ReadWorks.org is a database containing materials such as lesson plans, summaries of books with links to the Amazon website for purchase, and handouts to help teachers teach reading comprehension for K-6 students. Users can search the database by grade, competencies, novel, skill and strategy. The materials also are aligned by the type of reading program or standards and the grade level. The site and materials with the exception of the books are free to use.
Type of Material:
Collection
Recommended Uses:
The material can be used to develop lesson plans to develop reading skills in English Language Arts classes. The material can also be used to provide targeted instruction to struggling readers.
Technical Requirements:
Internet access
Identify Major Learning Goals:
To provide teachers with research-proven tools and support they need to improve the academic achievement of their students in the area of reading comprehension.
Target Student Population:
K-8 classroom or reading teachers. The material would be useful for pre-service teachers in reading methods courses, reading specialists who are in-service.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Teachers need knowledge of English Language Arts and reading methods. The My Binder and My Profile features of the site require the users to create a free account.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
Each lesson plan is accompanied by learning goals, the duration of the lesson, necessary materials, teacher modeling suggestions, think check questions, guided practices, independent practices, and scaffolding exercises for building students' vocabulary and building students' background knowledge. The concepts presented on the database are research based and are accompanied by citations.
Concerns:
None.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Each lesson plan identifies the learning objectives. The concepts are reinforced progressively and builds on prior concepts through the scaffolding activities. Assignments are included. The lessons are efficient and tied to standards.
Concerns:
The prerequisite knowledge for each lesson is not identified.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The site is easy to use. It has colored links and pull down menus. The instructions for each lesson and materials are clear. The site has an interactive user comments links where the user can post comments for response by the site team and other users. There is also a Contact US link where users can post an email message. The address, telephone number and fax information is also posted there. Navigation is intuitive; graphics enhance rather than detract from the content.
Concerns:
The site is printer friendly because it is mainly text based.
Other Issues and Comments:
The organization is impressive. This is a rich resource that every reading teacher should be aware of.
Creative Commons:
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Searching for Members?
You entered an email address. Would you like to search for members? Click Yes to continue. If no, materials will be displayed first. You can refine your search with the options on the left of the results page.
