For students to do well throughout school and in standardized testing, reading well is a must. In addition to learning the skills of reading, they need to practice reading. We want to get all our students to the point where they will look forward to “picking” up a book whether online or offline.
There are online programs that can help them improve reading skill and fluency in ways designed not to embarrass hesitant readers. Even good readers can profit from such programs, since the content and encouragement they can get online will help them develop even more efficient reading skills.
Programs you may want to consider are Learning A-Z’s Raz-Kids and Reading A-Z. Raz-Kids is for Grade Levels 1-5, but older students having difficulty with reading will also benefit from using it. Raz-Kids has over 400 books, and students pick from book choices at their level. They can read the books over and over if they wish, listen to and read along with a child or adult narrator, click on words that are difficult for them, record their books so that teachers can listen to their reading, and take comprehension quizzes on their knowledge of the books. If teachers wish to expand the online library, they can make use of Reading A-Z, which includes 500 more books that do not have the recording option. Students can read the books at home or school because the programs are online. You’ll be surprised to hear that Raz-Kids is available for approximately $89 a year for a class of 36 students; Reading A-Z is the same price. If both programs are purchased together, the price is about $120.
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