Starfall.com

When searching for an ICT resource to share with you in my blog post, my mind fell on Starfall (http://www.starfall.com/ ). It is a free phonic based “learn to read” website. With the remission of the English syllabus and its modifications, such as the introduction of English in the 1st grade, Starfall could be an excellent early exposure to the language in a fun and interactive manner, without any emphasis on the learning aspects. In the early years children are enthusiastic and keen on new experiences. English from an early age creates a significant opportunity to stimulate learning in an informal and playful manner. Starfall presents such a method using a motivational approach. It induces laughter and gives a stress-free acquaintance to the language.


What you need in order to use Starfall:
(The minimum system requirements)

o Windows 95, Macintosh OS8, or Linux
o Internet connection
o 64 MB Ram
o 200 MHz processor
o Internet Explorer 4 or Netscape 4
o Flash Player 4
o Speakers
o Adobe reader


How Starfall is constructed

The Starfall website opened 2002 and is primarily designed for those who are in the beginning stages of reading. It has both an educator´s and parental guide. It is highly interactive using both sound and pictures, while requiring the user to participate actively with the mouse or keyboard.

The website is divided into various stages with reading activities. The ABCs Let´s get ready to read section has activities and games where users view and manipulate pictures to distinguish the letters of the alphabet. E.g. a train would appear with the lower and upper case letter t/T while the sound of the letter is heard. This exposes users to the letter- sound relationship in a fun and relaxing environment. Sign language is also presented in this section.

The second stage, Learn to read, takes the learner beyond the sound-letter relationship where they get the opportunity to enunciate and blend words as they read along, or write a letter to grandparents by clicking on their choice of word etc.

Thirdly, the category It is fun to read presents texts in different contexts and genres such as poetry, music, riddles, tongue twisters, and also has a section called “It is all about me” which gives the pupil a chance to construct a character to look like themselves. This stage even uses a TPR approach in some activities.

Finally, the I´m reading stage is more advanced and present learners with a variation of frequently used words. It focuses on fluent reading, intonation and expression etc.
In addition to the above mentioned categories there are thirteen links to different topics. For example Earth day, an interactive game where users work to clean the planet.


How teachers can use Starfall

Starfall presents a nonthreatening and supportive environment for students new to the English language. With anxiety and feelings of embarrassment removed from the process, the user can learn without inhibitions.

The website is extremely content rich so guidance in the beginning might be necessary. No official lesson plans are offered but there are many possibilities for a creative teacher, almost limitless. Usually there are some pupils in first grade that already can read. Others are on their way and some have not yet realized the purpose of reading. This is a flexible tool for the teacher despite their different stages. Additionally, the site is equally practical for use in collective learning, with the whole class or groups. Practice pages can be downloaded, and teachers can create portfolios for each student.


How pupils can use Starfall

Children in the first grade are of course at different stages of reading development. Starfall gives a useful tool for pupils despite their level.

Beginning readers with no prior knowledge of the English language can independently explore activities and games; they can let their curiosity lead the way. All the words in the activities are clickable and read out aloud. The website’s various categories can also be used with pupils who are already fluent readers in Swedish. A child with pronunciation difficulties could turn to the section of the website that aids in the improvement of pronunciation and students with difficulty repeating the alphabet will find immediate practical help etc. Starfall’s approach is extremely user friendly for beginners.

Their work can be printed out, saved or emailed which makes it possible to have their own electronic portfolio or to email tasks to parents.


Other conciderations

Starfall’s ease of navigation along with its read aloud features and slow moving graphics, presents an effective environment for young children wanting to learn or improve their English skills. There are no distractive links to other website, minimizing the risk of children being accidentally lured away to other websites.

As earlier mentioned, my reason for selecting Starfall was its appropriateness for exposing young learners to the English language in a fun and interactive setting. Older students starting to learn English according to the previous curriculum might find the site more juvenile.

My son learned the English alphabet before Swedish because he loved navigating the activities of Starfall. Through browsing the various activities, listening to the sounds and viewing the pictures, it never occurred to him that he was literally acquiring the language.

I hope you will find this useful.
Helené