Unite for Literacy - Free Non-Fiction eBooks for Early Readers



Unite for Literacy is a collection of free non-fiction ebooks for early readers.  It works on iPads or computers.  The creators of the website have a vision... "We picture a world where all children have access to an abundance of books that celebrate their languages and cultures and cultivate a life-long love of reading."  

The first time you visit the site it will ask you to pick your "community".  Then you can scroll through all the books or use the icons along the top of the screen to sort by category.



The books range from single word per page picture books to pages with a few sentences (like the one below).


The stories can be read to you by clicking the Narration icon and choosing from 30 different languages! One of my favorite features is that it's an actual person reading it... not computer generated.



You can learn more about the Unite for Literacy books and company mission here:  http://www.uniteforliteracy.com/relevant

NewsELA


NewsELA is a great resource for leveled non-fiction articles.  Teachers can create a free account/class and assign selected articles to students.  Each article can be read at a variety of Lexile levels so all students can get similar information but at their own level.  Articles also have writing prompt options and quizzes.  Some are available with a Spanish translation.



Teachers can search for articles by keyword, category or text set.  They can create their own text sets or choose from a variety of topics already curated by NewsELA.  NewsELA also recently added Spanish Text Sets to their collection.  For more information, check out their blog post about the update: http://goo.gl/YwmqHR



How do you use NewsELA in your classroom?  Leave us a comment below!