How to Learn to Read in Fifth Starfall
Created as an educational alternative for young students who are having trouble learning to read by more traditional methods, Starfall uses an interactive blend of media/entertainment elements such as animation, games, and music, to make learning to read fun and productive. It is aimed toward children from pre-kindergarten through second grade, and is especially helpful for children who are homeschooled. Learning to read in Starfall can be as simple as logging online and following where the brightly colored lessons take you.
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Instructions
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Practice your ABC's. From the Starfall homepage, choose the "ABC's" button and then pick each individual letter of the alphabet to learn its name and the sound it makes. Don't forget to learn the vowels located in lowercase underneath the rest of the letters, and take a try at learning the sign language alphabet that is offered as well.
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Learn to read. Choose the "Learn to Read" button from the start page and begin using the exercises included to start reading. There are fifteen exercises included with "books" that each teach a different reading skill. To take these newly acquired skills a step further, more exercises are included above the fifteen "books." These include options such as "Let's Make a Calendar," "Every Day is Earth Day," and "Go on a Word Hunt!" Each exercise focuses on a different reading skill, so try to get through all of them before moving on to the next learning module.
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Practice your new reading skills. Choose the "It's Fun to Read" button next from the start page and try out exercises that will help your reading skills grow. "About Me" asks questions like 'Who Am I?' and 'How Old Am I?' that require thinking and responding to answer correctly. "Art Gallery" not only teaches reading skills but also facts about famous paintings, artists, and history. Other exercises include "Magic," "Music," "Poetry," and "Tongue Twisters." Each is fully interactive and helps cement the knowledge you have learned into your mind.
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Put your new reading skills to use. Choose the "I'm Reading" button from the start page, which will take you to a virtual library where you can really test out your reading skills. Each online book included can be read aloud by the computer or you can read it. They can also be printed out to be read again later when you are offline. Don't forget to try the puzzles and games located within the library sections, as they too have been created to help improve your reading skills.
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Improve your knowledge of shapes, numbers, and other important things as well as your reading. Located next to the teaching modules on the start page are other interactive options. Choose these to practice your shapes (by picking "Gingerbread Man"), numbers (by picking "100th Day of School"), or dates (by picking "Calendar").
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Tips & Warnings
A hand-shaped cursor tells you where to click in each exercise.
Printouts for different modules are available through the site to provide for extra learning oppurtunities.
