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Helpful Tips

A few tips from teachers like you to help integrate Raz-Plus into your classroom.

Teacher Tip #1

Students can record themselves reading a book from their home computer. Have them record a favorite story with bells or dings to signal page turning (the Next button) and allow younger siblings to listen to the read-aloud while following along.

Teacher Tip #2

When students have read and listened to all books in their assignment/level, assign a running record for a Benchmark Book or Benchmark Passage to determine student accuracy and readiness to move to the next level. (If Raz-Plus is used during centers, have the student record their reading.)

Teacher Tip #3

Use the Assignment report to see at a glance how much of the current assignment a student has completed and whether it may be time to assess a student's reading progress.

Teacher Tip #4

Giving students access to the Reading Room will help build listening comprehension, increased awareness of differing text structures, and broader vocabulary as students listen to books at higher levels.

Teacher Tip #5

Play Raz-Plus songs on an interactive whiteboard during class transitions, and challenge students to be cleaned up and in their seats or in line before the song is complete.

Teacher Tip #6

Use the correlation chart to help determine which level of books to assign to a student based on their grade or known guided-reading level.

Teacher Tip #7

Include a date in a custom assignment title as a reminder of when a student was first given a particular assignment or when resources were updated.

Teacher Tip #8

Make folders for each level labeled with a large letter/color according to the level. Place worksheets for books at that level into each folder for independent student access.

Teacher Tip #9

Students only need the teacher username and their own password to access Raz-Plus from home. They don't need the teacher password, which would give them inappropriate access to the management tool.

Teacher Tip #10

To protect student privacy and display only the first letter of a student's last name, remember to check the box on your Roster.

Teacher Tip #11

Raz-Plus materials provide engaging at-home reading practice for students who are out of the classroom for long absences.

Teacher Tip #12

Students can access Raz-Plus to hear modeled fluency and practice reading from any computer with Internet access--at home, at the library, on wifi-enabled tablets ... anywhere.

Teacher Tip #13

Did you know that all the books on Raz-Kids and thousands of other resources can be downloaded and printed from Raz-Plus? Use eBooks with the printed books to model fluency for small-group instruction.

Teacher Tip #14

Did you know that our sister site, VocabularyA-Z supports the vocabulary from the online books with customized vocabulary lessons, word work activities, and assessments?

Teacher Tip #15

Add fun to Raz-Plus assignments by creating treasure hunts for each level. For example: Find two things you need to make salsa. (Making Salsa Level C); Find someone who gets lost at school. (Gordon Finds His Way Level G); Find the important person who had a pet raccoon. (White House Pets Level F)

Teacher Tip #16

Use Raz-Plus with ESL students to powerfully reinforce the connection between the written and spoken word.

Teacher Tip #17

Laminate lists of 'Room ___ Favorites' to help students make choices in the Reading Room.

Teacher Tip #18

Write students' names on plastic cups. Stack them on top of the computer in the classroom. The student whose cup is on top is "up" at the computer. Students can set a timer for a teacher-designated time and then move their cup to the bottom of the stack so the next student can take their turn.

Teacher Tip #19

Use Raz-Plus to model visualization. Play a Raz-Plus Listen eBook without allowing students to see the screen. Pause every few pages and have students sketch what "pops into their heads." Compare to the illustrator's pictures on a second read.

Teacher Tip #20

Use a Raz-Plus informational book to introduce students to an upcoming topic being studied in math, science, or social studies.

Teacher Tip #21

Challenge students to find and read a fiction book and a nonfiction book on a related topic as they browse in the Reading Room. Then bring the class together for a compare-and-contrast lesson.

Teacher Tip #22

Create an assignment with only the listen option for all books at the next higher level for a student. This allows the student to preview more challenging texts before he or she begins working at that level in their guided-reading group.

Teacher Tip #23

Did you know that students' reading comprehension can only be as strong as their listening comprehension? Occasionally, assign students the listen option and quiz for a given book to determine how strong their listening comprehension is at a given level.

Teacher Tip #24

Place a set of high-frequency word cards with targeted words from a given level at your computer station. Encourage beginning readers to practice the word cards as a follow-up activity to their time on the computer.

Teacher Tip #25

Be sure to tell students that they can use the Back button to listen to pages of a book again. They can also use the Pause and Play buttons to stop and start the narration.

Teacher Tip #26

Did you know that there are many books on Raz-Plus that relate to specific topics you may be teaching? Look for books on animals, insects, ocean life, weather, seasons, transportation, energy, sports, and many more.

Teacher Tip #27

Did you know that you can use the resources on Raz-Plus to support lessons on writing genres? Look for examples of expository, narrative, persuasive, and procedural writing.

Teacher Tip #28

Did you know that sister sites Sciencea-z.com and Vocabularya-z.com share some resources with Raz-Plus? Subscribe and explore the Learning A-Z Connections on both sites.

Teacher Tip #29

If you have a class web page, add a link to your Kids A-Z class log-in page.