December 13, 2021 – Read to Lead, an ed-tech nonprofit that empowers middle school students to develop their literacy, life, and career skills through game-based learning, was recently announced as the winner of AT&T’s “Pitches With Purpose” Audience Choice Award. In the all-virtual “Shark Tank” style competition, AT&T invited the eight organizations from its 2021 graduating Accelerator class to pitch their business plans for a chance to win one of two $50,000 prizes. 

During the competition, Read to Lead secured the most votes for best pitch from AT&T employees, who recognized the nonprofit for its ability to create engaging and inclusive digital learning experiences that help narrow the homework gap and prepare students to thrive within and beyond the classroom.

Executive Director Christina Oliver’s winning pitch highlighted Read to Lead’s innovative approach to developing the next generation of readers and leaders through a suite of online learning games and experiences that combine reading, critical thinking, and career exploration. Read to Lead’s unique approach invites middle school students to become “the boss” in over 30 virtual workplaces, where they must read closely, think critically, and solve authentic workplace challenges. 

Throughout the 2021 AT&T Accelerator program, Read to Lead continued to scale its impact on the lives of middle school students and teachers nationwide, delivering diverse and culturally relevant learning experiences and stemming the tide of learning loss caused by the pandemic.

In reflecting on the program, Oliver shared, “The AT&T Accelerator has been an incredible learning experience. We are honored that our pitch was chosen among a cohort of amazing ed-tech leaders, and I am especially grateful for the relationships we have developed among the network of experts and founders. Their mentorship and support is making it possible to create a new generation of learning games and experiences that will ensure even more students nationwide build the literacy and social-emotional skills to succeed.” 

About Philanthropy & Social Innovation at AT&T

We’re committed to advancing education, creating opportunities, strengthening communities and improving lives. AT&T Connected Learning is a multi-year commitment to bridge the digital divide and narrow the homework gap, so today’s learners are connected with skills, resources, and opportunities for success in school and in life. Since 2008, we’ve committed over $600 million to programs that help millions of students across all 50 states and around the world, particularly those in underserved communities.

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What do our middle school readers need right now?

We want our 5-9 grade students to become flexible, resilient readers who read for pleasure as well as for academic purposes. At the same time, we want our students to be empathetic, curious, and confident leaders. A student who can read confidently, comprehend fully, and write clearly opens doors to worlds of discovery in science, literature, math, and history. But a student who can do all those things and can practice self-management, empathy, and make complex decisions — that’s the student that’s fully prepared for life after school. 

How can we best meet those needs?

With just 15-minutes a day of consistent skills-based learning, students will begin to build muscle — and not the kind you build in the gym! After all, why do we call it a Literacy Blitz? Its 15 intensive minutes of immersive game-play where your students will experience high engagement, rigorous standards-aligned content, and unparalleled achievement. In fact, after playing four Read to Lead reading games, students build the foundation to outperform reading expectations by 60%.

Why are our Literacy Blitz Bundles so effective?

The simplicity and predictability of the bundle frees the teacher from constant choreographing so that they have time to observe, to listen, to assess, and to teach into specific student needs. With a real-time student insights dashboard, teachers are able to know where each student stands and how to differentiate teaching.

How can you get started?

Easy, grab your free bundle, and sign up for a free Read to Lead account. 

Now… more about each bundle!

We’re focusing on the three skills our middle school students need to master most. While there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all classroom, so you can choose one or teach them all. The choice is yours! Each bundle is jam-packed with immersive learning games, activities, discussion prompts and more.

   Reading Comprehension

   Vocabulary Acquisition

   Social Emotional Learning 

Reading Comprehension Bundle: Analyze and Compare Texts

Reading Comprehension is when students are demonstrating a level of understanding of a text. This understanding comes from the interaction between the words that are written and how they trigger knowledge outside the text. 

In this bundle, we specifically tackle and achieve your classroom learning goals focused around the CCRA.R. 9 standard. Let your students dig deep by practicing analyzing and comparing multiple texts during their work day when they take on the role of the ‘boss’ at a community center.

 Get the bundle! 

Vocabulary Acquisition Bundle: Practice interpreting words and phrases

Vocabulary acquisition word knowledge is often linked to academic success. Students who possess large vocabularies can express their ideas better and understand new concepts more quickly than students with limited vocabularies. 

In this bundle, you’ll focus on anchor standard CCRA.R.4 to nurture and reinforce students’ vocabulary skill development. Students will play immersive learning games and participate in activities specifically designed to contain texts where students flex this skill when selecting words or phrases that suit a specific context or message. Bonus: Since students are deep in an immersive day at work, the experience is centered on real-world application and will even introduce industry-specific vocabulary. 

Get the bundle! 

Social Emotional Learning Bundle: Practice self-management skills

Everyday students endure various levels of stress and change, prompting the ongoing need to find programs and curriculum that helps them identify and manage their emotions. Building from the foundation of self-awareness, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines self-management as, “the ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations.

While Read to Lead covers many SEL competencies, in this bundle we’ll focus on students’ practicing self-management. Support students as they navigate their own complex emotions, learn healthy ways to manage stress and develop the agency needed to advocate for themselves. Encourage students when they play these learning games to set goals that are personally meaningful and define a plan to achieve them.

And that’s a wrap – three core bundles to help you streamline lesson planning and jump-start literacy skill-building this school year! 

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Going back to school for a fresh new year brings with it a ton of anticipation and excitement, but teachers are also worried about the COVID learning loss that our students may have experienced. And we’re not necessarily talking about traditional learning. 

While getting kids back on track with standards-based skills is important, it’s also critical to recognize that our students missed out on more than just reading, writing, math, and science. Our students missed out on in-person social interactions with peers, celebrating achievements as a class, and setting daily routines.

At Read to Lead, we’re all about whole-child development – that’s why we’ve put together three recommendations to integrate social emotional learning (SEL) into your middle school classroom!

First though, what is social-emotional learning? Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the process of developing the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for school, work, and life success. The CASEL framework tells us that students with strong social-emotional skills are better able to cope with everyday challenges and benefit academically, professionally, and socially. 

So, how can you weave social-emotional learning into your class this year? 

Focus on Building Relationships

Relationships are the foundation of success. For students who have spent the better part of the year behind a screen, forming and maintaining relationships may be something they need to work on. Start the year off strong by allowing students to set goals for themselves, and not just target grades in each subject. Encourage them to set goals for their own personal development, and get them to share it with you and their peers to set that foundation of building relationships with others.

Another way to help students build relationships is to let them help each other with projects or assignments. Introduce more project-based learning, or use the jigsaw technique in your classroom to give students more opportunities to interact and bond with each other. And as a bonus, students will LOVE you for letting them partner up with their buddies to work on tough tasks!

Facilitate Culturally Relevant and Diverse Learning Experiences

What better way to cultivate key SEL skills like social awareness, relationship building, and responsible decision-making than by facilitating culturally relevant and diverse learning experiences in the classroom? Sounds like a challenge? It doesn’t have to be!

Choose novels that feature diverse characters of different backgrounds for students to read and discuss in class – and if you need some ideas, check out our recommendations for 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grade! Set time aside for student-led discussions about topics they are interested in, and care about – and then encourage them to put their ideas into action in the real world.

Read to Lead’s online learning games are also an excellent addition to your middle school classroom. Students get to lead a diverse team and interact with a variety of characters in unique workplace settings. Each learning game has accompanying discussion questions that can be used for small-group or class activities, and each series offers a culminating project for students to work on as well. All this while having fun AND boosting students’ literacy as they read 5,000 words per game they play!

Adapt as You Go

This new school year won’t be like others. You may find that the usual scope and sequence may not be relevant, or that students are coming in at different levels. Adapting as you go will be key to supporting your students and helping them succeed – and this applies to SEL as well!

What will help in adapting and maintaining a fluid mentality to the year is using tools and resources that will do reporting and insight gathering in real-time so you can have a pulse on where each student stands in their learning. 

Read to Lead, for example, has formative assessments and real-time reporting so you can instantly see how each child is performing and the areas they need a little extra help in. Perhaps Ethan needs a helping hand in critical reading, or Sophia could use some extra practice with communicating clearly. Differentiating learning according to students’ strengths and weaknesses will go a long way addressing the gaps that may have formed in the past few months. Finding the right tools to empower your teaching style will support you in reaching every student. 

Are you ready to nurture the leaders of tomorrow and equip them with the SEL skills they need to succeed? Sign up for free with Read to Lead!

The post 3 SEL Activities for Middle School appeared first on Read to Lead.

A McKinsey study shows that learning loss because of school closures during the pandemic is significant. Experts also estimate that students may have lost one-and-a-half months of learning in reading, and this learning loss is more pronounced among students of color.

So how can we engage our students while helping them play catchup and overcome COVID Slide? 

We’ve put together 3 tips on how to introduce Read to Lead to your classroom to engage students, re-ignite deep learning AND combat time away from the classroom!

Tip 1: Spark Students’ Interest

Student engagement starts with interest. That’s why the first step to tackling COVID learning loss is sparking students’ interest in learning again. One simple way to do that is to put them in the driver’s seat to take control of their own learning – and what better way to boost student agency than by making them the protagonist of their own story? That’s exactly what Read to Lead’s learning games allow students to do.

Read to Lead lets students “be the boss” in different virtual workplace scenarios. The games are set in culturally relevant, rigorous, and immersive learning contexts, featuring diverse characters in a variety of professions. This provides students with a fresh perspective that is sure to reignite their interest in learning.

Tip 2: Use Content that is Designed to State Standards 

The second step is integrating learning experiences that are aligned to State Standards into the curriculum so that students can get back on track with learning. Middle school teachers – look no further than Read to Lead games!

Community in Crisis (Grades 5-6), Vital Signs (Grades 6-8) and After the Storm (Grades 7-9) are all designed to Common Core Reading Standards and support CASEL SEL Competencies. Educators have found that using Read to Lead helped improve their students’ vocabulary development greatly, and helped them prepare for state assessments. 

The detailed Performance Reports that are available on the platform are also a handy tool for teachers to keep track of students progress toward specific learning goals (and jump in with a little extra help where needed)!

Tip 3: Let Students Set the Pace

Differentiated learning is going to be key this year, as students are going to return to classes at all different levels. Allowing students to go at their own pace is important to helping them overcome COVID slide without becoming overwhelmed.

No matter what level your students are at, Read to Lead is flexible enough for you to be able to differentiate learning. Its adaptive technology modifies assessments based on students’ performance within the platform. The platform also provides instant feedback on students’ progress, celebrating their wins and motivating them to excel!

Tackling COVID Slide is definitely one of the challenges we will be facing in the new school year. But with the right tools getting students caught up and set up for success in the new school year can be a fun, enriching, and engaging experience. 

Sign up for a free Read to Lead account to get started!
Source, Source

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Whether you are teaching summer school, tutoring, running a summer program, or are a parent looking to keep your student productive this summer, we’ve got you!

Research tells us that when we utilize summertime to re-engage students social-emotionally, there is a better chance to mediate some of the summer learning loss. Overall, consistent summer learning experiences can help close opportunity gaps, lead to higher graduation rates, and increase college readiness in students. But motivating students to participate in any type of summer program can be a struggle, especially when the summer program isn’t 100% recreational. So how can you inspire and encourage your students to dedicate some of their vacation time to further their knowledge while making them feel like they aren’t back in the classroom?

Get hands-on!

“Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I’ll remember. Involve me, I’ll understand.” – Chinese Proverb

Summer is an excellent time for students to get involved in hands-on, project-based learning where they can express their creativity and solidify key concepts they have learned during the school year. Read to Lead provides project-based learning through enrichment projects and activities. Students can work individually or collaboratively to gain teamwork, leadership, life, and career skills while understanding the value of what they are learning in the classroom. 

For students who are visual, auditory, or tactile learners, this can be an opportunity to pursue non-traditional forms of education beyond just textbooks and blackboards. Providing students with avenues to pursue their strengths and interests will inspire them to participate actively in summer programs.

Connect the dots between school and real-life

Schools were created with the intention of preparing students for life. However, as the focus in schools has increasingly shifted to producing good test scores and other arbitrary indicators, more and more students are becoming disillusioned with school – and its relevance to life after graduation. A survey from YouthTruth found that only 54% of middle school and 46% of high school students found what they were learning in school to be relevant to their lives. 

Luckily, technology can help bridge this gap. Educators and parents can take advantage of resources like Read to Lead, a free game-based learning platform that allows students to improve literacy and leadership skills while exploring various career options. By putting students in the role of “the boss” in a virtual workplace scenario, they learn valuable life skills and are able to see the connection between what they learn in school and their future careers. When using Read to Lead, 89% of teachers report that the game helps students connect reading, writing, and verbal communication skills learned in school to real-world careers.

Bonus – connect the dots even further and use any one of Read to Lead’s enrichment projects to spark engagement with your students this summer.  Let them discover that what they learned this past year during in-person, hybrid, or remote school applies to any situation happening in the world around them. Allow students to create a public service announcement or develop a service plan to address a problem in the community.  Any one of these enrichment projects make for great summertime activities and will help students connect the dots through real-world applications. 

Challenge students to read for just 15 minutes a day

Literacy is the foundation of all learning, but fostering a love for reading isn’t easy.  In Read to Lead’s engaging learning games, students read 5K words in each game, are introduced to new vocabulary, read closely, and solve complex problems – but they don’t feel like they are reading! When playing Read to Lead, 88% of teachers reported improvements in students’ performance on other reading and writing assessments, as students were able to transfer skills learned through the game to other ELA tasks. Not only that, but 94% of teachers reported that students gained confidence in reading after using Read to Lead! So while students are immersed in game-play, they are developing key foundational skills they could not obtain by reading a traditional summer-reading novel. 

Motivating students to participate in summer programs is the first step to ensuring that students have a fruitful summer that contributes to their long-term educational and career success. Ready to empower your students over the summer or in the next school year?  Sign up for a free account and get started!

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