Children's Literature Classics Read Aloud Online

Michigan ELA GLCE: L.RP.00.02 listen to or view knowledgeably, and respond thoughtfully to both classic and contemporary texts recognized for quality and literary merit


MDE METS-S: PK-2.TC.6. understand that technology is a tool to help him/her complete a task, and is a source of information, learning, and entertainment. 


I anticipate that I will eventually teach at the K2 level but not in the state of Michigan. For ease of this assignment, I am referring to the Michigan ELA GLCE for Kindergarten. I chose the specific standard posted above since I located a plethora of classics read online, including a stop-motion video of "Frog and Toad are Friends." I am interested in teaching the perception that computers, when utilized to browse the internet, are not merely sources of entertainment but sources of information that can enhance the learning experience. My caveat is simply that I did not view stories that transcribed the text--I am hesitant to entirely play a stop-motion video such as "Frog and Toad" without visually pairing the text so that learners may work on word recognition as well.  At the K level, I understand that read-aloud stories are a significant source of literature  exposure but I would feel most comfortable streaming a video with text.

To counteract the lack of text paired with video, or perhaps a less drastic tone may consist of, "measure"   learner acquisition of the content, I would implement a whole-group, student-led (but teacher prompted, of course) review session following the online short video. Retelling is a significant measure of understanding a text. Based on my experience with the literacy program I formerly worked with, I recall that children who hear more words, whether in conversation or via books read to them, are more likely to succeed at learning to read as their vocabulary skills are greater than peers without these experiences in the home, etc. My ultimate hope in teaching children that computers offer far more than cartoons on nick jr but classic and contemporary texts read online or streamed as a video would be that the kids who do not share the same experiences as peers with at-home situations that offer multitudes of contact with vocabulary and reading may receive some input they are missing. I am of course assuming that these children would also possess at-home internet services and computers but in my experiences thus far, I also lived in a city that had wireless. Philadelphia FTW.