The iPad is also an excellent learning tool for children with autism.

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The new eBook library from WordWorld has five great, fun, and educational stories for children.  Linda Labbo, Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia, has great things to say about these books.  She says, “Words come to life on screens in unique ways that invite children to interact with stories, characters, and language. The interactivity scaffolds children’s attention and provides age appropriate prompts that ensure an entertaining and educational experience.”   Scaffolding is very important in the learning process, and WordWorld utilizes that specialized teaching strategy.

In my opinion as an educator, I think Word World is one of the very best children’s educational programming available. The literacy lessons presented in the WordWorld television series are extended in the eBooks.  Kids can either read these eBooks on their own, have someone read to them, or have the stories read to them by the eBook narrator.  A Guide providing strategies is also available to maximize learning.

These are the five eBooks:

• A Smile for Crocodile
• Duck’s First Sleepover
• Snug as a Bug
• The Big Race
• Totally Terrific Duck

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• Bob the Builder
• Kids Astronomy
• Online Tests over Presidents
• Worksheets on famous people
  
• Starfall – ABC’s, Phonics, Reading, & Books

Here are more sites with free printable word webs:

• Advanced Word Web lesson sheet
• Basic Word Web Worksheet
• Cluster Word Web Worksheet
• Halloween Word Webs
• Word Web Lesson Sheets

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There are nine stories on the DVD, ending with There’s Something in My Attic” by Mercer Mayer. The DVD also has vocabulary for each story, ASL demonstration of the signs for some of the nouns and verbs, mini-quizzes for comprehension, and a presentation of the American Sign Language alphabet.
Here’s where to order the book with sign language DVD: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed… and More Favorite Children’s Stories (Scholastic Storybook Treasures)

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• BEAR’s Skateboard Park Game
• DOG’s Letter Pit Game
• Snug as a BUG eBook

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Celebrate when a child learns a letter of the alphabet that has been hard for them to learn.  Make a cookie cake either from scratch or buy a roll of the child’s favorite refrigerated cookie dough and spread it out on a pizza pan to bake.  If the child enjoys decorating, then let them decorate the cookie cake, or if they really enjoy being surprised then surprise them with it.  The main thing is to celebrate the learning that has taken place and encourage them to learn more things that might be difficult for them.

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· Re-programming the app to be compatible with the 4.0 iPhone operating system.

· Randomizing the presentation of the WordFriends for more WordBuilding fun!

· Decreasing the price. You can now purchase the app for the low, low cost of only $0.99.

“The “Build a Word” app is based on the WordWorld television show. Children will shake up this “WordBuilder” to watch letters float across the screen. They can then place letters in the outline provided to build words one letter at a time. By pushing the letters of each word together, words will magically “morph” into WordFriends! DOG, DUCK, PIG, ANT, FROG, SHEEP, BUG, COW, CAT and BEE come to life and help children build early literacy skills.”

You can download the WordWorld “Build a Word” app from iTunes.

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Many of you already know about Starfall.  For those who don’t, it’s an excellent free site to encourage children to learn to read while having fun.  This site is great for children learning their alphabet letters, learning the sounds of letters, and learning how to read words or short stories.

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First, write a short paragraph on the board or overhead such as this one: Michael had fun at the school carnival with his friends.  They ate pizza and then played a lot of games.  They had their faces painted.  They ate popcorn.  Then it was time to go home.

Explain that main idea tells what the whole story is about.  Explain how the first sentence tells the main idea in this story, Michael had fun at the carnival.  Then proceed with the following sentences to show how they support the main idea.

• “Is eating pizza and playing a lot of games fun?”  “Yes.”
• “Do most kids think getting their faces painted is fun?”  “Yes.”
• “Is it fun to eat popcorn?”  “Yes.”

Now show how the supporting sentences would not be the main idea:

• “Is the main idea (the whole story) about eating pizza?”  “No, because they played games, had their faces painted, and ate popcorn, too.”
• “Is the main idea about playing games?”  “No, because they ate pizza and popcorn, and they had their faces painted, too.”
• “Is the main idea about having their faces painted?”  “No, because they played games, and they ate pizza and popcorn, too.”

• Reinforce how the main idea, the whole story, is about Michael having fun at the school carnival with his friends.  And all of these things (eating pizza, playing games, having faces painted, and eating popcorn) are ways to have fun.

Next, give the students a worksheet with no more than four short stories on it.  Make sure the stories are separated with lines so it will not cause any student to be confused.  Make sure the stories are numbered so you can easily refer to a certain story.

• Read the first story together orally with the class and also all of the choices for main idea.  Work through the process in the same way as the above story.  Have the students underline the main idea in the story with a crayon or colored marker.  Then have them mark the answer.
• Read the second story and answers orally with the class, but this time have them choose the answer by themselves.  After they have marked their answers, talk about the correct answer and why it is correct.  Allow students to change their answer, if necessary.  Make sure they underline the main idea in the story.
• Have students complete the third story independently.  Again, after they have marked their answer, talk about the correct answer and why it is correct.  Let them correct their answer.  Make sure they underline the main idea in the story.
• Complete the fourth story in the same manner as the third one.

Give students a similar worksheet in the same format and have them complete the worksheet independently.  Then you can assess how well each student understood the concept of main idea.

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