Label: StarWalk Kids

September 4, 2013

Zebras are the topic of the first Writing Wednesday of the new school year. The writing below is an excerpt from ZEBRA, a lovely book by my friend and StarWalk Kids author Caroline Arnold.

Here is what we would like you to do today. Read the section below from Caroline Arnold’s book and as you read, jot down the main ideas on this page. Then think about which one of those points is the MAIN IDEA. Look at the other thoughts you have written down. Are these "supporting details" that help to explain the main idea?

Finish up by writing a short summary (one or two paragraphs) of what you think Caroline Arnold was trying to say on this page - you can use the main idea as your first sentence and your supporting details as evidence to back up your thinking.

We would love to read what you write! You can publish your writing for others to read by clicking on "Comments" at the bottom of this blog post.

July 3, 2013

It’s so important to keep kids reading all summer, and to support this goal, I’m giving out FREE access to all the great eBooks in my digital publishing company, StarWalk Kids Media.

That’s right. For the entire month of July any child (or teacher or parent, for that matter), can read all of our eBooks, as much as they like. Like a frog popping its head our of the pond, or a mushroom popping through the ground into the light, it’s a Pop-Up Library! You never know when it might appear.

Here is the link where kids can go to read. Just click and get started. And be sure to let me know what you think of our eBooks. I’m very proud of them.

November 14, 2012

Good morning, and welcome to Writing Wednesday! Today we’re going to look at a portion of a book called A PINKY IS A BABY MOUSE, written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and illustrated by Diane deGroat. 

In this book, the author is talking about the names for the babies of all different animal species, and she asks a question: What is a baby bat called?

Your Assignment: Read the excerpt below and do some research. Find out what a baby bat is called, and then work with other students or friends to write a few more sentences about what you think is interesting, beautiful, or NOT beautiful about a baby bat. When you are finished, click on the yellow "Comments" link below to post your writing, or share it with your class.

Note to Educators: Today’s Writing Wednesday exercise is designed to use in support of CCSS Writing Standard #7: Participate in shared research and writing projects. A PINKY IS A BABY MOUSE is one of the exclusive, recorded eBooks available in the StarWalk Kids digital collection. Click here for more information about signing up for a free, 60-day trial for your school.

October 31, 2012

Good morning, and welcome to Writing Wednesday. Today, we’re going to share an excerpt from a lovely book by Caroline Arnold and Richard Hewett, called WILD GOAT. Once you have read this and enjoyed the photograph of these adorable kids, you can write about it and post your writing for others to read! 

Your assignment: Tell us what you learned from the words in this selection. What did the pictures teach you? How did the words and pictures work together to help you understand the world of these baby goats?

When you have finished, click on the yellow "Comments" link at the bottom of this blog to post your writing.

WILD GOAT is one of the exclusive, recorded eBooks available in the StarWalk Kids digital collection. Click here for more information about signing up for a free, 60-day trial for your school.

October 15, 2012

Did you notice that we had a very quiet week on the Seymour Science blog last week? That is because we were busy launching StarWalk Kids Media, the new eBook collection for Schools, Libraries and Families! I am the founder and one of the partners, along with my wife, Liz Nealon, who is the former creative director of Sesame Street.

I started publishing my own eBooks several years ago, and this past year we decided that it was time to work with other authors, as well. I started calling my friends who are children’s book authors and illustrators - people like David Adler, Johanna Hurwitz, Kathryn Lasky, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, and many others. Like me, all these authors have wonderful books that are still perfectly relevant and interesting to children, and which have been allowed to go out of print for one reason or another. We began to scan, adapt, update, record narration and publish their books as eBooks. Pretty soon we had 150 titles - 10 of which are digital originals like A SHIPMATE’s GUIDE (at right).

And so begins StarWalk Kids Media. Some of the advantages of the StarWalk Kids collection are:

1.    It’s affordable. I was a teacher for many years, and I know how important this is. In a typical school of 400 students, the entire collection costs less than $1.50 per student for the first year.

2.    It’s multi-user. A whole class can read the same book at the same time without check-in/check-out delays or waiting lists.

3.    It works on virtually any device. We’ve built gorgeous eReader software, called the StarWalk Reader^TM. Kids access this reader through their browser - so they can read on any device that has Internet access. We’re still working on special software for the iPad - that should be available within a month.

4. We offer Advanced Search Features for Educators and Parents. You can search for books by author, title, keyword, subject, Lexile® level, Alphabetic reading level and Common Core State Standard (CCSS) links.  This provides an easy and accurate method for selecting the right ebook for each reader.

5.  Any time, anywhere access. Students can log in and read anywhere that they have Internet access - at home, at school, or otherwise.

The StarWalk Reader^TM and streaming StarWalk Kids eBook library are available as of this week (60-day Free Trials for Schools & Libraries; $5.99/month for family subscriptions). Please visit our website - www.StarWalkKids.com - so that you can see what we have been doing, and try it out for yourself!