Effective Literacy Website #4: Reading A-Z

Gerilyn Ilao
ED 638 Fall Intersession 2018
Dr. M. Rivera
IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website #4

Reading A-Z (https://www.readinga-z.com/) is an online product that delivers the resources and tools teachers need to improve the reading skills of every students at every learning level. The website has an abundance of engaging developmentally appropriate leveled books that range from fiction to nonfiction books at different reading levels. The books come in a printable and projectable format, making it easy to share with students, and it comes with a collection of supporting resources to help them further practice on their reading skills. Teachers are able to access hundreds of resources of different categories for targeted reading instruction.

With this website, teachers are able to assess their students reading level by using benchmark books and running records; align the students to their reading level so to meet the needs and interests of the child; provide practice for the students with printable and projectable books; and provide the students with a variety of resources, such as leveled readers, poetry books, alphabet materials, high frequency word books, shared reading, literature circles, and many more.

Here are the following reasons as to why teachers love Reading A-Z: 1) it is correlated with the Common Core Standards, which makes it easy for us teachers to see what level the student is currently at and where they need to be, as well as to match the reading level so the student is not struggling as much; 2) it is affordable; it will start you off on a two week free trial and after the free trial it is $109.95 a year, which is equivalent to about $9 a month; and 3) going into detail on the resources, it provides reading lessons, decodable books, reader’s theatre scripts, reading worksheets, and assessments. It also has fluency passages to improve reading rate, accuracy, and expression.

You are able to access resources of different categories of targeted reading instruction such as key reading skills, foundational skills, 21st Century/Common Core, ELL, Spanish and more world languages, instructional uses, and assessments. These categories, as mentioned already, provide the necessary materials needed to assess, align, help students to practice on their reading needs.

Once you sign up for an account, you are able to store whatever resources you find suitable for your classroom into your personal file. You are also able to manage your students’ reading activity and growth using another related reading program, Raz-Plus. It also provides teachers with access to resources on using the website, including professional development webinars.

Overall, I feel that any teacher would benefit from using Reading A-Z. It has everything that a teacher needs to help those students who struggle with reading. I have to say that this website really impressed me with the amount of resources they have, and I will definitely look into incorporating this in my classroom.