Data from just the first night of using Raz-Kids!

This is a screenshot (names left off, of course) of the first night of the students using Raz-Kids.  It was interesting to me that the lower leveled readers (groups D-F) logged in more than the higher-leveled readers.  It would be interesting to find if this is because of student behavior, learning styles, or if technology is really the way to reach the lower-leveled readers.

Raz-Kids iPad subscription is here!

I am so excited by this news!

We used some our textbook fund to purchase Raz-Kids, an online resource for teachers and students.  The students are able to access hundreds of eBooks on Raz-Kids.  

I couldn't sleep last night, so I logged in to www.raz-kids.com and set-up the teacher portal for our class.  The more I explored the website, the more excited I became for all the possibilities.  Every child is enrolled in the class (including those meeting with Special Education teachers).  I used the PALs information and DRA levels to choose appropriate leveled readers for each child in our class.  There is an option to have each student read at a self-pace beginning at their independent level, and an option to customize groups and have students grouped according to what the teacher decides.  I chose to customize the groups, and opened 5 eBooks to each child (in both English and Spanish).  I also assigned a running record to those students currently meeting with the reading specialist to help monitor fluency.  (I will assign running records to the rest of the class periodically as well, but not at this time.)

Raz-Kids is powerful because the leveled readers are on each child's level.  The students can read by themselves, or listen to books and record themselves reading the text.  Afterwards they can take a quiz to check for comprehension.  I will send out periodic assessments to do a fluency check on each student, and as mentioned above, some students already have that assessment.  The parent information sheet is going home in blue folders via backpack mail today.  You as a parent have the option to add your email address to your child's account so you will be sent periodic updates to monitor progress.  I highly encourage registering your email.

I will use Raz-Kids as one of my daily reading rotation stations.  As of right now, I meet with each reading group for 20 minutes per day, 5 days of the week.  The stations are: 1) Teacher, 2) Word Study, 3) Raz-Kids, 4) Independent

I am excited to see Raz-Kids in action today!

No more iPad Withdrawal!

They're back!

The iPads have been updated to iOS7 and the apps have all been updated!  On that note, students may run the updates on their iPads whenever they see the little red marks on the update notes pop-up (no password is needed)!

Please make sure students charge their iPads each night and bring them back fully charged to school.

-Ms. Blake