Readola is an open resource reading system
Start with tools to help students find the right books from the Blue Ribbon Awards Collection:
Lexile to Grade Cross Reference
Reading Level Assessment Tools (at home)
Each book in the Blue Ribbon Awards Collection has been nominated for at least one state award program - a great place for students and teachers to start their reading adventure!
Readola also offers Lesson Plans and Curriculum Units based on our most popular programs such as Reading Roadmaps and Books on Tour:
This flexible, student-driven project is perfect for getting students engaged in a book they care about while demonstrating a variety of literacy and communication skills. Ideal for a summative assessment, independent reading tier time, or school-wide reading event.
This classroom environment strategy is meant as one way to integrate Readola’s Books on Tour Challenge into your classroom as a long-term reading incentive program. In short, as your students read one of the books from a given state’s list of educator-selected award-winning books, have them put one of their stickers on the map corresponding to the state. It’s a great way to inspire a love of reading in elementary students of any age!
For this challenge to have its maximum appeal for your students, you’ll want to post a large U.S. map on a wall—really, the larger the better! The royalty-free map in this lesson plan is a good example of the kind of map you’ll want to use: borders between states are clearly defined, and there’s not a lot of clutter within each state. You’ll also want 50 unique, easily recognizable stickers for each student (stars, circles, photos of their face, etc.). Finally, you’ll want to devise an incentive program to go along with this plan. You can use any available prizes for this, but a Readola gift certificate is certainly a great way to keep them reading (PTO or classroom decoration funds are a good way to subsidize this)!
50 State Fun Facts Pack (Curriculum Unit)
This is a fantastic tie-in to the Books on Tour Challenge! Pack Contains:
Unique and interesting facts for each state, applicable to a wide variety of ages. Each state has a separate fact sheet, a guide to list state specific titles, unique pictorial state map and state seal (a great conversation starter). Separate work sheets allow you to distribute per state.
Let Freedom Ring (Curriculum Unit)
Activism is a subject with a lot of potential for students to draw meaningful, emotional connections to their own lives and families. In this multidisciplinary four-lesson unit, ideal for Black History Month (or any time!), students will have the opportunity to engage with the perspectives of multiple authors, synthesize information, and share their findings and personal connections with their peers and community. The unit culminates with students having the opportunity to build a website on Google Sites to share what they’ve learned in an authentic, engaging way. As each lesson is long enough to span multiple days, if an hour is given to work on this unit each school day, it is likely that the whole unit will take about four to five weeks to complete.
Although this unit is designed with certain technology and specific award-winning books in mind, it may be adapted in accordance with the resources your learning community has available. These books have Lexile levels that make them appropriate for independent reading for most fourth- and fifth-graders who are reading at grade level (700–1040). If most of the students who will be doing these lessons are not at a sufficiently high level, additional scaffolding or an alternate reading selection should be provided. This lesson may also be employed with older or younger students with some modifications or extensions.
Students will learn about how famous inventors followed engineering and design principles to solve a problem, then collaborate to design a device of their own!
A perfect way to tie literacy to engaging animals and larger life science themes, this multi-day lesson teaches students about ecosystems using two award-winning nonfiction books. Students will learn about the interactions between animals and plants, draw connections to local ecosystems, then conduct research and create a profile of an apex predator.
This flexible lesson is an introduction to using the features on Readola.com, especially the Reading Roadmap. By the end of this lesson, students will have a ready-to-go list of books they’re interested in.
In this fast, flexible, and fun reading lesson, students will get to play the role of an illustrator while completing the story of an award-winning picture book.
Every district and school is unique and has different needs and beliefs. That understanding is what drives us to make Readola so flexible and easy to use. That flexibility can sometimes feel overwhelming, so we offer Readola Unites, an optional three-step training process to help you get started and encourage student engagement:
Step 1: Train the Trainer Session
It’s helpful to have experts available when you roll out something new to staff. Via an interactive web meeting, we will train your in-house experts on the basics of using Readola to create custom reading programs.
Step 2: Guided Orientation Session
Readola experts will guide your team through a step-by-step process to meet your needs. Typically done via an interactive web meeting, we present examples and provide custom solutions.
Step 3: Zoom Training Session
Based on your needs, we will customize Zoom training to help you roll out Readola to your staff. This may include your entire staff or certain subsets based on your specific roll-out strategy.
Readola has a vested interest in the success of your students! We want you to realize the true value that customized reading programs can provide and our success is based on your positive experience. Readola partnership includes unlimited access to our trained experts through phone or email. Contact us anytime—we are happy to help!
Professional Development Services
Using an award-winning curriculum development framework is essential to the success of your students. Readola can produce professional development modules for teachers and district leadership. These modules are focused beyond Readola the tool; they focus on providing your district with the skills necessary to transition expensive curriculum to value based solutions.
Readola Unites Schools and Communities
Readola Unites allows unlimited access to the Blue Ribbon Awards Collection for all faculty and students. Readola Unites can be accessed from all devices and requires no special hardware. If your school chooses to join our Readola Unites program, you'll be able to download relevant and exciting lesson plans to help enhance your classroom. Readola Unites also includes useful tools for:
- STEM
- Using Lexiles
- Time Scale
- Lexile Conversion Chart
- Handouts
- Student Research
- Grant Writing with the Blue Ribbon Awards Collection (best utilization of resources, community outreach)
- 21 Questions About a Book
- Books On Tour Map and Guide
- Individual State Maps
- Social Studies
- Readola Common Core
- Rewarding Reading
Whether you're using Readola Unites for your entire district, school, or classroom, you're sure to find a plan that fits your needs. Our flexible and affordable site-license programs feature a variety of benefits for users, IT department staff, administrators, instructors and students.
Faculty
- Ideas You'll Enjoy, Support You Deserve
- Choose Readola Unites for a scientifically proven way of improving learning. Customize your plan with any combination of Readola products. Need to purchase books for your classroom? Get great discounts off of the best in award winning literature. Free lesson plans and ideas.
- Access from School or Home
- Cloud based licenses available for work and home use. Collaborate using the Blue Ribbon Awards Collection and Reading Roadmaps wherever and whenever you need them.
- One Program, Multiple Uses
- Powered by the Blue Ribbon Awards Collection, Readola Unites save time by utilizing existing materials readily available in libraries, classrooms, ebook services and even at home. The Blue Ribbon Awards Collection is also the perfect place to begin research projects and course creation.
- Get Up and Running Right Away
- Quickly access the Readola System without the need to memorize, track, or manage licensing information individually or for your classroom.
Administrators
- Save Money, Maximize Access
- Readola Unites saves money by consolidating individual curriculum purchases across a wide variety of departments to reduce per-user cost and expand access. Use existing ebook services and library inventory. Avoid costly workbook purchases tied into proprietary learning systems. Maximize your library budget with exclusive Readola discounts. Empower your staff with our Virtual Library Assistant; combining the knowledge of thousands of educators into one easy to use tool.
- Facilitate Collaboration and Innovation
- Readola Unites provides the tools that inspire readers to be future leaders. Help shape student discoveries with cross-curriculum tools. Teachers and students explore new worlds from the comfort of a book. Uniform access gives users tools to collaborate with colleagues and peers.
- Minimize Loss of Investment
- Off the shelf materials hedge your budgets against out of date curriculum. No more purchases of proprietary workbooks designed to lock you into perpetual purchases. Get your storage rooms back by pitching those stacks of expensive, obsolete publisher promoted systems.
Instructors
- Save Money, Maximize Access
- Bring the knowledge base of reading professionals from around the country into your home classroom. Consolidate individual curriculum purchases by creating a true common core experience. Use books from public libraries or perhaps even in the home.
- Protect Your Data
- Readola is not owned by a publishing company or big data organization. We do not sell student information and we do not build user profiles.
- Facilitate Collaboration and Innovation
- Connect your student with their great literature from around the country, all from the comfort and safety of your home. Give them a tour of different backgrounds and cultures, take them on an adventure through the world of STEM, and track their progress in a fun system designed to challenge and inspire.
IT Departments
- Easy Integration
- Easily integrate Readola Unites into your technology portfolio—whether you plan to use them as desktop applications or remote learning—with support for all major operating systems, web browsers, and mobile devices. Web based, no downloads required.
- Replace Niche Technology
- Rather than purchasing specialized software for each grade or discipline, Readola Unites can be used in a variety of departments, allowing you to replace niche software packages and save money.
READOLA UNITES TOOLBOX:
Lesson plans and curriculum tips that integrate the Blue Ribbon Awards Collection with some of today's most relevant topics:
- Diversity
- STEM
- Literacy
- Core Curriculum Concepts
You'll receive the tools you need to match students with the correct titles:
- Using Lexiles
- Time Scale
- Lexile Conversion Chart
- 21 Questions About a Book
- Rewarding Reading
Added benefits to help your school and community:
- Student Research
- Grant Writing with the Blue Ribbon Awards Collection (best utilization of resources, community outreach)
Explore America with the Blue Ribbon Awards Collection:
- Books On Tour Map and Guide
- Individual State Maps & Titles
- Social Studies Integration