ReadWorks Literacy Website Review

        ReadWorks (http://www.readworks.org) is a free literacy website that offers grade level aligned texts for K – 12. There are fiction and nonfiction texts available that also include activities and assessments. It supports students’ learning vocabulary skills and background knowledge. It also offers explicit teaching of comprehension skills. Although students are not able to log on their own, ReadWorks is available for parents, guardians, and teachers to guide students to use it. It allows teachers to use research-based strategies for differentiated instruction, which can be organized by lexile level, grade level, and content. ReadWorks is accessible on iPads and various browsers. 

        Some of the features that ReadWorks provides is easy scrolling when reading passages. The size of the text of passages may also be adjusted for greater readability. The text may also be highlighted within the passage. Each of the reading passages come with vocabulary worksheets and comprehension questions. The questions include a variety of multiple choice and constructive response questions. Immediate feedback is given on multiple choice questions, while the constructive response questions are scored by the teacher. Teachers can use the online platform to track student progress, assignments, and give feedback to students. 

         Teachers may add in students manually or can connect their Google classroom to import student lists and assign reading passages to students as well. Student lists may also be added, and a class code may be provided for students to enter. There are also videos available on YouTube on how students and teachers can use ReadWorks. Teachers can setup a student library for students. Students are can also read passages at their grade level, one grade level below, as well as two grade levels above. The library also makes suggestions to students based on passages that they have read before. Reading material may also be downloaded for classroom use. 

        ReadWorks is great for early learners and children that are slowly emerging in their reading skills. ReadWorks passages have audio available, so that children can follow along in reading the passages. It can also help, if you have difficulty reading the passages. There are also blue highlighted words within the passage. When the blue highlighted words are clicked on a box will pop-up which includes part of speech, pronunciation of the word, definition, and using the word in a sentence. ReadWorks also has StepReads passages which provide struggling readers with an accessible, simpler version of texts. StepReads also can be used by teachers to help students and scaffold lessons.