Reading Practice Website Helps Students Read Complex Text
Community Review for Raz-Kids
My Take
RAZ kids is the online version of "Reading A to Z" which provides ebooks for students to read. Each level has a large selection of fiction and non-fiction books, which students may choose to read in any order. In order to complete a book, a student must listen to it, then read it independently, then answer comprehension questions correctly. The texts were engaging enough to keep students attention, but the points students earn to "buy" things in the "store" really hooks them. Fortunately the excellent data reports include both overall time spent on each book, but also the total time spent in the store.
How I Use It
As a K - 5 computer lab teacher, I used RAZ Kids with all my students in grades 2 through 5th to help strengthen their ability to read increasingly complex text. It was easy to keep track of students' progress, as well as monitor their activity. The interface was easy to use, and students enjoyed reading the texts, answering comprehension questions, and then spending their earned points in the store. While students are engaged in RAZ Kids, I go around, and listen in to students and coach into their reading. Although I did not use this feature, RAZ Kids does offer the opportunity for students to record themselves reading. The teacher can later listen to the recording and take a reading record. This is a tremendous time-saving advantage that allows teachers to progress monitor their students more frequently.