From Video to Reading: Building Background Knowledge That Sticks – 2026 ReadWorks Impact Story Contest Winner

My students love learning, but they come to me with very different starting points. Some have rich experiences and vocabulary. Others need more support building background knowledge before they can truly engage with text. That gap sometimes feels impossible to close.

When my students do not have the background knowledge, vocabulary or personal experiences that help them learn about new concepts, I love using ReadWorks to close those gaps. 

Let me give you a concrete example. I showed my students a video of baby sea turtles hatching and making their way to the ocean. They were captivated. But here's the thing: watching a video was only the beginning. They needed to read about it, to anchor those images in language and build real vocabulary and comprehension.

​That's where ReadWorks came in. I used the passage "Sea Turtles Find Their Beach" right after the video. The experience wasn't just something they watched—it became something they better understood.

One thing I appreciate about ReadWorks is that it is accessible to any student at any level. The differentiation built into ReadWorks meant every student could access that same passage at their level. My struggling readers got scaffolding. My advanced readers got challenge questions. Everyone was reading about sea turtles, AND everyone was learning.

And then—this is crucial—I got immediate feedback on their progress. I could see exactly which students understood the vocabulary, which ones grasped the concept, and which ones needed me right then. Not tomorrow. Right then.

So I could pull a small group aside and reteach. Or celebrate with a partner who nailed it. Or give independent practice to students who were ready. All in the same lesson.

That flexibility is everything. ReadWorks works in whole group. Small group. Partners. Independent work. And if I want to print it? I can. Not every family has technology at home, and that reality does not stop me as a teacher from utilizing ReadWorks for every student.

This is why keeping ReadWorks free matters so much. When resources like this are free, every teacher can use them. Not just teachers in well-funded districts. Every teacher gets access to passages that build vocabulary, reinforce science and social studies concepts, and develop real reading comprehension.

Every student gets a chance to grow and be successful—whether they're watching baby sea turtles or reading about them, whether they're in a wealthy suburb or an under-resourced school.

Written by: Roberta Shiver