I was able to make this new list sooner than I had thought I would. The sites listed in my previous list of The Best Websites To Help Beginning Readers have been enjoyed by both my students and their parents. However, most of them have had little or no formal schooling in the past.
I can see that older students and adults who have had some formal schooling in their native countries, but who have had no prior experience with the English language, might not feel engaged by a number (though not all, as I indicated in that post) of the sites in my previous list.
Sometime in the future I’ll make a similar list of sites for Intermediate and Advanced English Language Learners.
Here are what I believe to be the Best Websites For Beginning Older Readers:
Number eight are Sight Words at Quiz Tree. I’m not a big fan of sight word memorization out of context, but this is a decent way for students to be introduced to, and practice, some of the basic English sight words, also known as the Dolch Word List.
Number seven is another Sight Word list — Basic Sight Words List One from Adult and Family Education. The words are taught in context and have great follow-up activities. However, it’s only a small list of sight words.
Number six is also a series of Sight Word exercises from Reall Languages. I bring my same reservations to learning words out of context, but this site at least provides a variety of exercises and games that students can use.
I’m ranking Learning Line number five. It may be a little out of reach for very, very Beginning English Language Learners, but it has high-interest accessible content on employment, health, and basic communication issues.
Number four is a new series of authentic stories designed to teach phonics called Story By Story Phonics Lessons. It’s sponsored by the Learning Disabilities Association of Minnesota.
The Embedded Learning Portal in the United Kingdom has one hundred exceptional step-by-step literacy (and math) lessons designed for adult learners. This site is number three on my list.
REEPworld Family English is number two. It’s a series of stories about recent immigrants and includes excellent online follow-up activities. REEP’s English For Health section is also a very good literacy resource.
And, now, the number one ranked website for beginning older readers is….Reading Skills Stories from Marshall Adult Education in Minnesota. They have Reading Skills Stories 1 and Reading Skills Stories 2. There are many leveled, high-interest accessible stories with several follow-up activities for each one. They also have a great Student Lessons section, too.
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