International Literacy Association Newsletter Weekly Project: Effective Literacy Website #3

      

        My third review on an effective literacy website is on ReadWorks (http://www.readworks.org). ReadWorks is a free online learning platform that offers over 4,560 K-12 reading passages. They are easily accessed and organized by grade level or lexile measures. Each passage relates with topics that are taught in the classroom because educators create them as well. They are accompanied by text-based questions either multiple choice or written answer type questions. The explicit and inferential questions build a deeper understanding of the elements of a text. They focus students on important information and key attributes of a text, such as text structure, main idea, grammar, and vocabulary. These questions are skill based that are aligned with the Common Core State Standards.

            ReadWorks provides various activities to reach all learners. The online platform has a section called Article-A-Day. This activity provides students with a 10-minute daily routine that increases background knowledge, vocabulary, and reading stamina.  Article-A-Day builds on all three skills with a research-based routine that includes nonfiction texts, writing, and oral sharing. Students choose a topic that interests them. From there, students are provided various articles to read with comprehension questions that follow.  Another activity is called StepReads, which provides less complex/modified versions of original passage. These passages are designed to provide access for students who are struggling while still preserving the integrity of the original text.  Aside from all the excellent activities ReadWorks provides, there are multiple student tools that users are allowed to navigate with. Users are able to highlight and annotate text, adjust text size, and have acesss to guided reading strips. Students can also listen to audio versions of all reading content. If going back to the text is needed when answering comprehension questions, there is a split-screen view option to make it more convenient. 

            From a teacher’s standpoint, ReadWorks is user-friendly and easy to use. Educators can simply create a new class by inputting student names and information. You can also link and import Google Classroom rosters to ReadWorks, which takes less than a minute! All leveled reading passages are paired with detailed lesson plans and thorough comprehension activities. Once completed, the LMS automatically grades the assignments and provides immediate feedback. Teachers can use the data to plan for future lessons or reteach if needed. Overall, ReadWorks is a great tool to help increase students’ reading comprehension and knowledge.