ReadWorks

Jerica Dungca

ED638-01

Fall Intercession 2017

Dr. M. Rivera

IRA Newsletter Weekly Project: Effective Literacy Website #3

            ReadWorks (https://www.readworks.org) is an online resource that provides a free, research-based, and Common Core aligned reading comprehension curriculum. ReadWorks is a non-profit organization with a mission to improve and bridge the student achievement gap in reading comprehension. The curriculum is based on proven cognitive science research that provides K-12 teachers with high-quality reading content and materials. ReadWorks’ wide range of resources allow educators to develop engaging reading lessons for whole class, differentiated groups, and independent instruction.

            Signing up with ReadWorks is easy and FREE! Once educators create an account, they will have access to the vast selection of online reading resources. These resources include access to ReadWorks’ large, high-quality nonfiction and literary articles. The articles cover a vast range of reading levels, making it easy for educators to find an appropriate passage for their students. When searching for an article, educators can filter their search by grade, Lexile level, topic, and specific skills and strategies. Teachers have the option to assign students articles to read and answer online through their ReadWorks student account or can simply print the articles and questions for students to use. ReadWorks also offers a whiteboard and projector view, in which teachers can project the article for the whole class to use in the classroom.

            Moreover, ReadWorks articles include audio versions, StepReads, vocabulary, and questions sets. In human voice and text-to-speech audio, students can listen and read along to an audio version of the passage. StepReads are less complex versions of the nonfiction and literary articles. The vocabulary section helps to build students’ individual vocabulary and support comprehension of the text. Lastly, the question sets are aligned to standards and based on cognitive science that are structured to scaffold and support students’ understanding of the passage. The question sets include multiple choice and written responses.

            To add to this website’s abundant resources, ReadWorks offers Paired Texts, which are made up of two articles that are paired based on a common topic, theme, or literary element. ReadWorks offers Article-A-Day passage sets. This is a 10-15 minute daily routine that teachers can implement into their classrooms where students read one high-quality nonfiction article and reflect on what they read. Other key features and resources ReadWorks offers are ReadWorks eBooks; lesson and unit plans for comprehension, novel study, and skill and strategy focus; and annotation tools for students to use online with ReadWorks articles. For teachers, ReadWorks offers a quick and easy way to assess and track student performance with ReadWorks’ grading tool and student progress tracker.

As one can see, ReadWorks offers a plethora of literary resources and online tools for educators and students. Educators can choose from a variety of leveled nonfiction and literary passages to use with their students. Teachers should take advantage of this free literacy website to build students’ background knowledge, vocabulary, and overall reading comprehension.