Games

=TumbleBooks=

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Tumblebooks is a website in which students can go to and read a book. They also are quizzed on the book and can play games based on books they have read. The games consist of puzzles, memory, matching, and spelling. The students are able to read the books to themselves. They also have the option to have the book read to them. Tumblebooks has actual books that students can find in their local library. The website can work great in classrooms as a literacy center. It is appealing to students of different ages. There are chapter books and picture books for the students to read. This is a great resource for a library to have on it's website for the students and teachers to access.

Leslie Reynolds = = = = = = =EDUTOPIA =

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====Edutopia is a website that fits a variety of educational needs. The website allows you to browse topics by grade level, from grades kindergarten through twelfth grade. So yes, there’s something for everyone and you can learn about how other educators are using video games with their students. What’s even better is that this website provides a list of core strategies from integrated studies, project-based learning, teacher development, to technology integration. Not only will educators have a chance to read and learn about resources for their classrooms but they will also find helpful videos that show them how to implement them in the classroom. Among some of the other resources for teachers, you will find direct links to video games for learning. The website also offers tips and tools to put today’s hottest games to educational use. If you’re still not excited then read what other educators have to say. Edutopia provides a variety of different blogs for educators to join or just read. So remember, Edutopia offers more than just cool resources for learning. ====

**UpToTen**
[] This website is a great source for children preschool age to about 10 years old, hence the name. The site boasts, "the fun place to learn on-line," and it is a very kid friendly site. The options for activities include coloring, games, animated cards and fun with two characters who teach young children how to use the computer. The school section has computer usage lessons that are interactive, colorful and fun. Possibly one of the best things about this site is that games can be chosen that focus on particular skills such as observation skills, hand-eye coordination, and use of the keyboard and mouse. As a member on the site, which is free, children can share their favorite activities with others and rate the activities as to their appeal. This site would be a great place for young children to be introduced to different computer options such as sharing and rating with other users of the same materials, just like adults might do in sharing and rating books, etc.

RIF Reading Planet
[|Reading Planet]

The longstanding organization Reading is Fundamental has an excellent online resource for teachers, parents, librarians, and kids. The kids' area has four sections: Game Station, Activity Lab, Express Yourself and Book Zone. Game Station has interactive writing, foreign language, and word activities. Book Zone will point you in the direction of books set in different continents as well as link you to animated online books. Express Yourself provides a space and an audience for students to write their own book reviews.

Finally, the Activity Lab section has something Librarians could find really useful. They have a Monthly Reading Activity Calendar. Each month there is a calendar with activities for each day. The first week in [|September] suggests students research the La Brea Tar Pits, write a letter to a relative and make bookmarks among other activities. This calendar would be a great way to connect classrooms, the library, and home as a school-wide year-long activity. There could be an incentive to participate such as a sharing wall for completed projects. In the library, the activities could be used to teach research skills, communicate about books and expand students' horizons.

//Alicia Murphy//

=The Stacks-- __not for grade__.=

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__**I noticed after posting that Angelique put a general link to Scholastic at the end of her post. She is right, Scholastic is an excellent source. I should probably post something a little different since this is probably considered a repeat. I'm including it for reference anyways since it is already written up.**__===== [|The Stacks] Take a look at this site and you will think, "Wow! This is great!" This site was created by Scholastic and, as the name implies, involves books. For well over 50 popular books there are games and activities that correspond. Take the //Harry Potter// Trivia Challenge. Play arcade games like Allie Finkle's Geode Match-Up and Captain Underpants Robo-Booger Roundup. Play puzzle games like Charlotte's Web Pick The Perfect Word Game and The 39 Clues Lab Rat. Make your own I Spy Puzzle or Dress the Girls from //The Babysitter's Club Series//. Make your comic from //Goosebumps// characters. Write for Change inspired by the popular book //Hoot//.

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While the arcade games are sure to excite students, many of the games can be the basis for hearty lessons. For example, rumor has it the Caldecott winner The Invention //of Hugo Cabret// by writer/illustrator Brian Selznick will soon be made into a movie. This book had a long waiting list with my upper elementary students and will only rise in popularity once the movie comes along. It has the thickness that enticed many //Harry Potter// readers, but this is because the novel is told half in pictures and half in words. The Stacks has two games to complement the book. One is Write Your Own Word and Picture Story. This can be used to complement a lesson on Caldecott books and/or to investigate how to effectively use illustrations to convey important details that are not known to the reader otherwise. Students have templates for both illustration and writing pages and an image bank with high quality images to aid in illustration.=====

//Alicia Murphy// = = = **Starfall** =

[|www.starfall.com]

This website is a great gaming site for younger users. Phonics based, it contains games and songs that help students learn the English language. This can be a great site for early learners or other language speakers. It begins with letter/sound recognition and continues on until students are reading entire stories on their own. It is a great introductory gaming site for young kids. It is easy to navigate and fun to use. There is a level of interaction in almost all of the games, as students can alter the outcome of the activity by their choices. There is even a area where students can make an avatar. In the higher levels, there is a virtual library, where students can choose multicultural books and have the book read to them (or read it themselves). This site could be very useful in a library, encouraging reading skills through play, and also introducing the virtual world of gaming to young students.

//Emily Curtis//


 * Fun Kids Pages: Horace Mann Elementary**

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This particular website is resourceful for its numerous links that may help students, teachers, librarians,administrators, and parents. Moreover, it is particularly geared to an elementary school setting, and it includes informational links as well as links for enrichment and skill support. Examples of online game sites connected to this site that could be used in the library include:
 * [|www.funbrain.com] – This site includes games (i.e. math and reading) that could be played by the student on their own or with a partner on a computer. Also there are various readings and the librarian could have journal or story ending competitions.
 * [] – Today Hooray includes “Game of the Day”, “Crossword of the Day”, and “Joke of the Day” to name a few that could be library starters for beginning of the year and/or class instruction (to break the ice in some way).
 * [] - This site could be useful for students to practice math skills on their own, with a small group, or a large group competition. Kids sometimes do not associate math with the library (most often reading) so incorporating this type of different learning would most likely help them to see the library in a different way if necessary.

//Patricia Del Toro// //﻿//

The Librarian's Guide to Gaming
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 * This website is an excellent resource for librarians to find ideas for gaming to use in their school libraries. It provides models, resources, tools, and instructions for setting up and implementing things such as after school clubs, tournaments, and literacy instruction gaming strategies.
 * School librarians can use the ideas presented on this site to set up and implement game clubs, game nights, and activities that can be linked with literacy. This site is very user friendly and gives very specific instructions and plans for librarians to get started with gaming. One example given on the site was an after school tutoring and game club, where students who require extra help with academics can get help with their subjects by using appropriate games, or simply having time allotted after finishing their assigments to play games as a reward time.

Jennifer Chen

**National Gaming Day**
http://ilovelibraries.org/gaming/ Susan Sebeck
 * This website has a wonderful article describing and promoting National Gaming Day which will be on November 12, 2011. I found it very informative for using games in the library. The article covers frequently asked questions such as: educational value of games, family involvement, how it meets community needs and expectations.
 * Our school did not participate in this activity last year. I think it would be a wonderful school wide/ PTA activity. We have a book night where families come and hear and share read-alouds but nothing like this. I feel it would really draw participation from all grade levels and be of special interest for a father/child activity. It would give the moms a chance to see just what games their children are playing and the educational value in them that they may not always recognize. In our area we have 10-20% that do not have PCs at home. A "game night" or participation in National Gaming Day during school would give many of these children an additional chance to get their hands on a computer. A list of free educational on line games would be a special treat for families.


 * Quia Library Skills Games and Review - St. John's School Library**
 * []- This website uses games to teach students library skills. The games are played on the site, and students play for credit so progress can be tracked.
 * I would used these games to teach students how to use the library. The games could be played as part of a library lesson and also in the classroom. The games are familiar so students do not have to be taught the rules. They also allow them to learn at their own pace. Some of the skills also carry over into reading skills so this would be a great opportunity for collaboration between the librarian and classroom teachers. They could create games geared towards the skills students needed practice with. Tracking their progress will help students, as well as the teachers and librarian, see how they are doing.

Dusty Alderson


 * Free Rice**

http://freerice.com/

> > Caren Pleasant
 * This website is a game that helps students practice on English grammar and vocabulary, math, foreign language, geography, chemistry, and humanities skills. In each subject, the students' levels adapt as they get answers right or wrong. With each correct answer, the student earns rice that is sent to third world countries to help feed the hungry. This is a win-win because the students are increasing their own knowledge while helping those in need at the same time.
 * I would use this as a learning station in the library. I would like to have this available to the students before and after school as a way to draw students into the library. New interests could be developed from playing this game and students could then be directed to resources to supplement their new interests. At one site I found, http://www.zvents.com/z/southport-ct/families-come-play-free-rice-at-pequot-library--events--184513545, the Pequot Library hosted a game night with Free Rice as the main event. I thought this was another great way to promote a family friendly atmosphere in the library.

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 * Prongo.com for Kids**


 * Prongo.com for Kids is an educational website for Kids. It provides interactive and educational games for kids. Games are divided by age groups: 3-6; 6-9; and 9-12. This makes it most appropriate for elementary school use, but it could be used in a middle school in a remedial capacity. For teachers, Prongo offers Quizstation. Quizstation allows teachers to create online quizzes for their students. Prongo also offers kids clip art, e-cards for kids, wallpaper, kids jokes, screensavers, and more.


 * Prongo provides learning fun for kids and is valuable resource for teachers who want to provide fun and productive activities in classroom or the library media center. Teachers can use Prongo to reinforce lessons taught in the classroom. Students can play Prongo’s educational games related to their curriculum, on library computers, or they can take assessments that teachers make using Quizstation.

Kevin Thompson


 * Character Scrapbook**
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This is a Scholastic website activity that allows the student to analyze a book’s characters. One one side of the scrapbook page the student is able to create an image of the character using a variety of facial features, skin tones, clothing, and hair options. On the other side of the scrapbook the student can identify the character’s traits as they describe the character’s personality, challenges and accomplishments associated with the character, and facts about about the character’s persona. Lastly, they can print out the scrapbook page.

This activity will work with almost any fiction or nonfiction book. It can be used as a whole group or individual exercise in order to deepen the students’ understanding of various book characters thus leading them to a richer and deeper appreciation of the book. Students can also compare and analyze each other’s scrapbooks. You can use this as a spring board to higher level questioning and correlating activities like mock character interviews and character webs.

Moreover the Scholastic website has multitude of online interactive activities/games that span across all grade levels and content areas.
 * http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/learn.jsp?lnkid=TNav:SA:home&ESP=SA/ib**

Angelique Lackey