Starfall (https://www.starfall.com/h/) is a website dedicated to early learners from pre-kindergarten to third grade. The website features interactive games, songs, and resources that support literacy skills. The site is easy to navigate through and it appeals to the target audience. The activities are engaging and easy to understand. Students can make simple choices and will not get punished for getting something wrong. There is a mixture of text, audio, and videos with each activity.
There are three main features that focus on reading skills. The Learn to Read section teaches common sounds through interactive games, books, and videos. The I’m Reading section contains short books, comics, and plays that students can read. The It’s Fun to Read section allows students to learn by reading in context. Students can move forward through the sections however they like. As they move on to the other sections, their reading skills will improve and develop. Although most of the content is geared towards elementary students, there are some activities that go over more advanced concepts like grammar. Starfall offers clear and useful early literacy lessons.
The Parent-Teacher Center contains a lot of resources that can be downloaded or printed. The printables are customizable and focus on letter recognition, letter formation, high-frequency words, and blending. Along with the printables, Starfall also provides detailed lists of the CCSS alignments, children songs and nursery rhymes that can be downloaded at no cost, and a curriculum guide for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. One of the unique features of Starfall is the accessibility section that provides information on how to use the website to support students with special needs. With the Parent-Teacher Center, a strong and clear plan, and a combination of work on and off the website, Starfall can be an excellent tool for learning to read.
*Contribution by J. De Leon
