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Great Story Reading Project

The Great Story Reading Project is a new wiki sponsored by the Stories First Foundation where teachers can upload short story texts to share with others. The languages available are English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The stories are categorised by level: Beginner, Intermediate and Intermediate-High/Advanced. The wiki is moderated by three teachers with a background in French, German and Spanish. Cécile Lainé moderates the French material.

The guidelines for the group are as follows:

"No copyrighted content. Write traditional tales or legends in your own words. Original stories are also acceptable. Do not share copyrighted work. By sharing work in the Great Story Reading Project, you waive copyright.

Authorship. When you share a story, you may choose to include your name as an author or share anonymously. We will do our best to keep by-lines intact, can not guarantee recognition of full authorship.

Children 18 and younger should not give their real, full names. For your privacy, do not share any personal information (ex. your school's name or city).

Editing. Unless the author of a story has blocked editing, it is okay to edit other people’s work. Correct any typos or mistakes. If you are making changes other than basic edits, please first create a new page.

Adapting. You may adapt someone else's story, modify the difficulty level, or translate to a different language. Please do not submit work you do not want adapted.

Copying. By sharing your work, you agree to allow your work to be modified, printed, and distributed for classroom use. Commercial use of any kind, including sale as an educational product, is prohibited."

As I write, in the French section there are 11 beginner stories including Snow White, Tartuffe, Cancer: a Greek myth and Little Red Riding Hood. The language of these stories is not always at beginner level, however. Take this paragraph from the Tartuffe text:

"Un homme malhonnête s’appelle Tartuffe. (Ce n’est pas son nom réel. C’est un alias.) Il charme une grand-mère riche. Elle présente le Tartuffe à sa famille, “Voilà un homme religieux et pieu. Je le respecte énormément.” Orgon est le chef de famille, un homme important et riche. Orgon entend Tartuffe qui récite la Bible. Orgon croit que Tartuffe est un homme religieux et bon. “Ah, tu es un homme pieu.” crie Grand-Mère. “Reste chez moi et ma famille,” insiste Orgon. Tartuffe sourit et accepte son invitation."

Some other texts available so far are a bit easier.

At Intermediate level there are currently six texts and at Intermediate-High/Advanced there is one.

You can easily register via Facebook. I did find the navigation of the wiki a little cumbersome at times, but overall this is an excellent, well executed idea which many teachers may find useful or enjoy contributing to. By the way, it is an interactive wiki, so if you find any minor mistakes you can edit the stories.



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