IRA Effective Literacy Website #5

Fun brain

 

http://www.funbrain.com/

 

I really like this website.  Created in 1997, for kids ages preschool through grade 8, it offers more than 100 fun, interactive games that develop skills in math, reading, and literacy. Plus, kids can read a variety of popular books and comics on the site, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amelia Writes Again, and Brewster Rocket.  Teachers can confidently encourage students to use Funbrain during their free time in class, assured that kids will enjoy an educational, safe online learning experience. Funbrain's games help students build on what they have learned in class and acquire new skills in reading, math, and problem solving.

My favorite section is of course, the Reading section.  Here is a link:  http://www.funbrain.com/brain/ReadingBrain/ReadingBrain.html

This section offers online books such as the popular book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney.  http://www.funbrain.com/journal/Journal.html?ThisJournalDay=1&ThisPage=1

The students have access to online books.  These books may be used for individual reading or during shared reading in the classroom.

Another fun section to explore is the Mad Libs one.  The link to an expample: 

http://www.funbrain.com/brain/ReadingBrain/Games/Game.html?GameName=MadLibsAlphabet&Brain=reading&GameNumber=4&Color=FFFFFF&ReturnTo=kidscenter

In the Mad Libs section, children are able to practice grammar by inserting adjectives, adverbs, verbs, etc. into short stories.  This in turn, changes the story making it silly to read.

All of these activities help children love literacy.