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Graphic organizers are proven scaffolds that help students visualize connections, organize complex information, and unlock the “why” behind the text. These are all important steps to support your students’ reading comprehension. Introducing ReadWorks Graphic Organizers! Use them alongside our library of high-quality passages to help students without the prep stress. Make Thinking VisibleWe’ve created a selection of different graphic organizers that can help your students activate knowledge and unlock their understanding of different kinds of texts. Use KWL Charts to activate students' prior knowledge before they tackle a text. Try Venn Diagrams to explore the relationships between ideas within or across passages. Support your students' understanding of important events with Cause & Effect or Sequencing organizers. Deepen student understanding and engagement with these graphic organizers today! Easy to Use Digitally or in PrintThe ReadWorks graphic organizers are interactive and contain fillable text fields. Students can type directly onto them and educators can set up organizers for the whole class before making copies (by adding the title or other labels). These graphic organizers can be used digitally or in print. For younger students, try our organizers with lines. Download your Free Digital Graphic Organizers to Deepen Understanding today:
Organizing Ideas
Understanding Text Structure
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Individualized instruction is the core of Special Education. Whether you are teaching in a resource classroom, or working with a small group or one-on-one, ReadWorks provides evidence-based reading interventions needed to meet diverse goals for special education (SPED) reading comprehension. We are thrilled to introduce this FREE SPED RESOURCE DOWNLOAD that organizes all of our resources designed for students with disabilities and ideas to help reach IEP goals all in one helpful guide. How to Use ReadWorks for DifferentiationDifferentiate Content: Don't spend hours manually rewriting passages. Use StepReads to provide more accessible versions of the same text. This allows you to scaffold all students towards grade level reading. Filtering for Student Interests: Use our advanced filters to find passages by Lexile level, grade, or topic. Readability Tools: Support students with visual impairments, dyslexia, and other disabilities using our student-facing features:
Digital Accessibility: Student facing features are built into each passage to support different types of learners.
Question Sets to Check for Understanding: Assess reading comprehension through question sets and the Book of Knowledge, both supported by various features like audio. Use the digital question sets for automated grading! ReadWorks Teacher Dashboard to Track Progress: Monitor students’ reading progress with automated data to bring to your next IEP meeting or quarterly progress report. Save hours on lesson prep. Support every learner.
Get your SPED Resource here! Celebrate Earth Day 2026 with ReadWorks: The Illustration Contest is Back—Now Bigger Than Ever!4/6/2026 Earth Day is one of our favorite times of year at ReadWorks. It is a moment when reading, creativity, and environmental awareness come together in powerful ways. We are proud to announce that the ReadWorks and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Earth Day Illustration Contest is back for 2026. This year, it is bigger and more inclusive than ever. By teacher demand, we have expanded the contest to include students in grades 2 through 8 and introduced a new special education category. These updates ensure that even more students can participate, engage, and shine.  How the Contest WorksThe heart of the contest remains the same. Students read high-quality nonfiction passages about wildlife, conservation, and our planet and then bring their learning to life through original illustrations. This year, students will explore topics such as:
Teachers, parents, or guardians can submit entries by April 24, 2026. Winners will be announced in May. What's New in 2026We listened to educators and made meaningful updates. 🆕 Expanded Grade Levels The contest now includes grades 2 through 8. This opens the door for middle school students to participate and deepen their engagement with science and literacy. 🆕 Special Education Category We are especially proud to introduce a dedicated special education category, created directly from teacher feedback. Educators can select the most appropriate grade-level passage for their students, making participation more accessible and inclusive. Every student deserves the opportunity to connect, create, and be celebrated. Looking Back: The Impact of the Last Two Years of the Earth Day ContestLast year’s contest was incredibly inspiring.
More than 4,000 student entries were submitted from classrooms across the country. Students demonstrated deep understanding of environmental topics through their art. Teachers reported high engagement, meaningful discussions, and excitement around reading. From endangered species to ocean ecosystems, students did not just read. They connected emotionally and creatively to what they learned. One student shared their hope that one day in the future the green sea turtle is safe. A teacher reflected on how the contest helped students bring what they learned to life through their art. These moments show why this contest matters. Students are not just learning facts. They are developing empathy, awareness, and a deeper connection to the world around them. See winner's from 2025 and 2024. Who will be next? 👉 Start exploring passages and submit your students’ entries today: https://about.readworks.org/earthday2026.html This month, we are introducing a new way to support ReadWorks’ mission, sharing how educators and students can join in for our Earth Day illustration contest, and showcasing how teachers can further support Spanish-speaking English language learners. As always, we are grateful to our donors who help support the teacher instruction that builds the knowledge and vocabulary that drive students’ reading comprehension. To donate to ReadWorks, click here.
Enhanced Support for Spanish-Speaking English Learners
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Now you can build background knowledge for your English Language Learners’ (ELLs) and English-proficient students simultaneously—without doubling your prep time! You can now use the Article-A-Day routine with ELLs alongside their English-proficient peers in any classroom setting. We’ve added a full-year Spanish-English Paired Text alignment for Grades 3, 4, and 5. This means every Article-A-Day set now includes a Spanish passage to build background knowledge before students tackle the English texts. ReadWorks Spanish-English Paired Texts support reading comprehension by helping learners make connections between Spanish- and English-language passages. They develop Spanish-speaking ELLs background knowledge on a topic in their home language before they read an English-language passage on a similar topic, easing language barriers. All pairs also use the same key vocabulary words in both articles.
Doing the Article-A-Day routine with aligned Spanish-English Paired Texts equips all students in a classroom with background knowledge on the same topic, regardless of differences in language proficiency. Additionally, it supports classroom discussion and oral language development, especially in blended classrooms. Best of all, this alignment doesn’t take additional planning time. Adjusting the Article-A-Day RoutineSupport your ELLs alongside their English-proficient peers with two simple adjustments to your existing Article-A-Day routine.
Check out the full routine and Scope & Sequence, here. Written by: Nathalie Karimian, Ed.D. ReadWorks Senior Content & Curricular Supports Manager |
