We home educate and so are always on the lookout for interesting and fun educational websites and resources. Starfall was recommended to us when son number 2 was first learning to read, and it is a true gem!
Pedigree:
Starfall.com was founded in 2002 by Dr. Stephen Schutz and Susan Polis ... Read review
Advantages: Progressive, comprehensive reading programme which is fun - and free too! Disadvantages: Very American - not surprising as it is an American site, but it still grates a little...
.../>
Pedigree:
Starfall.com was founded in 2002 by Dr. Stephen Schutz and Susan Polis Schutz who, together with their son Jared, had already created the popular e-card site bluemountain.com . Stephen Schutz had himself struggled to learn to read and wanted to devise a programme which would help others not to have to go through the same experience and which would be available online so that anyone could use it. The result, Starfall, ... ...and is included in "The Reading Teacher"'s "Five Internet sites too good to miss" as well as being number 4 of Homeschool.com's top 100 educational websites - a list compiled with input from 7000 home educators.
The home page is clearly laid out, with bright colours to appeal to children and enough information to reassure adults. There is a link to The Starfall Store, where educational products linked to starfall ... more
We home educate and so are always on the lookout for interesting and fun educational websites and resources. Starfall was recommended to us when son number 2 was first learning to read, and it is a true gem!
Pedigree: Starfall.com was founded in 2002 by Dr. Stephen Schutz and Susan Polis Schutz who, together with their son Jared, had already created the popular e-card site bluemountain.com . Stephen Schutz had himself struggled to learn to read and wanted to devise a programme which would help others not to have to go through the same experience and which would be available online so that anyone could use it. The result, Starfall, is widely recognised as a valuable learning and teaching resource and is included in "The Reading Teacher"'s "Five Internet sites too good to miss" as well as being number 4 of Homeschool.com's top 100 educational websites - a list compiled with input from 7000 home educators.
The home page is clearly laid out, with bright colours to appeal to children and enough information to reassure adults. There is a link to The Starfall Store, where educational products linked to starfall may be purchased, but I cannot really comment on this service as I have never used it. It appears that you can buy hard copies of the books and games which are available free of charge to read and play online - since I am a cheapskate and my children happy with the online version we stuck to that! Besides this link there are links to Starfall's 4 main sections and to games and activities which follow on from each section.
1. ABC's - Let's get ready to read This link takes you to a page showing brightly coloured letter blocks (like wooden building bricks with letters painted on) arranged in alphabetical order. Each block, when clicked, will take you to an animated page showing the upper and lower case versions of the letter and then to a picture which will help to remember its sound (e.g. Aa, then a (picture of apple) ). At the same time a child's voice says what is on the screen ("Ay, a" and "a, apple"). Navigation from page to page is easy, using forwards and back arrows and a large red cross to close and return to the blocks page. Beneath the blocks is a line with baubles hanging from it. These when clicked will take you to a run-through of the alphabet in sign language (n.b. American rather than British, since this is a US site) and to a song (complete with actions) for each vowel sound, plus another for the whole alphabet.
2. Learn to Read - Zac the Rat and other tales This link goes to a page listing 15 stories, each for a different phoneme. Zac the Rat, for example, is for short a. Each story starts with a reminder of the sound and how it is written, in the form of a little song. Forward and back arrows help to turn the pages and navigate through the story, which appears on each page in written form (with illustration above) but can also be heard by clicking on each word in turn. What I like about this level for beginning readers is that you do not hear the whole sentence at once, but instead get the word you choose sounded out phonetically and then the sounds put together to make the word. My children like to see if they can get to the whole word before the voice from the computer does and are so pleased when they get it right! My only reservation here is that the voice is very strongly American and so some of the sounds are quite different and a few of the words completely unrecognisable or even unknown to the children. The illustrations are also animated and many have sections which can be clicked to make them move in a way which tells the story you are reading. Beside each story there are also a couple of activities to do with the same sound, often to do with forming words, and another activity, game or short film which uses skills they have covered so far.
3. It's Fun to Read - About me, Art Gallery, Magic and more! Once a child has worked through the 15 stories and related activities they should be ready to move onto the next section. Here there is a signpost with lots of choices, from an activity where you select words to complete sentences on personal themes (all about me, my home, my pet and so forth) to a page of tongue twisters to read or a brief biography of Ludwig van Beethoven! Here again the words are presented on the page with the option to click on them if you need to hear them read out loud. This time, though, they are not sounded out but instead read slowly and clearly and then faster.
4. I'm Reading! Plays, non-fiction, comics and more! Once you have a fairly confident reader on your hands this is the place to be! This time the page shows a library with a number of happy children finding their way around it. Activities include three little plays to read and watch (with characters on screen to click and move), Greek myths, folk tales and Chinese fables, which are presented like picture books but with animated pictures, comic strip pages and fiction and non-fiction "books" to read. Again the words can be clicked on individually to hear them read slowly and clearly, or you can choose to click on the ear icon and hear a whole sentence or phrase read at a time - a great support for a less confident reader and a way for youngsters to be completely self-sufficient, without needing adult help.
Overall impression: We love Starfall! It's simple to use, fun yet educational and provides a good overview of phonics, the letter sounds, how to put them together, basic rules of reading (and their exceptions) and how stories work, with a few other things snuck in! I love the fact that everything there is safe, so I can leave the children to play by themselves. They love the fact that it is so easy to navigate that they do not have to wait for me to set them up with their next activity, but can get on with it at their own speed. My seven year old was already reading confidently when we started using it, but still enjoys doing the activities, the 5 year old has now learned to read, partly thanks to starfall and the 3 year old is well on her way...
I would recommend this for children from 2 or 3 (who will enjoy the songs even if they don't really get the reading concept) to about 7 or 8 - although it would also work as a reading program for reluctant readers older than that if used selectively - stick to the stories and ignore the songs, perhaps.
My only reservation, as I have said above, is the strongly American accent - but this is something to be expected of an American website. Until an English one comes along which is equally comprehensive and just as good then this will do nicely - especially as it's totally free!
