Online Tools for Reading Comprehension

Kids use their time in the classroom to develop essential skills and gain lifelong knowledge, but sometimes they need more time with specific topics. Younger students may struggle with reading more challenging materials within the timeframe of the school day.

Teachers and education professionals can look into these online tools for improved reading comprehension to offer their students more resources that make reading easier and more fun.

1. The Literacy Shed

Watching videos may seem like the antithesis of helping students read, but it depends on the content. The team behind The Literacy Shed curates “sheds” on their website with short videos that tell a story and allow for in-depth discussions. Visitors can find teaching ideas and discussion questions listed under each video as well.

It’s an excellent way to tackle reading comprehension in remote instruction as well because the site is available to anyone with internet access.

2. Six Word Stories

Some kids don’t do well with reading assignments because they see pages of text and feel intimidated. Six Word Stories is one of the best online reading tools for students because it teaches about topics like themes, characters, and plots without requiring chapters. Use each story as a prompt to discover why it’s a story, what elements make a story, and why it’s effective in communicating its central message.

3. PicLits

Reading becomes easier when words are less of a struggle. PicLits takes a word-based approach to improve reading comprehension. Students can pick an image and peruse lists of words beneath that photo to describe what’s happening within the picture. Educators should note that this is an excellent way to build a student’s knowledge of grammar and story elements, but only if the teacher-student communication flows easily.

Miscommunication due to video lag, internet outages, or missed emails could cause confusion with some online tools. Always maintain your communication across multiple channels to make your reading comprehension tools effective for anyone who has questions or feels confused by the platform.

4. MeMeTales

Sometimes young students improve their reading comprehension in remote instruction with assistance from their parents or guardians. Elementary school students will love using the MeMeTales app to browse free picture books and read with their loved ones.

Every time they finish a new story, readers earn fun stickers and points that unlock story-related games. Kids will start looking forward to practicing their reading skills because each book comes with digital rewards.

5. Vocabulary Spelling City

Vocabulary Spelling City is another one of the many useful online reading tools for students. Readers pick four challenging vocabulary words and improve their literacy skills by playing games to learn definitions, word usage, and even phonics. It’s a helpful site for young readers in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Use Online Tools for Reading Comprehension

These are just a few online tools for improved reading comprehension, but students will have to try each one to discover which one is best for their needs. Whether kids need to expand their vocabulary, dive into thematic story elements, or rediscover why reading is fun, these apps and websites can help them get there with extra practice outside of the classroom.

Sight Words Made Easy

"Orthographic mapping" certainly doesn't flow off the tongue, nor is it a term we hear used very frequently. Yet, it is a process that is central to becoming a confident, fluent reader. That's because once we've orthographically mapped a word, it means we are able to instantly read it without putting effort into decoding. This process is the key to unlocking the magic of books and reading!

And given the importance of this skill, we were so excited to learn strategies for making orthographic mapping more accessible and applicable in the classroom and at home. Listen to Smarten Up CEO and Founder, Mara Koffmann, in conversation with reading expert Heidi Martin, and read on for key takeaways!

Key Takeaways

• Contrary to popular belief, “sight words” are not just high frequency words with irregular spelling. Instead, a “sight word” is any word that we know and recognize by sight. And as adults, we generally have between 30,000 and 70,000 words in our sight word vocabulary.

• Orthographic mapping is a strategy for learning new sight words in order to expand the set of words we can recognize by sight. It is a process that maps phonemes (sounds) and graphemes (letters) to make it easier to learn the spelling of words. And it is particularly useful to use orthographic mapping to learn high frequency words with an irregular sound spelling.

• Orthographic mapping is far more efficient and effective than simply memorizing words by drilling letters. With rote memorization, it will typically take 5-500 repetitions for kids to learn a new word! With orthographic mapping, kids will typically learn a new sight word after practicing just 1-4 times!

• To orthographically map a word …

  • First, have kids say the word.

  • Then, have them identify the number of sounds in the word.

  • Next, help them identify the letter(s) making each of those sounds.

  • Last, have kids practice reading and writing the word.

  • *If children haven’t learned the spelling pattern making a particular sound or if letters are making a surprising sound, you can put a heart around those letters to show that the kids have to remember that part of the word by heart. The more that you can talk about and explore these new patterns or surprises as a part of the orthographic mapping process, the better!

• With orthographic mapping, kids can see that most words have predictable spelling pattern. This strategy helps to draw attention to specific parts of words they might need to remember by heart, but highlights that the other letter-sound relationships follow the spelling rules they already know.

• Heidi’s favorite strategies for making orthographic mapping fun and multi-sensory…

  • Use the heart strategy to make irregular spellings really stand out visually.

  • Have kids use popper fidget toys or sound tubes to see and feel each sound in a word.

  • Of course fancy tools aren’t necessary; kids can also use their bodies to jump, punch, or wiggle each sound in a word, or use a spoon or pencil to tap out sounds as well.

The Link Between Reading and Writing

As students develop and hone their writing skills, they become more competent readers. Their ability to think critically about text and interact with it in rich and meaningful ways improves. The opposite is also true. The more we read, the better our writing becomes. That’s because the processes of reading and writing are undeniably connected. One could view them as the inverses of each other, and while they use different skills, growth in one invariably strengthens the other.

“Reading as a Writer”

An effective way to help students see the link between reading and writing is to teach them how to “read as a writer.” This means not only practicing regular reading skills like fluency and comprehension, but actually analyzing how the text itself was written. Students do this by looking for choices the author made, devices they used in their writing, and how they structured their writing. When students read text through this lens, they get more out of their reading, and they deepen their knowledge of choices they themselves can make as a writer.

“Writing as a Reader”

Just like we should read books looking for the writer’s moves, we can also write with our readers in mind. When we “write as a reader,” we keep our focus on how our writing will be received, whether it will make sense, and what message it sends. So often, emerging writers write with one intention, but they end up writing something that has a completely different effect. When writers think about their readers as they write, they are more likely to end up leaving their readers with what they intended.

Writing About Reading

A great way to integrate reading and writing in the classroom is to have students write about the books they read. Writing about one’s reading helps them to process what they’ve read and practice crucial writing skills. There are so many ways to get students to write about their reading:

• Answer open-ended questions/prompts about the text

• Write a sequel/prequel

• Continue the story

• Write a letter or journal entry as a character

• Write a news article about an event (real or imaginary)

• Ask and answer questions as they read

• Teach them how to annotate text

Not only are there lots of ways to integrate reading and writing instruction, but doing so will set your students up for success. They’ll become much more confident and competent readers and writers when the two subject areas are integrated.

The Importance of Multisensory Instruction

Multi-sensory instruction is a teaching methodology in which students have the opportunity to engage with content or activities using more than one sense. It’s a great teaching strategy to increase student motivation, and a highly effective way to make sure every student learns.

Why is Multi-Sensory Instruction So Important?

No two students learn in the exact same way. Some learn best by watching. Others learn best by listening. And many learn best by doing. All of the various ways in which we process new information are made even stronger when they are all available to us at the same time. Offering modes of learning that allow students to engage as many senses as possible ensures the maximum number of students will be able to access the lesson or activity. It also makes it much more likely that everyone will experience more meaningful learning.

What the Research Says

According to Waterford.org, children learn best through “whole brain learning.” This is where multiple areas of the brain are activated at once while the student is learning something new and it is proven to lead to much longer-lasting gains. One study in particular found that students who learned reading skills by simultaneously engaging their visual, auditory, and kinesthetic pathways experienced more profound reading gains than students who only learned using one method.

Examples of Multi-Sensory Learning

Many teachers become overwhelmed when trying to find ways to make all of their lessons and activities multisensory. But it doesn’t have to require hours of preparation or reinventing the wheel. Here are some simple, low-prep ways to make learning more multisensory for all students:

• Centers are a great way to differentiate what and how students learn. While centers can take some prep time in the beginning, when they are planned strategically and set up in the right way, they can be used and reused all year long!

• Introduce quiet instrumental music during independent work time.

• Give students access to audiobooks they can listen to and follow along with.

• Have students engage all the senses while learning letter sounds by singing songs about letters while making the letters with their bodies and having access to a visual of the letters.

• Let students buddy read with a peer.

• Give students manipulatives and modeling materials to explore concepts in math and other subjects.

How Making Reading a Childhood Habit Can Lead to Future Success

Parents and educators juggle numerous responsibilities to give children the best chance of a happy future. Kids need to learn lessons in school while building skills at home, like becoming responsible for chores or helping their family members.

Reading is a childhood pastime that people often overlook, but it’s a powerful tool for kids to use early in life. This guide explains how childhood reading leads to success and what kids can gain from reading every day.

1. It Teaches Kids to Focus

Watching a movie or listening to music is fun, but it allows kids to let their minds wander. Books require their full attention if they’re going to understand the plot and follow it through to the story’s resolution.

Practicing their focus will help young children learn to slow down, focus, single-task, and perform better in school and their careers. Without it, they might never devote the necessary time and energy to each task.

2. It Introduces New Ideas

There’s only so much time in the day for school, but kids can continue learning at home through books. Stories introduce children to new ideas, cultures, and lifestyles that are crucial to interacting with the world. When they understand characters who teach them about diversity, they’ll be more open to new friendships with people who don’t look or live like them. By exposing children to diverse cultures and ways of thinking, reading helps prepare them for an open-minded, accepting future.

3. It Improves Memory Retention

Reading as a child improves grades in college by assisting in the development of memory retention skills. Research shows that people who read aloud retain memories more easily because the brain is actively involved in the effort. Kids who read will grow into teens and young adults who ace exams because their minds hold on to materials more effectively.

Reading also improves students’ grades because they have to surround themselves with books to find the information they need — which gives them good research skills. If they know how to find books on course content, they won’t guess on grade school tests that make or break their placement in colleges. Fewer visits to the library have actually been shown to result in poor grades — which shows how important reading is to long-term learning.

4. It Challenges Critical Thinking Skills

Educators and parents can also discover how childhood reading habits lead to a more successful career by measuring their critical thinking skills. Kids piece together plot lines as they turn each page, figuring out how the main character will solve their dilemma or conquer their quest.

Everyone needs critical thinking skills to think ahead and eliminate problems in school and the workplace, so it’s worth investing in a collection of books that kids can access at any time.

5. It Develops Language Skills

Introducing books to babies and toddlers is another way parents can figure out how childhood reading leads to success. Language development begins at 3 months old and continues long past a child’s first words. Seeing words pointed out in books and connecting them with pictures builds the necessary vocabulary for kids to thrive in relationships, school, and future jobs.

6. It Builds Self-Confidence

Everyone enjoys the feeling of accomplishing something on their own. Kids feel the same way when they finish a book. They’ll build their self-confidence as they read increasingly challenging books.

Establishing and maintaining self-confidence is how reading as a child improves grades in college. They’ll know how to push through frustrating pages or prose until they fully grasp the reading material and perform better on related tests.

Start Reading Habits Today

There are many ways educators and parents can learn how childhood reading leads to success, but the best way is to see it in action. Introduce children to age-appropriate books to begin building their vocabulary, self-confidence, and understanding of the world. Their lives will become much more enriched in every aspect because reading gave them numerous tools at a young age.

About the Author

Ginger Abbot is an education and learning writer with a personal love for reading. Explore more of her work on her website, Classrooms, where she also serves as editor.

Summer Learning

The last thing parents want after the school year ends is to try to wrangle kids back into learning mode. Still, we all know how important it is to prevent that “summer slide,” especially this year. Ideally, of course, students would spend their summer reading 20 to 30 minutes a day. They would spend at least 15 minutes a day engaged in high-cognitive level math problems. And they would keep a journal and record in it every night before bed like clockwork. But we understand there’s a difference between the ideal and reality. The good news is, there are so many ways to get kids learning that don’t involve the traditional paper and pencil. Here are some easy tips for squeezing a little bit of learning into your summer without your kids even knowing.

Get Creative At Home

Instead of your children sitting on the couch playing video games or texting all day, bake or cook something together. Have them do all the measurements, and ask them to do some conversions to up the challenge. Ask them to help you create a budget. For older kids, have them create their own budget! There are tons of easy ways to incorporate math for younger kids as well. During simple routines like brushing their teeth, kids can practice estimation by setting a one-minute timer, guessing when a minute has passed and then checking the timer. Having kids clean their room also presents plenty of opportunities for counting, sorting, categorizing, and many other skills crucial to math.

Out and About

There are also plenty of ways to incorporate some academic elements into regular, everyday tasks and errands. Counting money to pay for items in a store, calculating what the change should be, planning out the day by estimating how long certain tasks will take, and calculating the quantity of each ingredient they’ll need to buy for doubling a recipe are just a few ways to make everyday errands a little more skill-based.

Go on a “Field Trip”

Why not intentionally take their learning outdoors? Field trips don’t have to just be for school! Whether you’re near the quiet solitude of the woods or in the middle of a big city, there are always opportunities to learn out in the world. Museums, walking tours, historical sites, and even parks are excellent places for a field trip. And if you don’t know the first thing about making these visits academic, here is a great resource with super user-friendly “lesson plans.” They even have tips for stretching kids’ brains at an amusement park!

What is the Writing Rope?

You’ve likely heard all of the buzz around Hollis Scarborough’s famous “reading rope." The visual compares the processes involved in successful reading to the strands in a rope. Because reading and writing are so intertwined, it would make sense that in addition to a reading rope, there would be a writing rope, too. The reading rope gives a framework for how readers make sense of text that already exists. The writing rope helps students put words and sentences together to create text that is meaningful.

The Creation of “The Writing Rope”

After the reading rope received so much attention, educator and literacy consultant Joan Sedita was inspired to create its writing counterpart. She used the powerful metaphor of a rope as a way to make teaching and assessing writing more formulaic. Sedita created the writing rope because teachers who were able to make sense of all of the necessary components of teaching reading faltered when trying to determine how to instruct and assess good quality writing.

Just like the strands in the Reading Rope, Sedita included all of the components of skilled writing in her visual. These strands are Critical Thinking, Syntax, Text Structure, Writing Craft, and Transcription. It’s important to note that transcription skills (handwriting and spelling) used to comprise a vast majority of writing instruction. Anyone remember copying letters off the board in cursive for an entire writing lesson? Now, these skills only make up a fifth of Sedita’s writing rope package.

Critical Thinking

This strand includes those skills students need in order to brainstorm, plan, organize, and execute their writing. Everything from researching a topic to choosing a logical plot line uses critical thinking skills.

Syntax

Syntax refers to the way in which we order words in order to create sentences that follow conventional grammatical rules. This strand also includes things like punctuation, verb tense, and inclusion of detail.

Text Structure

The text structure strand includes knowledge of the structure and organization of different text types and purposes. Narrative structure is very different from that of informational texts, and more different still from argumentative texts. It also refers to the specific structure of a paragraph. More formal paragraphs should start with an introduction, include at least three sentences that provide either reasons or evidence, and a conclusion sentence at the end, for a minimum of five sentences. Transition words also fall under text structure, as well as literary devices like cause/effect, compare/contrast, etc.

Writing Craft

There are several aspects of our writing that go into writing craft. Word choice, awareness of the task and purpose for one’s readers, as well as how and when an author uses literary devices all work together to contribute to an author’s writng craft.

Transcription

The last strand is the only one that focuses exclusively on what handwriting looks like and how to spell words. While this is not the most important strand, since we would argue that content is much more important than how writing looks, there is still value in learning spelling rules in order to encode and in knowing what a word should look like so that others can read our writing.

Conclusion

The Writing Rope gives teachers a great visual for ensuring that there is balance in writing instruction and that not too much focus is given to one area over another. Using the Writing Rope as a guide, we can make sure that we are covering all of the necessary bases in helping our students become competent, well-rounded writers.

Once Upon a Times Table

Many people think of math and reading as separate subjects. While the skills involved in each are quite different, there are so many ways and reasons to connect them. Aside from having students read and solve word problems, there are lots of other creative ways to integrate math and literacy. Here are some of our favorite integration strategies.

Math Stories

These math learning activities take word problems to the next level. As the name suggests, math stories combine two essential components of both math and literature: computation and story-line. Through the components of a story, students keep track of totals, calculate differences, compare quantities, and so on. This is a great way to have students practice both reading comprehension and math skills all in one shot.

Writing About Math

Some students become perplexed when we ask them to write about math. They think math is supposed to use numbers, not words. But demonstrating their understanding and their processing of math topics with words in addition to numbers not only allows them to practice writing, but it also helps them develop new ways to talk about and engage with math concepts.

Read-Alouds

Teachers incorporate read-alouds into all kinds of subject areas other than the reading block, so why not math? There are plenty of books out there that contain explanations and examples of math concepts, as well as actual opportunities for students to practice those skills. With careful selection of the right read-aloud, students have the opportunity to work together on solving problems in new ways with teacher guidance.

Math Journals

Journaling isn’t just for writing and social studies. Math journals are another great way to have students reflect on their mathematical thinking and reason about math using words. Math journaling gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their thinking in a way that may feel more comfortable to them. It also addresses different learning styles. Some students do much better expressing themselves through a paragraph than through a string of number sentences.

Teach Math Vocabulary

Teaching math vocabulary often involves introducing a word and showing enough examples of it for students to understand its meaning. However, it often doesn’t go further than that. Just as we explicitly teach vocabulary in other content areas, we should also make space for explicit instruction in math vocabulary as well. In addition to demonstrating understanding of these words through actual problem-solving, students can also use these words in other ways. Create a math word wall, or have students create their own with definitions, examples, sentences, etc. Or have students use these words in their own math problems. The more familiar they become with math vocabulary, the more articulately they’ll be able to communicate about math concepts.

What are Executive Function Skills?

Executive function skills are central to success in the classroom and beyond. You can think of them as the CEO of your brain. They allow you to do things like organize, focus, and regulate emotions. We begin developing these skills from birth, but they only fully mature in our early 20s. And for many students, especially those with ADHD, executive function skills don’t come naturally. That’s why we are so excited to share our partner company Braintrust’s conversation with pediatric neuropsychologist Dr. Matt Pagirsky. Watch the video and keep reading to learn more about what executive function skills are, the way in which they impact learning, and how to support children who struggle with this skill set.

Key Takeaways

• We use executive function skills to …

  • Sustain attention and filter distractions

  • Identify goals, create plans to achieve them, and monitor our progress

  • Organize information

  • Generate strategies for solving problems

  • Initiate and complete tasks with efficiency

  • Remember and recall information

  • Shift attention and transition from one activity or subject to another

  • Regulate behavior and emotions

• Executive function skills play an important role in learning. Some examples include …

  • Reading

    • Decode words fluently by remembering sounds long enough to blend them

    • Organize and remember details in order to comprehend sentences and paragraphs

    • Keep track of a storyline

  • Writing

    • Organize our ideas in order to get them down on paper

    • Make a general plan for a piece of writing

    • Remember and apply spelling patterns and grammar rules

    • Edit and revise writing

  • Math

    • Solve multi-step problems

    • See different ways of solving a problem

    • Keep track of important information in a problem

    • Organize work on paper

• Executive function skills develop over time

  • They begin to develop in infancy

  • They typically mature around the age of 18-20 years old

  • They often take longer to develop in individuals with ADHD

• There are age-appropriate benchmarks for the development of executive function skills.

  • These include one’s ability to delay gratification, control impulses, pay attention to high and low-interest tasks, follow multi-step directions, and plan ahead.

  • Executive function challenges often become apparent during the transition into middle school and high school. This is because the complexity of assignments and expectations increases; and at the same time, students need to work with greater independence.

• Students struggling with executive function skills need intervention. This should include:

  • Explicit strategy instruction with frequent modeling

  • Consistent and repeated opportunities for practice

  • Direct instruction in organizational tools and strategies

  • Development of emotional regulation tools and strategies

If your child is struggling with executive function skills, we can help! Many of our tutors have extensive experience helping students develop the executive function skills they need for success in school and beyond. Reach out to us if you’d like to be connected. And if you are concerned about your child’s development, be sure to reach out to a pediatric neuropsychologist like Dr. Matt Pagirsky for a consultation or evaluation.

Our Collection of the Best Phonics Resources

Parents know how important it is to supplement their kids’ reading at home. But aside from picking up a good old-fashioned paperback, what other tools are out there? How do you distinguish great resources from mediocre? We’ve got your back. Here’s a guide to our favorite phonics and reading resources.

Digital Resources

Freckle ends up on just about all of our lists. That’s because it’s fun, effective, and takes literally no brain power from you to get your child set up on it. With activities in reading, phonics, and math, it’s a great one-stop shop for summer practice.

Wordwall houses an incredible library of teacher-made games in just about any subject you can think of. You can create your own for a fee, but accessing their library of pre-made games is completely free. You can browse generally or search for a specific skill. Kids love their fast-paced game templates, which are especially great for any student who likes a little competition.

Teach Your Monster to Read is visually appealing and so much fun for kids! They get to design their own monster and bring it with them every step of their reading journey.

Homer is a super fun and engaging website and app for kids to practice reading, writing, and a slew of other crucial early literacy skills.

Epic is a digital library with thousands of books for all ages, from decodables to young adult novels. They have texts on just about every subject in both fiction and nonfiction. Kids love Epic books because they look like real books, only they’re digital. The pages turn when you click on them, and most books are accompanied by vivid illustrations, photos, and/or graphics.

Hard Print Resources

For those of you wanting to limit or eliminate summer screen time, we recommend the following resources:

Highlights Kids is one of the most popular magazine subscriptions for kids, and for a good reason. Each issue contains many opportunities for readers to learn, explore, and play. While most of the content doesn’t feel academic, students practice crucial skills in reading, math, critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategizing.

Phonics books are a great resource for students who are emerging readers. Also called “decodable” books, they usually come in a set and are specifically written with targeted phonics skills and concepts for students to practice systematically and sequentially. The main difference between these books and other books that have phonics concepts is that these usually align to a specific curriculum, which means that the skills students use when reading each subsequent book are scaffolded and follow the same progression as the lessons they are learning/have learned in school (or at home).

Finally, a high-quality phonics workbook is another great no-tech bet. But not all workbooks are created equal. Those that focus primarily or exclusively on rote, repetitive copying, and other memorization strategies don’t necessarily provide kids with meaningful learning. It’s important for workbooks to be substantive, especially since it’s easy for worksheets to become busywork! That means they should require critical thinking and application as opposed to mindless practice. This one by Scholastic has some great exercises.