Have you ever wanted your students to have access to hundreds of books at their fingertips?
I know I do. That's why I think the FarFaria app is so amazing. It is a digital library with over 800 books and 5 new books are added each week.
I am lucky enough to have 6 iPads in my classroom plus my "teacher" iPad. My students use the iPads for a variety activities throughout the day, but one of their favorites is for our "Listen to Reading" center during our guided reading time. FarFaria was perfect for this center. Let me show you why.
When you access the app, the home screen will show you recently added books, your recently read books, and some thematic books. For example, right now there is a category of "Books for Black History Month."
Students can choose books here or click on Explore and explore the different FarFaria worlds. These include Mt. Make Believe, Preschool Playground, Adventure Island, and many others. This is my students' favorite. They get to choose stories from their favorite worlds.
One of the many features I love is that the books are aligned to my students' reading levels. I can easily choose books for my students to read based on reading level.
Another feature that makes me swoon: the app has the option for students to either read the story to themselves or have it read to them. I usually have my students listen to the story first and then if the story is at the correct reading level I have the students also read it to themselves.
When they choose the read to me option, the story highlights the words as they are being said. I can't imagine a teacher who wouldn't love that option.
In addition to using this at center time, I have started using this when my "high flyers" finish early. I am able to give them an iPad and they are so engaged in the stories that it makes it hard for me to tell them to put them away!
This app has helped my students get even more excited about reading. I can't say that I blame them......I am so excited about this app myself. We even downloaded it on our home iPad so my son and daughter can use. My kids read every night and sometimes we run out of books before we have a chance to get back to the library. FarFaria saves the day! We have so many books at our fingertips it makes our nightly reading even more engaging and FUN!
There are many more amazing features. We can save our favorite books to My Favorites. There is also a book club where you can interact with others about the books you are reading.
Are you thinking that this amazing app would be the perfect addition to your classroom? Well, you are in luck. Zach from FarFaria has agreed to give away a subscription. If you don't win, that's ok, they have a free version, but I highly recommend the subscription. It is totally worth it!
This giveaway will end at midnight on Sunday, March 1st. Good luck!
Thanks Mrs. Pauley for the great review! So glad to hear your students are enjoying FarFaria. Good luck to all who enter the giveaway!
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