The site uses four steps.




1. ABCs - This section walks you through each letter. Showing capital and lowercase letters, words that start with that letter, and other interactive activites. It also includes the sign language alphabet, short vowel songs, and an ABC song that states both letters and sounds.
2. Learn To Read - This section has complete the word activities, sight words, short & long vowel activities, sounds made when combining 2 vowels, chunking, silent e, and interactive stories. The stories are set up to help the children sound out the words as they read. There are 15 lessons included in this section - two activities, a story, and most have a skill as well.
3. It's Fun to Read! - This section contains:

All About Me! - an interactive activity in which the child can become part of the story.

Art Gallery - which uses the art of Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Marc Chagall, Ernie Barnes, and Dorothy Strait to teach compound words, -ight, -ou, opposites, -er, and -ow.

Magic - allows you to change the look of the magician, label his clothing, and perform magic tricks by reading words and following directions.

Music - Uses the music of famous musicians to teach things like sequencing, -ing, -ump, -oy, and other reading skills. There are also juke boxes for a few of the musicians containing some of their other compositions.

Poetry - four poems that give you the option of reading them word by word or having them read to you page by page. A great poetry introduction.

Tongue Twisters - this section includes the tongue twisters Fuzzy Wuzzy, Peter Piper, Seashells, and Woodchuck. How fast can you say them?

Bird Riddles - riddles about birds that give a bird fact.

4. I'm Reading! - This section contains plays, fiction and nonfiction, comics, folk tales, Greek myths, and Chinese Fables. Each of these stories has the option of hearing a word if the reader is unable to sound it out on his/her own or if (s)he wants to verify that (s)he said it correctly.

This is a great site for any child beginning to read and also serves as a great way to introduce children to the arts. I highly recommend it! Let me know what you think! Happy reading!

Storyline Online

Site: Storyline Online

I think this is a wonderful site. It was created by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. Various actors and actresses have been recorded reading 23 different children's books (at the time of this posting).

Books:

To Be a Drum, by Evelyn Coleman; read by James Earl Jones

Guji Guji, by Chih Yuan Chen; read by Robert Guillaume

Sebastian's Roller Skates, by Joan De Deu Prats; read by Caitlin Wachs

Sophie's Masterpiece, by Eileen Spinelli; read by CCH Pounder

Stellaluna, by Janell Cannon; read by Pamela Reed

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, by Mem Fox; read by Bradley Whitford

No Mirrors in My Nana's House, by Ysaye M. Barnwell; read by Tia and Tamera Mowry

The Night I Followed the Dog, by Nina Laden; read by Amanda Bynes

Thank you, Mr. Falker, by Patricia Polacco; read by Jane Kaczmarek

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, by Patricia Polacco; read by Melissa Gilbert

Knots on a Counting Rope, by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault; read by Bonnie Bartlett and William Daniels

Brave Irene, by William Steig; read by Al Gore

A Bad Case of Stripes, by David Shannon; read by Sean Astin

Private I. Guana, by Nina Laden; read by Esai Morales

Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, by Eileen Spinelli; read by Hector Elizondo

The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg; read by Lou Diamond Phillips

Me and My Cat, by Satoshi Kitamura; read by Elijah Wood

Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy, by Jason Alexander; read by Jason Alexander

When Pigasso Met Mootisse, by Nina Laden; read by Eric Close

White Socks Only, by Evelyn Coleman; read by Amber Rose Tamblyn

Romeow and Drooliet, by Nina Laden; read by Haylie Duff

Enemy Pie, by Derek Munson; read by Camryn Manheim

As a child I always loved having books read to me. So this is a great site for children to hear stories or for adults to reminisce about times when they were read to. It is also interesting to find out little tidbits about actors/actresses that you may not have known. For example, I learned that James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader, did not start reading aloud until he was 14, that he stutters, and that he is slightly dyslexic. I wouldn't have known this, had my friend not told me about this site.

In addition to the wonderful videos, several activity suggestions for each book are also included on this site. Great prompts for more in-depth discussions on books with your children/students/siblings. So pick a book and enjoy!

Smart.fm - Electronic Flashcard System and More

This is my favorite site for anything I need to remember. It is very simple to create your own flashcards and start studying. They also have several sets of flashcards already made just waiting for you to choose one and begin studying.

Smart.fm link
I'm user DekaTria over there.

I'm currently using the site to memorize Japanese Kanji and to expand my vocabulary.

Site features:
iKnow! - This feature takes you through the paces on the flash cards. It quizes you with the front of the card, the back of the card, the word used in a sentence, and the spelling. If you miss a word it gives it to you again and again until you get it. You have the option of choosing five or ten cards to work on at a time. The site then gives notice when you should be studying the list again with a reminder in red next to the button.
Drill Beta - An efficient way to learn new material which acts much like a quiz.
Dictation - Another way to practice what you are learning. This provides great practice for sentence patterns and will also sharpen your listening and typing skills.
Brain Speed - This is a fun game of speed recognition that tests you on the cards you have already learned. It has several speed settings which will work on improving how quickly you recognize your facts. It's a fun game complete with three lives and high scores. I enjoy this fast-paced review arcade game.

I don't think I can do the site justice in explaining how they came up with their method. So instead, I will link you to where they explain it themselves. That link will take you to their quick tour page. Or you can watch their video:





So I hope you check out this fabulous long term memory tool and feed your curiosity.

Want to:

Learn the Countries of the World?

Master the Capitals of the World?Beat the SAT Verbal?

Master Hiragana & Katakana?

Core 2000: Master the Top 2,000 Words in Japanese?

These are just a few of the sets that smart.fm has made. You are also able to browse and learn any of the thousands of goals created by smart.fm and other users.