Reading Platforms and Texts
Newsela
Great stories, just-right leveled reading; now mostly by subscription
Bottom Line: While pricey, Newsela has ascended into an all-in-one destination for leveled, non-fiction reading.
CommonLit
Feature-rich literacy resource offers superb support for readers
Bottom Line: Access a hefty collection of reliable, ready-to-print, leveled passages that allow you to tailor lessons, assign online reading, and track progress.
Curriculet
Elegant, customizable e-reader empowers close reading, boosts skills
Bottom Line: An excellent tool for in-text assessment. Maximize the platform's usefulness by uploading your own texts and setting up CCSS-aligned checkpoints.
ThinkCERCA
Structured literacy program inspires deep analysis, thoughtful writing
Bottom Line: This is an expertly scaffolded and pedagogically sound resource for developing critical reading and writing skills.
Actively Learn
Empowering reader invites students to read with purpose
Bottom Line: Far beyond the average e-reader, this tool helps students connect with texts and each other while giving teachers useful insight into student thinking.
StudySync
Superb ELA resource features engaging activities, stellar support
Bottom Line: An exceptional, ever-growing resource for helping your students become close readers, careful writers, and critical thinkers.
myShakespeare
Handy supporting features help demystify popular Shakespeare plays
Bottom Line: This is a thoughtfully-designed site that makes Shakespeare approachable while also encouraging students to read closely.
Shakespeare in Bits
Shakespeare's greatest hits made more accessible, manageable
Bottom Line: This is a great starting place for students to connect with these challenging texts.
Annotation and Analysis Tools
NowComment
Rich collaboration and close-reading tool invites deep, easy-to-assess discussions
Bottom Line: Versatile, free discussion platform for teaching, peer review, assessment, and fostering active reading.
Kami
Versatile annotation tool helps users critically connect with content
Bottom Line: Kami is an effective way to promote student interaction with texts, authentic documents, and pictures.
Hypothes.is
Tool makes webpages and digital texts spaces of critique, discussion
Bottom Line: This tool opens up digital text and the web to analysis, annotation, and discussion, whether inside a classroom or with the world.
InsertLearning
Useful Chrome extension lets teachers add interactivity to websites
Bottom Line: A potential go-to tool for teachers focused on building critical reading skills, especially those in Chromebook classrooms.
Weava
Chrome extension helps organize web-based research
Bottom Line: For Chrome users and mostly digital classrooms, this is a fairly intuitive tool that'll help students wrangle their research.
Genius
Collaborative tool lets users annotate songs, literature, web content
Bottom Line: Students can collaboratively engage in the process of annotation and analysis with various texts -- both within the forum and on the web.
Scrible
Browser extension helpful for annotation and research organization
Bottom Line: A solid -- with room to grow -- annotation and research tool; serious users will need to pay for premium.
Supplemental Resources for Teachers and Students
ReadWriteThink
Free hub for literacy lessons aims to deepen learning, engagement
Bottom Line: This is a trustworthy site that teachers of all grades/subjects could find a way to use weekly for lessons or professional development.
ReadWorks
Differentiate reading instruction with high-quality texts and lessons
Bottom Line: The quality and scope of texts, lesson plans, assessments, and supports on this platform can help facilitate online or offline targeted reading instruction in nearly any home or classroom.
Critical Media Project
Relevant media clips get students examining identity, culture
Bottom Line: Teachers will need to take time to build effective lessons, but if they do, this is a useful, relevant, high-interest resource for deconstructing identity and building critical thinking and empathy skills.
CliffsNotes
A decent support for understanding reading, but not a replacement
Bottom Line: Sometimes it’s OK to make friends with the enemy; there's potential to support students as they decipher challenging texts.
