Original post by christopher clarke on January 9, 2019
Storybooks Canada is a free educational resource designed through the UBC Faculty of Education.
Check it out here: https://www.storybookscanada.ca/
Its goal is to promote literacy and language development in homes, schools, and communities through storytelling. The resource has been created based on sound research and focuses not just on English and French languages, but also on the major immigrant and refugee languages common to Canada. It is not meant simply as a tool to learn English or French, though it most definitely can help serve that function. Its broader aim is to provide people with ways of maintaining and passing along their mother tongues.
The site is easy to use and fast to load. The audio recordings have been done by native speakers and all of the 40 stories have both text and speech in every language. The languages are extremely easy to switch between and simple to navigate. This is an amazing resource to promote language development, support cultures that might not have enough cultural resources in their new country, and promote stories of respect, tolerance, and whimsy.
As an added benefit, the site links directly to other projects they are working on. In particular, the creators are working on developing a similar site to Storybooks Canada that focuses on Indigenous languages and stories.
Check it out here: https://indigenousstorybooks.ca/
This is such a timely project as there are many indigenous groups in Canada that are in serious risk of their language disappearing. I highly encourage people to explore these sites. They are a great addition to an ELL (English Language Learner) teachers toolbox and a great way to show our immigrant families that Canada welcomes them and supports their cultures.Average: 4/5 Stars
As a grade 1 teacher I am always looking for new resources that my students can access to find more variety in the books they read. I love how these stories are culturally responsible and can help students who are new to Canada, or even Canadian-born ELL students can learn English through their mother tongue with these multi-lingual text as well as feel represented in the literature.
To piggy-back onto this, I would like to share another great digital resource targeted to ELL students. The website is called Unite for Literacy (https://www.uniteforliteracy.com) and has tons of books on various topics. You can change the language so that you can hear a recorded reading in your native language while matching it to the English text.
What a great resource! Easy to access, share and wonderful stories! Thanks.