Language Arts Curriculum Enrichment
McGraw-Hill's "Wonders" is the district approved and provided resources for reading and writing instruction. It will be our number one resource for the teaching of reading and writing. In addition, we will utilize four other curriculum enhancement web sites to make our learning as varied, exciting, and personalized as possible. The following information describes what these four resources have to offer.
#1 ReadWorks
Reading Passages with Vocabulary Supports and Text-dependent Question Sets
- Easily search our library of thousands of high-quality nonfiction and fiction passages to find what you need for your students of all ages, from K-12 students to adult English learners. All passages have interactive vocabulary activities for exploring new words and text-dependent question sets for practicing critical reading strategies.
- Curated nonfiction text sets support a 10-minute daily routine to grow students' background knowledge, vocabulary, and reading stamina. Many Article-A-Day sets also have vocabulary activities for students to explore word parts and build word networks. In just 10 minutes a day, your child could read an additional 49,500 words this school year and average a 15% gain in ELA test scores.
- Students read two articles that are related in topic, theme, or literary element and respond to open-ended questions that have them dig into each article then compare and synthesize evidence.
- With the student library, students can choose from thousands of nonfiction and fiction reading passages to read independently.
#2 Epic!
- Epic is the leading digital reading platform—built on a collection of 40,000+ popular, high-quality books from 250+ of the world’s best publishers—that safely fuels curiosity and reading confidence for kids 12 and under.
- Search by title, author, or keyword to create your own library.
- Collections are sorted by Lexiles (reading levels), comics, read to me, videos and audio books.
- Assignments from the teacher include comprehension questions.
- This program is free during school hours, but an unlimited subscription can be purchased for as little as $6.67 per month.
#3 CommonLit
CommonLit is a nonprofit education technology organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, especially students in Title I schools, graduate with the reading, writing, communication, and problem-solving skills they need to be successful in college and beyond.
We believe in providing teachers with all the resources they need to set their students up for success, while also encouraging best practices in the classroom. That’s why the CommonLit Literacy Model is built on a foundation of over 2,000 high-quality free reading passages for grades 3-12, complemented by aligned interim assessments, growth-oriented data, and expert-led teacher development.
Our resources are:
We believe in providing teachers with all the resources they need to set their students up for success, while also encouraging best practices in the classroom. That’s why the CommonLit Literacy Model is built on a foundation of over 2,000 high-quality free reading passages for grades 3-12, complemented by aligned interim assessments, growth-oriented data, and expert-led teacher development.
Our resources are:
- Flexible
- Research-Based
- Effective, as proven by third-party review
- Aligned to the Common Core State Standards
- Created by teachers, for teachers.
#4 Dreamscape
- Dreamscape is the first ever video game to allow players to adventure, build, and imagine their way to enhanced literacy skills for grades 3-8. With an ever-expanding universe of characters, stories, and rewards, there is always something new to learn and explore.
- Dreamscape combines the strategy and engagement of popular games with imaginative reading passages to create a ferociously fun literacy game!
- Players are dropped into the realm of dreams and are tasked with defending their “dwell” from invading dream creatures called “reveries”. Students are motivated to read passages and answer comprehension questions to collect resources and build structures to defend their dwell.
Listen to Reading and Write About Reading
Part One: ReadWorks.org - Article of the Day - Listen to and/or read the passage and then write about the passage with a minimum of 2-3 sentences. Possibilities include a summary of what was read, your favorite part, a connection to the article, or a question you now have about what was read. This is all completed on the ReadWorks website and shared on a regular basis for modeling purposes.
Part Two: Daily Chapter Book - Each day we will read from a chapter book (Where the Red Fern Grows, City of Ember, and Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, etc.) for 20 minutes. During or after, the students will be asked to use a daily Nearpod collaboration board to share their thoughts and questions, similar to what they did for their Article of the Day.
Part Two: Daily Chapter Book - Each day we will read from a chapter book (Where the Red Fern Grows, City of Ember, and Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, etc.) for 20 minutes. During or after, the students will be asked to use a daily Nearpod collaboration board to share their thoughts and questions, similar to what they did for their Article of the Day.
Word Work & Spelling
Part One: Spelling City - Students will complete daily spelling assignments on the Spelling City website. These spelling lists correlate directly with the rules being taught from the reading series. The words are introduced on Monday, activities/games are completed each day, and a test is completed on Friday.
Part Two: Word Work with reading series vocabulary - Each week the reading series includes eight words to focus on from the reading passages. The students will complete three online activities and one graded “paper and pencil” activity to assess their comprehension and knowledge of those words.
Part Two: Word Work with reading series vocabulary - Each week the reading series includes eight words to focus on from the reading passages. The students will complete three online activities and one graded “paper and pencil” activity to assess their comprehension and knowledge of those words.
Weekly Reading Homework & Parent Support
Our weekly reading homework is the one assignment that I need parent support on. It is assigned on Monday and due on Wednesday. It is a single reading passage and ten multiple choice questions. I will provide the answer key each week and I expect your child to get 100% on this assignment because I expect you to give them the answers (hopefully in the form of checking their work before it is submitted and discussing any wrong answers).
In a virtual setting, I am unable to sit with your child and read in the traditional way. This is the single most important thing I need you to help me with. This is it, this is my #1 ask during the week. I am confident that your child will be able to do 90% of their work on their own, or with my help. This one homework assignment is the one thing I need you to help with. I’ll provide the material, I just need you to make sure the answers are correct and help your child to understand the questions and answers to the best of your ability. You will have three days to complete it and as always, I will encourage you to get it done early.
In a virtual setting, I am unable to sit with your child and read in the traditional way. This is the single most important thing I need you to help me with. This is it, this is my #1 ask during the week. I am confident that your child will be able to do 90% of their work on their own, or with my help. This one homework assignment is the one thing I need you to help with. I’ll provide the material, I just need you to make sure the answers are correct and help your child to understand the questions and answers to the best of your ability. You will have three days to complete it and as always, I will encourage you to get it done early.