|
At ReadWorks, we believe that knowledge is a right! Every child deserves access to high-quality reading materials that build background knowledge, strengthen vocabulary, and ignite curiosity — no matter where they live or what resources their school may have.
That’s why all of our online reading passages and resources are completely free! Closing the Knowledge Gap Research shows that background knowledge and vocabulary are critical to reading comprehension — yet too many students, especially those in under-resourced communities, lack access to the kind of content-rich materials that support their learning. As a nonprofit, we're committed to closing that gap by making expertly curated, engaging reading passages accessible to all. We are particularly focused on reaching the 21,000+ schools that have an enrollment of 75% or more students who qualify for free and reduced lunch. Sometimes referred to as Title I schools. Learn more about our free online reading passages. Supporting Every Teacher, Every Classroom Teachers are the heart of education — but they shouldn’t have to spend valuable time searching for affordable, high-quality materials. Our library of over 6,000 free online reading passages spans a range of topics, grade levels, and languages, offering the tools to differentiate instruction and engage every student. We also support the professional development of teachers for free. Learn more about our free customized professional development and view our library of live or on-demand webinars. Research-Proven Every ReadWorks resource is backed by the latest research in the science of reading and written with care by experts. By offering our resources for free, we’re breaking down barriers to knowledge building that works. In just nine weeks a class of 4th graders improved knowledge by 11% after their teacher implemented the ReadWorks Article-A-Day routine. See the research brief. Our mission is powered by the belief that knowledge belongs to everyone. If you believe in the power of reading to transform lives, we invite you to explore our resources, share them with your community, and help us spread the word. Thank you to all of our donors and supporters for keeping ReadWorks free of charge!
2 Comments
 This March 8–15, 2025, the Special Olympics World Winter Games will unite 1,500 athletes from over 100 countries in the Piedmont Region of Italy. These inspiring games promote inclusivity, courage, and community for athletes with disabilities.
At ReadWorks, we’re proud to feature stories created in partnership with The International Quilt Museum like the The Special Olympics: Building Champions and Having Fun! — This passage is about a quilt that was created in 2010 to support free participation for athletes’ families. It is a great reading supplement for Social Studies: Sports, Health & Safety for grades 4,5,6 or 7. The audio support with this article helps support those who not at grade level or Lexile level 840L. Check out the virtual programs offered by the International Quilt Museum located in Lincoln Nebraska. Learn more about the athletes that are part of this big Special Olympics Winter, and build background knowledge and vocabulary with our ReadWorks article. Celebrate the power of sports, art, and education with ReadWorks!  In today’s increasingly multicultural and multilingual classrooms, the need for effective strategies to support English Language Learners (ELLs) has never been greater. In partnership with Vanderbilt University and talented Spanish-speaking authors, ReadWorks has released 65 new Spanish-English paired texts to bring together key areas of research to support teachers of English Language Learners. This offers a unique approach to fostering a more inclusive and effective educational environment by leveraging students' existing language skills to enhance their English reading comprehension. By integrating Spanish-language passages with corresponding English-language texts and comprehension questions, these resources build on the linguistic assets of Spanish-speaking students, making the process of learning English more accessible and effective. ReadWorks Spanish-English paired texts have three components:
ReadWorks Spanish-English Paired Texts stand out from other ELL resources because they are curated with students in mind:
Learn more about how to harness ReadWorks for ELL students at this August webinar! Bridging Languages: Harnessing Spanish-English Paired Texts for ELL Success Tuesday, August 20, 2024, 3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET This webinar is ideal for new and returning ReadWorks users with ELL students. Learn how to use ReadWorks new Spanish-English Paired Texts to build background knowledge and increase reading comprehension. Celebrate your new knowledge with a certificate of completion sent directly to your email address! Register Here Written by:Melissa Calder, Director of Marketing and Engagement, ReadWorks  Free Reading Materials Built to Fit Your Curriculum At ReadWorks, we believe in the power of accessible education for all, which is why we offer completely FREE reading comprehension resources designed for educators and students. Our extensive library includes thousands of high-quality, research-based articles across a range of topics and grade levels, all developed to boost literacy skills and foster a love of reading. Many of our texts are accompanied by a suite of tools, including vocabulary activities, comprehension questions, and digital supports, making it easy for teachers to supplement their lessons with these resources. With ReadWorks, educators can seamlessly integrate reading practice into their curriculum, ensuring every student has the opportunity to thrive. Increasing Background Knowledge Empowers Students Whether it be learning new concepts in science class or diving into history topics, students who have more background knowledge are better equipped to think critically and connect concepts across subjects. Background knowledge acts as a foundation upon which new information can be built. With this foundation, students can better interpret texts, grasp complex concepts, and engage in higher-order thinking. This prior knowledge helps bridge gaps in understanding, making new material easier to digest. Background knowledge not only enhances reading comprehension but also empowers students to become more confident and independent learners. By adding more reading into your curriculum, you can continue to empower your students to dive deeper into the themes and topics covered in each lesson.  Example of the 1st grade alignment for Amplify CKLA New ReadWorks Curriculum Alignments ReadWorks is excited to announce our expanded curriculum alignment offerings! Our team is constantly on the lookout for more ways to seamlessly weave our resources into educator lesson plans. Along with our Amplify CKLA and NGSS alignments, we now have three new curated alignments for these curricula: Picture this: you're diving into a unit on "Cinderella Around the World" and need that perfect supplementary text to engage your students. ReadWorks has got your back! Our new alignments feature high-quality texts matched to your curriculum, building student background knowledge around those important and interesting topics. These passages are grouped by grade and unit, ready to be digitally assigned, printed, or projected to the whole class. Each text comes with an interactive vocabulary activity and comprehension questions, so your students can dive even deeper into what they’re already learning in the classroom.  Example of the third, fourth and fifth grade ReadWorks alignment modules for EL Education. Don’t wait—hop over to our Alignments page and discover even more ways ReadWorks can support your classroom instruction! Written by: Caitlyn Meager, Content Development Specialist  What is Reading Comprehension? Reading comprehension is the ability to understand, interpret, and analyze written text. It involves not only decoding the words on the page but also grasping the meaning behind them, making inferences, and connecting the content to prior knowledge or other texts. Effective reading comprehension requires a combination of several skills, including:
Reading Comprehension Strategies ReadWorks resources are one hundred percent free! All you need is an email address to access more than 6,000 texts to use with reading comprehension strategies. Everything we create is built on the science of reading and promotes building background knowledge, growing vocabulary, and strengthening strategic reading. Our keystone comprehension strategy is Article-A-Day (AAD). It is a built-in program that takes a few minutes to set up for your child or student. It includes three to six reading passages for several core topics and your choice of inferring or express question sets. Research has shown that using AAD for at least 15 weeks of the school year significantly improves reading comprehension. See the research. Reading Comprehension Texts and Question Sets Our free reading comprehension texts and question sets can be used through printing or through a digital assignment. The very print-friendly Article-A-Day Sets with nonfiction decodables can be used as a reading comprehension worksheet. Testing students’ knowledge with question sets is helpful to understand what information was and wasn’t comprehended after reading the text. This can be helpful for a whole class, small group reading, or individual students who may have an IEP for reading. Kindergarten Reading Comprehension Exercises and Printable Worksheets Example: Shapes In Quilts Article-A-Day Set  First Grade Reading Comprehension Exercises and Printable Worksheets Example: All Sorts of Animals Article-A-Day Set  Second Grade Reading Comprehension Exercises and Printable Worksheets Example: All About Space Article-A-Day Set  Third Grade Reading Comprehension Exercises and Printable Worksheets Example: Helping Nature Itself Article-A-Day Set  Fourth Grade Reading Comprehension Exercises and Printable Worksheets Example: Medicinal Plants of Latin America Article-A-Day Set  Fifth Grade Reading Comprehension Exercises and Printable Worksheets Example: Sports Around The World Article-A-Day Set  Written by:Melissa Calder, Director of Marketing and Engagement |
RSS Feed 
