Free Materials For Teachers
Image©2020 ABS Menu of online versions of Log Cabin, What's Next? and Fill The Shelves
Online Log Cabin Menu Page

Good news! Nine years after the initial post, I have written online versions of one of my favorite projects, Log Cabin and Fill The Shelves. Now you can enjoy these two books in your web browser, complete with all their sounds, movies, and interactive fun.

I’ve also added a new online sequence activity, What’s Next? that tests whether readers remember all the steps in building the cabin.

Launching the online books goes to a menu with buttons leading to all three activities. Be sure to read Log Cabin first, then do What’s Next?, and finish with Fill The Shelves!

I’ve learned a bit more PhotoShop® since I first made Log Cabin, so I went back and added some moss to the logs and plants beside the door of the “real” cabin that users imagine into being. The biggest change is the addition of animation in the form of short videos. Now you see the cabin door open, the roof being built, the bear moving as he roars and licks his lips, and each item moves up to its place in Fill The Shelves.

Image©2016 ABS View through the door of a log cabin with a red door, moss on the logs, and firewood, a chair, an axe, and a cross-cut saw visible inside.
Real Log Cabin

Sequence activity: What’s Next?
The first part of Log Cabin is about following directions to build something. To see if readers recall the steps they followed, they should work through What’s Next? soon after reading Log Cabin.

To successfully complete the exercise, readers must choose the next step in building the toy cabin on each page. An incorrect choice gets voice feedback. There is no penalty for trying another button. A correct choice plays a positive tone, turns the page, and displays the image for that step. A victory fireworks movie at the end rewards their efforts.

Because these online books are composed in HTML5, you’ll be able to hear the sounds on iPad! Just remember that there is no autoplay with iPad®, so be sure to touch each Play Sound button. In many cases, there is no separate Play Sound button because the correct choice button or forward arrow button also controls the sound.

Image©2020 ABS Page from What's Next? sequence activity
What's Next? Sequence Activity

Desktop version
There is a desktop version to download, also in HTML5, that you can use if you have a slow connection. You need a modern browser for the desktop version, but you don’t need an active internet connection and the sounds and movies will play on all devices.

In case anyone is still using an old system with pre-Internet Explorer 9 or other legacy browsers, you’ll automatically be switched to a compatible online version. (There is no legacy version for What’s Next?)

Besides links to the online books and to download the desktop version, this post includes a link to the original main page. There you’ll find many more free resources in this activity set, including printable tests in both PDF and Word formats, an off-computer sequence activity, a Teacher’s Materials pack, and clip art to download.

Applications needed: Modern Web browser.
Subject area: Reading.
Level: Grades 2-3.


Online Links-Activities

Log Cabin Main Page link: log-cabin/ Original Log Cabin post with more screenshots and information, plus download links to the Log Cabin activities in Clicker5®, IntelliTools Classroom Suite®, My Own Bookshelf®, and PowerPoint®. The main page also has download links for printable PDF versions of the two books and a Log Cabin Sequence off-computer activity, two comprehension tests in both PDF and MicroSoft Word® format, a Teacher’s Materials pack, and a collection of Log Cabin Clip Art.

Annie’s Books Online

Log Cabin books link: logCabin/index.html Log Cabin, What’s Next? and Fill The Shelves books, linked by a menu page, to read online. Written in HTML5, so sounds should play on iPad. For details on using Annie’s Books Online, click here.

Desktop version of Log Cabin books link: logCabinDesktop.zip (108 MB) Log Cabin, What’s Next? and Fill The Shelves, linked by a menu page, to read from the desktop using a web browser. No active internet connection needed! For details on using Annie’s Desktop Books, click here.

November 16th, 2016 at 3:12 am

 

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