ReadTheory (www.readtheory.org) is a free website that helps teachers assess reading comprehension and reading level. It is a "powerful educational tool that offers online reading activities for all ages and ability levels. Using custom web application software and carefully crafted and tested content created by our team, we provide students with a dynamic reading experience that adapts to their individual ability levels and presents them with a seemingly endless array of skill building exercises. What is more, as students continue to use the site and see their scores gradually improve, the system adapts to match their progress, and the materials presented get incrementally more advanced (ReadTheory, 2014)." Teachers register on the website, then create a class (or classes) and fill it with their students. Teachers can manage usernames and passwords; analyze student or class performance using percentages, bar graphs, and tables; and track individual student and/or class progress using quiz history and line graphs. I have seen teachers use this data to pinpoint what each student is going to work on individually on ReadTheory or on other online resources (such as ReadWorks). They have also used this to develop their lesson plans when they see what the class as a whole needs to work on. I have been impressed with the use of ReadTheory because it really does provide students with content that is tailored to their individual levels and needs.
ReadWorks (www.readworks.org) is similar to ReadTheory; students take tests and work on skills related to reading comprehension. "The non-profit ReadWorks is committed to solving the nation's reading comprehension crisis by giving teachers the research-proven tools and support they need to improve the academic achievement of their students. ReadWorks provides research-based units, lessons, and authentic, leveled non-fiction and literary passages directly to educators online, for free, to be shared broadly (ReadWorks, 2014)." The nice thing about ReadWorks is there are more options for the teacher to individualize students' learning, rather than the site responding to students' scores and adapting their content. Teachers can choose the lexile level that each student tests at and what skills they'd like each student to work on. The list of skills and strategies that teachers can choose from is impressive and includes author's purpose; cause and effect; character; classify and categorize; compare and contrast; drawing conclusions; explicit information; fact and opinion; figurative language; genre; genre studies; main idea; plot; point of view; predicting; pronoun reference; sequence; setting; theme; vocabulary in context; and voice. Besides reading passages, ReadWorks also includes skill and strategy units, comprehension units, and novel study units, all complete with accompanying lesson plans. ReadWorks is aligned to the Common Core State Standards and the standards of all 50 states; teachers can easily see which lessons align to which standards.
I have been impressed with the use of both of these websites in classrooms to help students with their reading comprehension skills. I am pleasantly surprised by the quality of both ReadTheory and ReadWorks; too often free websites leave you wanting more or only provide you with so much content before you have to pay for a subscription. This is not the case with these wonderful websites. I look forward to utilizing both ReadTheory and ReadWorks in my own classroom, as ways to assess students' ability levels and improve their comprehension skills.
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| This photo shows the options on ReadWorks, if a teacher searched for passages above a lexile level of 1000 that worked on the skill of drawing conclusions |
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| This photo, also from ReadWorks, shows the results for 6th grade lesson plans that deal with the skill of character |
ReadTheory (2014). Retrieved June 3, 2014 from http://www.readtheory.org/how-it-works
ReadWorks (2014). Retrieved June 3, 2014 from http://www.readworks.org/rw/about
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