Starfall

Starfall: Learn to Read

Created by: Starfall.com

Starfall is a website, as well as an application available on all iOS and Android devices. Starfall is targetted towards early elementary students and focuses on phonemic awareness, and early literacy development. The resource is free to use both online, and using the app, and teachers or parents can easily create accounts. There is a low-cost paid version where schools can gain full access to more resources and content. Teachers or family members can utilize this tool to promote and support phonemic awareness and reading development. 

For Students

Starfall is visually simple, and simple for young learners to work through. The resource includes fifteen mini-books, which each focus on a pattern from a vowel sound. The resource also includes games, songs, videos and images to reinforce and engage students in their early literacy development. There are four levels that students can work through to develop their reading. The first level is "Learning ABC's" which focuses on the most basic root of reading, understanding letters and letter sounds. The next level is the "Early Beginning Reading" where they elaborate on their understanding of letter sounds by adding consonants and learning about word families. Each letter within a word is highlighted, as the sounds are read to the learner. The next level is "Intermediate Beginning Reader". At this level, students are exposed to the book characters within the next level, and are able to explore the tools, such as magic tricks, that they will utilize in their last level. The final level is "Advanced Beginning Reader". In the final stage, students are exposed to a variety of books that they can choose to read, as seen above. There is a range of genres, topics, and styles, including comics and fables. As the students progress through these levels, there are skills that are aligned with each level, such as blends, digraphs, and short and long sounds. 

For Teachers

Starfall is a great tool for lower elementary teachers to implement into their classrooms, as well as encourage families to utilize. As seen on the left, the content of this program is easily accessible, and simple to guide families and students through. Starfall also allows for class logins, where teachers can track and monitor student progress. 

Response

Starfall is a great resource to promote and enhance early literacy. The games, songs, and practices are bright, and kid-friendly, which allows students to remain engaged. Starfall also does a great job encouraging students to foster a love of reading through positive messages and headings such as " I Love to Read!" and "I'm Reading!" This encourages students to utilize these phrases, and put the words into action and see themselves as readers. Since the program is simple, there is little room for distractions. The simplicity allows students to focus on developing their literacy skills, as opposed to learning to solely rely on images and illustrations. One downfall I recognize in this program is the simplicity may lead to boredom or disinterest in students. Students love to be stimulated and engaged through moving pieces, which this program does not have a lot of. Since there are only fifteen texts, there is not a lot of exposure to a wide variety of texts. Once a student is able to read a simple book, I suggest moving on to a different program where they can engage in books that interest them, as well as a program that has a wide variety of diverse texts. Starfall is research-based and aligns with Common Core State Standards for ELA development. Starfall brings to life the concept of effective exploration and play as it pertains to encouraging students to become motivated and successful readers.