Tag: reading

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23 Must-Have K-12 Literacy Apps

Literacy is a foundational skill that we all need. It is hard to navigate today’s global society without it. Because of this, teachers are always searching for ways to help their students learn valuable literacy skills. In recent years, edtech companies have introduced a ton of educational apps that are designed to teach literacy skills. In this article, I will list and discuss 23 of them.

  1. Power Vocab Word Game

Those looking for a fun way to improve vocabulary will love this app! It is simply fun to play and even offers a multi-player mode where you can test your vocabulary skills against someone else. Teachers and parents will love it because of its test preparation tools.

  1. SAT Vocab – Mindsnacks

This vocabulary app includes nine games to help students dominate the SAT with lessons, quests, and additional SAT preparation features (i.e., antonyms). The games are fun, but the app is also a great vocabulary building tool because it includes definitions, pronunciations, and contextual examples.

  1. SAT Word Slam

Teenagers will love the SAT Word Slam app because it uses teenage humor and pop culture references to teach vocabulary. Utilizing “teach me” and “test me,” this app allows students to learn definitions, test their knowledge, and track their progress.

  1. Shahi – A Visual Dictionary

This unique vocabulary tool is an online visual dictionary. This online tool provides students with both the definition of the word and a corresponding image from Flickr.

  1. uVocab Vocabulary Trainer

For those preparing for the SAT or other standardized tests, this vocabulary app is a smart choice because it includes over 4500 test words and realistic test questions. Students can also keep track of their progress.

  1. Vocab Ahead

This tool is a hit with teachers and students because it is a multi-sensory approach to teaching vocabulary. With videos, definitions, games, quizzes, and more, this interactive website is an enjoyable teaching tool. Plus, teachers can create word lists for their students.

  1. Vocabulary.com

If you are looking for a game-like approach to building your students’ vocabulary, then you should consider this app. It is a game where the student must earn points by answering vocabulary questions to move up levels. It also makes creating relevant vocabulary lessons easy for teachers with its learning activity feature.

  1. Word Hippo

This online educational tool is helpful in the classroom because it does a little bit of everything – definitions, pronunciations, synonyms, antonyms, rhyming words, and more. It also gives examples of the word in different contexts.

  1. Oz Phonics

Oz Phonics is a bundle of apps that starts with the most basic letter sounds and helps students work their way up to learning to read. Games like word searches and letter to sound matching help kids master the basic of phonics. Each app also has printable worksheets for offline practice.

  1. Alphabet Sounds Word Study

This app is also ideal for young children just starting to learn phonics. It has four different modes for students to practice sorting letters, finding the right letter, spelling, and writing. Alphabet Sounds Word Study will get Pre-K and Kindergarten students familiar with common words and how to spell them.

  1. Phonics Genius

Phonics isn’t just for Pre-K. Phonics Genius is geared towards early elementary students and helps them learn letter sounds and blends. Unlike most other phonics apps, Phonics Genius goes beyond the most basic letter sounds to teach fluency.

  1. Hip Hop Hen: Preschool Phonics

Another fun app bundle. Hip Hop Hen: Preschool Phonics contains three apps that are geared towards Preschoolers. These apps introduce basic letter sounds and words. With three different apps, there are plenty of games to keep kids entertained. There are also fun songs to help kids memorize letters and words.

  1. Montessori Letter Sounds

Montessori Letter Sounds is a four-step program for young learners to familiarize them with letter sounds and help them practice writing letters in both print and cursive. Plus, this app features a foreign language option that allows kids to practice in Spanish, French, Italian, or German.

  1. The Joy of Reading

The Joy of Reading focuses on short words and sentences to teach kids how to read. With nine different games, this app provides hours of fun and learning. The skills taught align to Common Core State Standards for Kindergarten, making The Joy of Reading ideal for use in the classroom or as a supplemental activity.

  1. Word Wizard for Kids

Word Wizard for Kids is a fantastic app for young kids. It works like an old Speak-and-Spell toy, but updated for the 21st century. Kids can move letters around to make words and hear them pronounced correctly. There are also spelling activities and quizzes for extra practice.

  1. Flocabulary

Flocabulary is a fun vocabulary program for grades K-12. It’s especially useful in elementary classrooms. The hip-hop style songs help kids learn new vocabulary words, and the app has plenty of games and activities to reinforce what students learn. There are also printable activities and worksheets for teachers.

  1. SpellingCity

A simple app that focuses on just one skill—spelling. SpellingCity has a variety of colorful and fun games that teach kids common spelling words. With over 35 games, SpellingCity will keep kids entertained and engaged for hours.

  1. Story Creator

Though it doesn’t focus on any Common Core skills, Story Creator is a fun, creative app for elementary students. Kids create their own storybooks using photos from their device or the included illustrations. They can share their stories easily by emailing them from within the app.

  1. AlphaTots

Fun action words are associated with each letter of the alphabet, so kids can “build” robots, “dig” for treasure, and even “zap” alien spaceships.

The app also pronounces each letter, and there are additional features like puzzles and sing-along alphabet songs.

  1. Reading Rainbow Skybrary Family

Children pilot hot air balloons through seven magical islands, each home to hundreds of colorful books. Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton serves as a tour guide and appears in educational Video Field Trips.

The app even tailors book suggestions to each child’s age and interests.

  1. Homer

Just 15 minutes a day with Homer has been shown to increase early reading scores by 74%. The app features over 200 vibrant, engaging songs and stories.

Over 1000 lessons teach phonics, sight words, early reading, science, history, art, music, and more.

  1. Leo’s Pad Enrichment Program

The award-winning app Leo’s Pad was designed by Stanford researchers and an Emmy Award-winning creative director.

A young Leonardo DaVinci and his pals lead kids through interactive adventures that teach over 25 early learning skills. Leo’s Pad covers numbers, letters, and skills like practicing and sharing.

It also adapts to each child’s skill level, allowing you to differentiate instruction.

  1. Endless Alphabet

With this app, preschoolers learn the alphabet, along with vocabulary words like “gargantuan” and “hilarious.”

Adorable monsters teach the definitions of over 100 words and guide children through fun, interactive puzzle games.

Did we miss any?

 

 

 

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Pass or Fail: How Can Interventions Reform Retention Rates?

pass or fail

In this multi-part series, I provide a dissection of the phenomenon of retention and social promotion. Also, I describe the many different methods that would improve student instruction in classrooms and eliminate the need for retention and social promotion if combined effectively.

While reading this series, periodically ask yourself this question: Why are educators, parents and the American public complicit in a practice that does demonstrable harm to children and the competitive future of the country?

What, if anything, can be done to address the high rate of retention at schools with a significant number of at risk students? Will additional resources, after school programming and increased parental support change retention rates?

Schools with higher populations of students at risk for retention will likely have higher retention rates. In 2010, the Spencer School in Chicago, retained one-third of the third-grade class. The number of third-grade classrooms also increased during the subsequent school year, with each classroom containing twenty-eight students. While the school principal and staff were committed to addressing the problem of a large number of retained students, their strategies needed to work within the context of existing structures and resources.

Volunteers came in to help retained students, as well as those students who displayed low achievement when entering third grade as new students. A school enrichment teacher also worked with students who were reading above grade level, so that teachers could concentrate on students working at or below grade level. Low-achieving students could receive additional help at an after school program, although attendance was voluntary and tended to be low.

Educators at Spencer made attempts to get parents more involved, and they appeared to meet with some success in this. After all, it’s true that parents are quite motivated to intervene and assist their children when possible, especially when there is guidance from teachers and other educators. Considering the rate of third-grade retention alone, however, there appeared to be insufficient parental involvement: approximately 40 parents, out of 116 third graders, came to an information session designed to let parents know what they could do to support their child’s education success.

Students and faculty at schools with high numbers of retained students experience significant stress and strain outside of the normal range associated with school experiences and testing. So much more is on the line when retention is the norm, instead of an exception. Preparation periods for tests to determine promotion are particularly stressful and supports for students and teachers are often lacking.

The pressure experienced by traditional schools because of high retention rates does not necessarily exist at charter schools, where retention rates tend to be higher. Charter schools report retention rates of 23 percent, compared to 1–4 percent retention rates in urban centers like New York and Houston. A 2008–09 retention report from thirty-one charter schools in New York City indicated that 16 percent of sixth graders were retained.

This compared to 1 percent of seventh and eighth graders in the city as a whole (city sixth graders were not included in the comparison since the sixth-grade retention policy did not begin until the following year). The Knowledge as Power Program (KIPP), which is a network of charter schools throughout the nation, also has a retention rate higher than traditional public schools. The organization proclaims that its retention rate is a result of strict policies – unbending rules about holding students to a higher standard of performance than traditional public schools.

Charter schools, however, do not necessarily alleviate the high retention rate, though. In fact, the elevated numbers of students repeating a grade level may be symptoms of a rigorous academic program and high expectations set for students. Leaders insinuate that retention at charter schools is different from retention at traditional public schools, and deny that retention has a negative impact on students in the charter school context. They also suggest that retention is such a common practice at charters that students do not necessarily feel stigmatized.

While high retention rates may be the result of strict adherence to requirements for mastery, a parallel outcome is that charters such as KIPP can report high college attendance rates. Some low-performing children weed themselves out by returning to traditional schools once they become aware of their retention. Charter schools also exclude these retained children from their graduation rates. On the other hand, some low-performing children do better as they repeat a grade. Occasionally, however, there is an indication that the improved achievement is short-lived.

Various researchers have concluded that retention is not the solution for social promotion. Retention and social promotion policies are less about learning, overall, and more about maintaining the structure of schooling as it exists today. Some retention policies come with interventions that are meant to support education policy and not necessarily a high level of student learning.

Do charter schools have the right idea in their approach to retention? What could public schools learn from the way charter schools view and endorse retention?

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Leading for Literacy

By Ruth Schoenbach and Cynthia Greenleaf

Every day, middle and high school teachers ask their students to read and understand complex texts in disciplines such as history, literature, biology, or economics. Such reading is foundational to student success in school, the workplace, and in civic life. Yet, national tests results and our own eyes tell us that the majority of high school students aren’t getting it.

How can teachers and administrators create classrooms where students routinely engage with challenging material, think critically about texts, synthesize information from multiple sources, and effectively communicate what they have learned? And how can we spread and sustain innovative practices beyond a few classrooms?

Tackling adolescent literacy challenges is no easy lift for schools. For one thing, subject-area teachers have their plates full with the demands of covering and assessing large amounts of subject-matter content. Many teachers see any request to “teach reading in your subject area” as beyond their responsibility—and skill set. That’s understandable given how little time there is for teacher collaboration and learning.

But hundreds of middle and high schools, districts, and colleges (especially open-admissions institutions) have taken up the challenge—and have been able to create cultures of literacy. They have classrooms where teachers and students work together to identify comprehension problems, tap and elicit critical dispositions known to support learning (like curiosity, courage, stamina, and persistence), and use an array of evidence-based instructional approaches and discourse routines to collaboratively make sense of complex disciplinary texts.

Our new book, Leading for Literacy: A Reading Apprenticeship Approach, and an open webinar we are offering on March 8, show how they’ve done it. The book is based on what we’ve learned from 25 years of implementing Reading Apprenticeship, a framework for helping schools and districts transform how literacy is taught.

The Reading Apprenticeship framework builds on teachers’ existing knowledge and expertise and provides structured opportunities for them to explore their own reading and comprehension processes as they, themselves, struggle with challenging texts. The insights they gain—through training and participating in ongoing learning communities—broadens their mindsets about what students are capable of doing and provides the foundation for apprenticing students to reading, writing, thinking, and speaking in the different disciplines.

Teachers build a culture of inquiry in their classrooms by teaching students how to work individually and as a group to conduct metacognitive conversations that help them take on rigorous texts, regardless of the subject matter. The goal is to have students learn to take control of their learning.

This approach is effective at the school and college classroom levels and as scaled across institutions and systems. The evidence of federally funded randomized controlled studies, shows positive, statistically significant effects for students whose teachers participated in Reading Apprenticeship professional development.

Ultimately, the success of the program depends on leadership from teachers, principals, and advocates for students, for whom creating a culture of literacy requires:

  • political cover on the part of site and district administrators to protect teams and their time from external challenges;
  • new structures, such as dedicated literacy teams and communities of practice;
  • dedicated time—and more of it—to engage in high-quality professional learning, professional collaboration, and problem solving with colleagues;
  • a focus on inquiry, which encourages and supports sharing and exploring questions and observations as a group;
  • community partnerships, to build support for more time spent on reading and literacy development in the schools; and
  • teacher-led advocacy that is strength based and solution driven.

Leading for Literacy presents portraits, case studies, research findings, and key insights from scores of practitioners, and details how to get started, build momentum, assess progress, generate partnerships, and sustain networks across schools, districts, college campuses, and regions. It is more important than ever for schools to advance better approaches to literacy instruction. Why not rewrite the script at your school?

Ruth Schoenbach and Cynthia Greenleaf are co-directors of the WestEd Strategic Literacy Initiative, and, Lynn Murphy, co-authors of Leading for Literacy: A Reading Apprenticeship Approach (Wiley/Jossey-Bass, December 2016).