Sunday, February 3, 2013

Raz-Kids

Raz-Kids.com is a great Web 2.0 tool for teachers of reading in the elementary grades. It allows teachers to create a customizable class reading page where students are able to read both fiction and nonfiction texts that are on their individualized reading level. Each teacher page has a maximum of 36 student pages. Each level consists of about 19-20 books. Students must listen to, read, and pass quizzes (except on the emergent level) on each book before they are able to move onto the following level. A task bar at the top f each student page allows the students to monitor their own progress. Students earn stars by completing activities. They are able to "spend" their stars to decorate their own Raz Rocket. It's a great site because students are able to work on it independently, it's customizable to meet each individual student and their level, and the levels correspond with the benchmark system used in Howard County. The only downside is that it's not a free site, but luckily my school pays for it! Below are some screenshots to help you get a better understanding of this website! Enjoy!!

 This is a screenshot of my class home screen. Each student clicks on their icon to access their books. As the teacher, I am able to download log-in cards which explain to their parents how to get to Raz-Kids and it has the student icon as well.

This is an example of one of my student's pages. At the top you can see the task bar and the number of stars she has earned. At the bottom, you can see a sample of some of the books. After this student reads a book, listens to a book, or passes a quiz on a book a green check mark will appear so the student is able to keep track of the tasks they have already completed.

This is an example of one of my students' Raz Rocket Room. Everything in the room the student has bought using stars he has earned by reading and taking quizzes!

6 comments:

  1. I know Raz-Kids was actually proposed to my Principal, but due to costs she was unable to purchase a subscription to Raz-Kids. I absolutely love the idea that students can independently read books on their level, both fiction and nonfiction. I also like the reward system in the Raz Rocket Room, allowing students to "purchase" personal items and really customize their reading experience.

    Are you able to use Raz-Kids in your classroom often? Or is this more for at home reading assignments? Or do you merely subscribe your students and remind parents of the tool?

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  2. Yeah, the cost is pretty steep. My school actually cut back on some of the spending by putting two teachers on one account. I use Raz-Kids in my classroom everyday. I implement the Daily 5 in my language arts block, and I use Raz-Kids as part of my "listening to reading". A lot of students do practice at home as well, and many of the parents have subscribed so they can monitor their child's progress as well! It really is a wonderful tool!

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  3. I love the idea of this website, as well! It seems like a such a powerful tool for students to be working with during independent reading rotations! I also like how the teacher can track the student progress. It seems very motivating for the students to be able to earn stars to buy items for their rocket.

    I was interested in finding out how much this site costs, but when I looked it up on http://www.learninga-z.com/faq.html I found that there is not a set price listed. I was directed to sign into my Reading A-Z account. When I did, it was listed that for a year 1 - 9 classrooms would be $89.95 per classroom and that
    10 - 49 classrooms would be $74.95 per classroom. I also found out that there are free books and quizzes to access on their website and a free 7 day trial available.

    Then, I started thinking that this might be something that my school could write a grant to obtain a subscription for classroom teachers. The biggest problem in my school is the accessibility to computers. Some of our primary teachers have a computer or two in their classroom, but most of us do not. Although we have a mobile netbook lab, I wonder if Raz Kids needs any plug ins to play flash files that the netbooks are not equiped with.

    Mandy- Have you tried Raz Kids on netbooks?

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  4. Hey Jess! It really is a great site. The prices you found were accurate for RazKids, it does get a bit confusing since it's all done through Learning A-Z. I haven't tried RazKids yet with the netbooks, I guess I'm one of the lucky teachers with access to two computers in my classroom. But, I can try it out and get back to you!!

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    1. Thanks! I am very curious if it will work on netbooks! I hope it does!!!

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  5. I absolutely LOVE this site! I think I will suggest this to my team next year. I love that you can assign specific books to students at their individual reading level. I also like that you can differentiate the activities that you assign your students. I wonder how effective this site would be if parents didn't have computers at home. Do students use this site in technology class? Our technology teacher always has our students go to sites that I suggest. - Amy

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