English is, almost certainly, the most important subject that a child can learn in school. By assuming that students will learn proper communication skills without guidance is a big mistake. Therefore, not being able to read independently affects not only the language but other subject areas as well. Thus, the goal should be to ensure that children develop strategies for comprehending a variety of texts ranging from narrative to expository. Sadly, not only do the children have no or scant exposure to English at home, it is in itself a complex language to read, and this impacts children severely in many ways — academically, socially, economically, and culturally.

Learning English requires a community, not just a classroom

Introducing f-live classes – a set of online English Classes designed for students from Nursery – Grade 6. Complimentary to the school's curriculum, these are skill-based, age-appropriate classes that assess and show transparent progress to parents through continuous communication. F-Live's approach to English is simple and guided by these principles:

• Start Early and Build Skills (age 3 to grade three)

Teach children to decode text and make meaning

• Inspiration is Everything! (focus on will building with skills)

Surround children with rich, age-appropriate literature that fosters a cultural connection

• Don’t Leave it to Chance (be systematic, extensive, explicit)

To create an internal pull for reading, children must start early, be systematic, and sustain it

• No Silos (learning is multi-dimensional)

Reading is complemented and enhanced by speaking, listening, and written expression

• Design for Sustainability and Scalability (all good work must be scaled) 

Constantly innovate so that we can reach vastness and address diversity

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR SCHOOL FOR WORKSHOP

How Does f-Live Classes Help?

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Children succeed in oral and written communication skills through a teacher-led English Language Program which:

1. Nurtures confidence & sheds shyness
2. Develop critical thinking & decision making
3. Helps master reading comprehension
4. Achieve grammatically accurate grade-level fluency
5. Publish stories and blogs to share with the world outside

fREADom is organising a Live Trial English Reading & Communication Workshop. The workshop will be conducted as an after-school activity in a small group to give personalised attention & experience to fREADom Online Classes.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR SCHOOL FOR WORKSHOP
 

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This article contains views and opinions which are those of an external source and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other author, agency, organization, employer or company, including the Company.

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Since the COVID-19 lockdown, many multinationals are trying to come up with time-effective solutions for the K-12 education sector. The main focus is to make e-learning easier for both children and educators. Here is a summary of G-Suit that Google has rolled out free of cost to its users for better teaching and learning experience.

G Suite

G Suite for Education is a cluster of tools available online, that can help increase opportunities for critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, all while supporting the learning objectives that you have for your students. 

Just the number of tools available makes the G Suite a perfect application for teachers and students alike. The accessibility of files for users allows students to keep their entire academic file on their Google account. Google’s word processing, presentation program, and a spreadsheet program (Docs, Slides, and Sheets) are a few of the most crucial tools for students and teachers.

Google Classroom

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One of the best tools for education is Google Classroom, although the effective use of it requires some practice for both educators and students. It allows teachers to post assignments, make announcements and spread the general information for the stream of students. This creates easy access for students to turn in documents and other assignments (through Google Drive) and gives reminders, like test reminders to students.

Some other tools are:

• Google Chrome Sync: Allows all the devices logged in by the same account to synchronise bookmarks, history, password etc. 
• Gmail: Free email platform
• Google Drive: Storage for files
• Google Calendar: Free web-based calendar
• Google Docs: Free web-based word processing tool
• Google Sheet: Free web-based excel sheet
• Google Forms: Free web-based form tool that allows you to create forms, surveys, and quizzes that collect response information in real-time
• Google Slides: Free web-based presentation tool that allows you to create and edit presentations online
• Google Drawings: Free web-based diagramming software. It allows users to create flowcharts, mind maps, concept maps, and other images
• Google Meet: Free web-based video/audio calling tool
• Hangout Chat: Chatroom

Are you using G Suite, already? Let us know what you think about it!

Later this summer, Google launched an application named ‘Read Along’ for students in elementary school to polish their reading skills and get regular feedback on it. It's a free educational app for Android that helps children have fun while they learn to read.

Read Along is a continuation and up-gradation of an app which was launched last year, ‘Bolo.’ In the previous app, there were diverse choices for students to read, both in Hindi and English. The positive response from parents encouraged Google to develop this new version with features that aimed to engage children even more, with the help of an in-built app assistant ‘Diya.’ 

Read Along provides reading material in nine languages and is accessible worldwide. It encourages students to read along, and whenever they face trouble, they are assisted by Diya. The app engages the students and helps them work on the areas which need correction. It is quite remedial in the era of virtual learning for pupils as well their educators, as it ensures that children are not out of the learning space by keeping them in the loop of enhancing their reading habits. 

The app also comes with educational games which keep appearing randomly, acting as an incentive for the child. Besides this, it is available for free and can be used without internet services! Considering, in India, only 24% of the households have access to the internet, this new app can be easily accessed by all. Furthermore, the content can be customised based on the difficulty level the student wants to opt for. This can help the child read whatever they want and track their progress, hence enabling the educators to keep an account of the reading and comprehension development of their students.

You can download it here: https://bit.ly/2Zo1zxR

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Savings Spree

Geared towards younger kids, Saving Spree is a fun animated app with serious lessons. Easy to use, it teaches kids how a penny saved is a penny earned. Young entrepreneurs learn how making the right choice on small things can add up towards fruitful profits. The game is presented in game show format, taking players through six rounds that test their financial knowledge.

Shopify

An efficient app for kids, shopify offers logo maker, guides, videos, and resources for kids ready to start a business. Their motto empowering kid entrepreneurs to build successful businesses says it all. It even helps you sell your product. It is perfect for young entrepreneurs or children who are thinking of starting something exciting!

Biz in a Boxx

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Biz in a Boxx is an experiential youth development product that teaches kids how to start and run their own businesses. It is a DIY youth entrepreneurship program with a variety of kits for children of ages 7 to teen.

VentureLab

VentureLab is an innovative youth entrepreneurship curriculum available free of cost. It’s easy to understand and anyone can teach their children how to become young entrepreneurs. Divided and available for grades 1 to 12, VentureLab aims are creating the next generation of changemakers and innovators.

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The youngest of minds are using technology in classroom and at home; it has become a vital part of the learning experience. We bring to you a list of apps you must have if you’re an educator or parent of a preschooler.

AlphaTots Alphabet

A fun preschool application, it combines a quirky visual style with an intuitive gameplay style for the active preschoolers. Basically, it turns learning into fun. AlphaTots exercises patience and sense of humor through symbols, pictures and music that appeal and interest children. The perfect blend of sight and sound helps your preschooler to learn the alphabet as well as retain the information and apply it quickly in day-to-day life.

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Timmy’s Kindergarten Adventure

The app combines the best techniques of learning to produce a highly engaging yet rewarding experience starring Timmy, one of the most engaging and entertaining characters. Timmy’s Kindergarten Adventure covers all skills from numbers to words for students of all levels and backgrounds. The preschooler’s journey through the game is summarised and recorded by a sloped learning curve. When we said it’s a rewarding experience, it surely is as it gives coins to the user that can be used in other aspects of the gameplay. Want to introduce a new concept in your class? Timmy’s Kindergarten Adventure is the perfect app for you!

Bubble Guppies: Animal School Day

Molly, Gil, Mr. Grouper and all of their fish-themed friends will be your kid’s friend. The highly interactive and visually attractive game by Nickelodeon will teach preschoolers about the animal kingdom. Your preschooler will learn about the animals they come across everyday; from their sounds to where and how they live. Basically, all the habits and characteristics of 40 different animals are included in Bubble Guppies.

There are four games that function as the connection between teacher and student. But these games can be played without any supervision as well.

Park Math – Duck Duck Moose

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Park Math focuses on teaching the basics of counting, sorting, patterning as well as basic addition. Despite the average graphics, the gameplay of the seven included games is more than exciting enough to keep the attention of a child intact. The gameplay and its strength has earned the app several awards such as the Parents’ Choice Silver Award, the iLounge Best Kids’ App of the Year and the Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award.

The games are based on the relatively new Common Core Standards meaning that the material is exactly what will be taught to the child in school. Blue Bear, the happy personality of the host, will be of great interest to the preschooler. Having trouble teaching your children the core concepts of number theory? Park Math is the solution!

Bugs and Bubbles

Bugs and Bubble is one of the best values in the field and is known for its imaginative graphics in the field of preschool education. Top quality production values such as original music and voice acting will keep your children glued to the seat. The 17 interesting games teach varied topics such as counting, colours, patterns in numbers and in shapes, sorting and tracking. The best part of the game? The built in learning curve that adjusts automatically according to the student performance.

Little Writer – The Tracing App for Kids

The Little Writer app requires stylus functionality; it gives children an interactive method to learn how to write both uppercase and lowercase letters. The app monitors the child’s ability to trace lettering in a detailed way; it improves the proficiency of a student’s writing to a high level smoothly.

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Since the game is customizable, teachers and parents too have a role to play. They can turn on or off different features as per the child’s needs or the day’s lesson. By the end of the game, children will be able to write three and four letter words on their own.

Wish to choose the best course and school for language learning? Too tired with the  time-consuming process of comparing unclear offers from agencies and printed school brochures? Or wish to build your vocabulary?

LanguageCourse.NET’s Vocabulary Trainer is the saviour to all these questions!

Available both as a mobile app and on the web, it provides stress – free learning using system based on the latest research for optimum memorization and flashcard dictionary with English translation of 10,000 words.

The Vocabulary Trainer is available on iOS (universal) and Android. Designed for students, teachers, travellers, etc of all age groups, Language course’s Vocabulary Trainer is 100% free and playful, learners can have fun while building and refreshing their vocabulary in over 34 languages with 5 minutes long unit that fits easily into a busy day; along with different learning modes: list of words, quiz, and where one can choose the way one wants to answer the quiz by setting a different response mode with multiple choice answers, multiple choice with pictures, typing in the answer.

It is easy to use as the user can create their own learning plan by setting up the number of courses they want to take per day and week.

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Courses can be chosen according to ones language level by choosing beginner (A1 or A2 level), intermediate (B1 or B2 level), or advanced (C1 level), or according to interest (travel, dating, medical vocabulary… ) or needs (TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS exams).

Moreover, the app allows to complete a previous unit/tast by switching to the listen-only and sleep-learning mode (with up to 9 hrs of length), ideal for learning while driving or doing housework for instance and sleeping, which is more viable with mobile phones; along with superlearning mode and radio station listening features. Also, any previously started course will be marked with a tick next to it, and any finished course will hold a “finish flag”, helping the user keep a record of finished courses.

The icon is eye-catching as it is full of colors and represents the flag of the language that the user is learning.

The app has a few drawbacks like it does not work with bookmarking and storage services,  neither it allows for collaborations nor it allows sharing on social media. However, the sheer volume and content on 34 languages is sufficient for a user to prefer this for his language learning needs.

The best feature of the Vocabulary Trainer app is that it allows the user to improve continously by giving scores according to the number of words put correctly in the quiz; the user can save their score and check their progress little by little. The app proves to be user friendly and time saving as it allows to take specific courses and create user's own list of words, and the app keeps the words chosen in store to save time.

Moreover, the app keeps repeating the words the user has problems with. When a word is uploaded, the app automatically retrieves audio files with proper pronunciation and corresponding images. The sound quality is high with available background music, facilitating learning in a soothing environment; although soundd if not customizable. With big buttons and high color contrast, the app is usable for colorblind users. Most of these features make the app usable for both hearing impaired and blind users.

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The app stands distinct as compared to other such apps as the content of courses is much more varied as it offers subjects as business, slang, travel vocabulary, vocabulary for exams like the TOEFL, the TOEIC.

The website and app can be accessed through:

iOS

Android

Web

Image courtesy: languagecourse.net

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