spelling practice, literacy, and a follow-up

Here's a place where kids can practice spelling - even the words you choose for them! The site lets the viewer read/spell a word, then click to cover it, type to write it from memory, then check for accuracy. That technique sounds familiar, huh??? There are word lists on the site categorized by phonetic elements or by topic as well as lists kids themselves have generated. But the site also lets the viewer enter in other words for practice - so you could make a customized list for a student. It's pretty slick! Brought to you by a tech-savvy English primary school, it's LookCover at http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/lookcover/lookcover.html

Have I read this whole site? No! What initially attracted me to this site was the online Student Materials area, thinking that a creative teacher could use these internet forms to supplement an existing lesson or book extension. But the actual lessons posted here are wonderful and feature well-known books - so you may be able to use the lessons and the forms. Lessons are grouped by grade level - and they all focus on increasing comprehension and higher order thinking skills. Pick a lesson, any lesson - and try it out. Let me know what you think of the forms, too. The ReadWriteThink website is from the International Reading Association and is at http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/index.asp

Lastly, if you want to follow up on some of the water activities from Friday's visit to Newfound Lake, visit Project Wet's website at http://www.projectwet.org. (Hmmm. Not sure about this photo thing. As much as I'd love to have some graphics here, I'm not crazy about the way it links to the picture site - I may take it off.)