Reading Resources

If you're like me, you're always on the lookout for new resources to keep students interested in reading. I've experienced firsthand how some reading programs and assessments have destroyed a child's interest in reading. It's not the student's fault; we as educators just need to find a way to show students a healthy balance between reading for leisure and for informational purposes. 

So I was so excited when Dr. McKinney shared with some of us a great tool. For those who have not heard of Epic!, it is somewhat similar to NewsELA. The platform offers free access to ebooks for a small fee, but access is free for all teachers. This includes those of us in student teaching. Basically, there are 814,965,341 (not really) books that you have instant access to. The great thing is that though the book is offered via a digital device, there are still pages that students can flip through when reading. The biggest complaint from me as a teacher when approaching ebooks is that students won't have the experience of flipping through a book, so this feature really excited me. 

Also, there are books on Epic! that you have probably heard of, and students will definitely be interested in. I almost fell out of my chair when I realized that the entire series of Big Nate was on there, because my 4th graders absolutely love that series. In addition to the ebooks, there are quizzes with each ebook that students can take after reading. I think this would be interesting to use to see if it could help students become more confident in both taking AR tests and reading in general. I have mixed emotions about AR as I feel like it teaches students the game of simply gaining points by reading books at the bottom of their level, so they're not trying to challenge themselves. I wonder if using Epic! quizzes in conjunction with AR would make them think differently. 

Literacy integrated into all of the content areas is so important, and I've quickly found out this semester through clinical experience that it is hands-down the most concentrated content area. I want to use this to my advantage and help students grow to love reading. It was one of my favorite subjects growing up, but my mom can testify that after about 6th grade, I probably haven't picked up a book for leisure since. Using Epic! is a connection to NCTCS Standard 1D (advocating for students), 3D (relevance), and 4C (variety of instructional methods). If I can get one student to read because they actually desire to, then I consider these efforts a success.