Epic...There's More To It!

Epic.  I am a HUGE fan.  Have you tried it out?  I know there have been many great posts about the features and benefits of Epic.  And I want to certainly echo those points here; however, this year Epic added some additional features and a great summer incentive to families.  I can't wait to share all this information with you!
(If you have not used Epic, check out Jennifer's post about how to set it up-Here!)

But first things first...after a year of using Epic in the classroom and at home, what did I observe?

• Excitement--students would be so excited to share with me the books that they found.
• Motivation--Epic provides such high quality texts that my students were so motivated to keep reading and exploring new texts.
• Independence--the app is really kid-friendly, easy to use, and navigate.  This means more independent students!

As a teacher (and mom), here is what I love:

• It is free for teachers!
• Each child has their own account.
• Nonfiction to fiction ratio is great.
• Books are based on student interest.
• Some books are read aloud to students.
• I can see who is really trying to read the books and who is just flipping though them.
• New books are constantly being added.

Actually the list could go on and on.  As I was writing this post, I got lost myself in the sea of books that have been added this year.  There were so many that I wanted to click on and read for myself.  But let's move on...

What's new to Epic?  As of April 28th, students can access Educational Videos on Epic.  And they are popular!!  The video that I heard most often at the end of year was "Money" from Flocabulary.

When I doing some research on their site, you do have some controls over these videos because they can be pretty exciting and hard to stop watching.  You can check out that information HERE.

Another addition that occurred in April was the Home Access Program.  Teachers can give their families access to Epic at home for one month FREE without providing any credit card information. This is wonderful because I am always looking for more ways to add to their home library!

Right now Epic is providing free access to families through July 31st with the hope that this will help with the summer slide!  Yes!!  Just direct your families to www.getepic.com/summer and they can read, read, read until July 31st!!
Do you have a favorite feature from Epic?  I would love to hear about it!!