Earlier last year, the School launched a new reading program for 4^th and 5^th Graders called Scholastic ReadAbout.  It is a computer based program that helps students improve reading and comprehension skills by targeting subject matter and reading levels to each individual child.

ReadAbout begins by assessing a student’s reading level, skill ability and interests. The program presents three reading topics that reflect the student’s individual needs. Every topic addresses reading achievement by providing anchored instruction, scaffolded reading, informative assessment, and personalized practice.  Additionally, the program is focused solely on non-fiction texts.  This is critically important as so much of what a student reads through-out their academic careers is non-fiction based.  This program helps provide children with the skills to better comprehend and maneuver their way through non-fiction texts – how to use titles and subheads, how to grasp information provided in charts and graphs, etc.

ReadAbout was first spotted by 4^th & 5^th grade Reading Teacher Rose Johnson at a national teacher’s conference she attended last year. “It’s an amazing program” says Mrs. Johnson.  “The students love it because it lets them dictate what subject areas they get to read about and because it rewards their progress and improvement.  I love it because it allows me to go behind the scenes and see what each child has been working on and what skills and objectives need further attention – on both an individual and class-wide level.”

Students also enjoy the program because of its high level of interactivity.  Exercises often begin with exciting videos that transport them to a boat in the Florida Everglades, the command center at Kennedy Space Center or around the globe to a city of interest.  Additionally, students receive immediate feedback on what skills or vocabulary words they have master and where they might need more work.  This feature, combined with rewards system that allows users to collect points help students to stay motivated and engaged.

Finally, the system is designed to further differentiated instruction within a single classroom.  Within a single class there may be students reading at a 2^nd Grade Level and others reading at a 10^th Grade Level.  This program allows both those students to increase their reading skills and pushes both of them at the pace that is right for them to the next level.