Starfall's Learn To Read With Phonics

Starfall

www. starfall.com

The software I decided to evaluate is starfall.com. I came across this webpage a few months ago as a recommendation from coworkers when I had to teach younger and low level students. The students were in grades 1 and 2 and had just a very basic knowledge of English sounds and grammar. I was used to teaching older and higher level students so this came as a challenge to me. I wasn't sure how to teach the students phonics except for the basic listen and repeat format and just simple songs. Of course the students often dislike this so I had to find another way to teach them. That is how I came across this website.

The aim of starfall.com is to give the students a baic understanding of English sounds through basic activities that help them first learn the sounds or combination of sounds of English and then lets them practice it either through games, stories or songs. I found this website to be very useful. In the past when I have tried to teach phonics I usually had horrible results. The students often lose interest quickly and when that happens I find myself in a dangerous situation. This software helped solve that for me. The main page for the website has various options on how the teacher can begin to teach phonics. If the students are just starting to learn English it would be wise to use the ABC's or Learn to Read function. Both these give the students a chance to learn various sounds and then apply them to some kind of activity like a game or song.

Once the students have understood the basic concept of a particular sound or phonics concept they are trying to learn then they can go onto It's Fun To Read section. In this section there are various stories, songs and riddles that will help the student's with getting more comfortable with reading. Afterward, the last section titled I'm Reading has more stories, fables, comics and myths. This section is very helpful but only after the students have gained a strong understanding of the basics of phonics will it be useful for them.

Over the winter I had to teach a 3 week winter camp. My students were grades one and two and the textbook I was given was all about phonics and reading. Of course the students disliked the textbook so I tried my hardest to incorporate Starfall's material into my lesson. One lesson I had to teach my students the long e sound as in sheep and meet. I began the lesson by doing an activity in which the students saw a picture on the tv screen and The letters/ee/ on the screen. Their job was to add the begininng and final cononants to finish the word. After they properly made the word they word hear it over the tv. The students really liked this and it was a good warm up activity before jumping into the book. Later, after the activity we would do a few pages in the book related to the /ee/ sound. The students quickly finished this and we went onto a story called Pete's Sheep. The students read the story out loud in class. They got practice using words with the /ee/ sound. The story also had short video clips that the students could watch. I would try and ask questions related to the story as well to get the students interested in what was taking place. Aterwards, I was out of time and finished the lesson.

I found Fallstar's website to be very effective in teaching phonics to young learners. The activities like songs, games and stories really helped to engage the students in the lesson and to grasping the overall sounds that they were being taught. They were shown how to properly use them in words and later in a sentence and finally in a story. I found the website easy to use but I am not sure how it would be for the students if they tried it on their own at home. Many of my students asked for the web address. As of yet I haven't heard any feedback yet on it.

Starfall has many strengths. One would be it's easy accessability for teachers to use in the classroom. It easily divides the material up so the teacher can decided on his/her own how to proceed with the lesson according to his/her students level. The activities I feel are good but it is important that they are appropirate to the students English ability or it might be useless to the student. Also, it is important that the students understand the game and how it relates to what they have learned. Sometimes in the past when I have tried to play a games the students seem to really enjoy it but when I ask them questions about it they have trouble answering instead only knowing the basic rules of the game being played and not the concept of what has been learned in the lesson and how it applies to the game.

Overall, I would recommend this softerware to any inservice ESL teacher. Also, I feel this software is excellent not only for ESL learners but preschool and kindergarden students learning English as a first language. The practice exercises and activities are very interactive and engaging for students. Anyone who has taught young learners realizes this and understands that it is hard to hold a 7 year olds attention for more than a few minutes. That is where I found this software to be very useful. In conclusion, I would recommend this software to anyone who is trying to teach phonics and is having a difficult time. They will find this software very useful in supplementing their lesson plan.

Reflections on Egbert and Warschauer

Both the readings for the week brought up many interesting points about CALL and using technology in the classroom. In Warschauer's article he shows us the various kinds of tools like wikis, blogs and other hardware and software. By showing these various kinds of technologies  we are given a broad picture of how technology can be used in the classroom. There isn't just one particular program or method of using CALL and Warschauer shows us this.

Egbert does a similar thing but goes into more detail. We are shown specific examples of how technology is used in the classroom. Examples are shown how certain programs are used to fit the students specific needs. It was important too how the article showed how certain programs can be used to address certain content areas like science and math. The article stresses the importance of making sure the material is culturally sensitive and practical.

What I Liked the most was the teacher's post on how even if computers are used or not students still need to know how to ask questions and recieve meaningful answers. Computers can be used in so many useful ways in the classroom but it is important that they aren't seen as the teacher. Computers should be used to support a lesson not take over it. From my own personal experience I have had mixed results using technology in the classroom. When teaching I found it very useful in many settings. I taught an immersion program for a year in which I was teaching both science and social studies. I often used a website called sheppardsoftware.com. The webpage supplied various activities and videos that I was able to use to explain certain topics we were covering in the book. I found it very useful in giving the students a visual aid into what was being learned. At the same time though for my young learners they often saw the computer activities as games and after awhile focused more attention to the computer programs than me.

CALL is very effective in language learning as both Egbert and Warschauer point out. Many things must be considered though when using technology like the objectives of the lesson, cultural sensivitity, students ability and knowledge of how to use certain programs and how appropriate the CALL program is to the lesson. In the end it is up to the teacher how to use technology in the classroom and how to tailor it to each individual class and sometimes even student.