CommonLit is a digital literacy platform that provides curriculum-aligned instruction and evaluations for learners.
Designed to cater to a diverse student population, spanning from the 3rd to the 12th grade, this program encompasses a significant breadth of reading development. It features an extensive assortment of graded reading materials of different genres, which are accessible at no cost.
Constructed in alignment with common-core guidelines, this has the potential to be a valuable addition to a teacher’s existing repertoire of resources. Additionally, it offers students an opportunity to engage in self-paced learning beyond the confines of the classroom.
The layout is straightforward and user-friendly, packed with substantial material, making it an attractive method to draw students into the act of reading.
So is CommonLit for you?
What Exactly is CommonLit?
CommonLit It is an online platform that facilitates the instruction and improvement of literacy abilities. This implies it provides an extensive range of reading materials and evaluation instruments that are in line with Common Core educational standards.
CommonLit is accessible online and compatible with a variety of devices. Its content is organized efficiently and displayed in a user-friendly manner, which simplifies the process of finding and exploring materials, making it straightforward for students of all ages.
A variety of texts including news pieces, short fiction, poetry, and documents from the past are provided. There is a collection of handpicked texts as well, which is sorted according to different eras in literature or history, proving to be extremely useful for educational purposes.
Multiple language options are provided, in addition to voice recognition capabilities, which assist in expanding the accessibility of the texts to a diverse student audience.
How Does CommonLit Works?
CommonLit provides a variety of search options, including the ability to look through different categories and a dedicated section for Themes. Furthermore, you have the flexibility to refine your search based on criteria like grade levels, gender focus, lexile range, among other features. Additionally, you can directly search for a particular book title if you already have one in mind.
After locating the piece you’re interested in, click on the title to navigate to the introductory page. On this page, you can choose to start reading immediately, opt for the text-to-speech feature, or translate the content into a different language. Additionally, if you prefer to read without an internet connection or wish to keep the material for future reference, you have the option to download it as a PDF file.
At the top, there are tabs that offer additional materials such as a guide for teachers, one for parents, related multimedia content, and texts that complement each other. You have the ability to change the text size for better readability and bookmark content for future reference. There’s also a sharing feature, which is perfect for educators looking to provide particular materials to the entire class, smaller groups, or select students.
Written materials often include pictures that are embedded within the text or placed alongside it. These images are typically of a set size and can be viewed without needing a high-speed internet connection or consuming significant amounts of data.
What Are The Best Things About CommonLit?
CommonLit provides instant access to text translations in over 13 languages, encompassing Spanish, Arabic, and Russian, among others. Conveniently, each section of text includes integrated annotations, enabling students to easily look up word definitions with a simple click. Additionally, there is the capability for users to add personal annotations, which is incredibly beneficial for providing specific guidance or directions to students.
CommonLit provides a range of assessments that accompany the reading materials, suitable for different proficiency levels, complete with directions and conversational prompts. The assessments consist of distinct formats such as multiple-choice and short response questions designed to gauge the students’ comprehension. Additionally, there are directing questions which can be either activated or deactivated, and these questions require correct responses from students for them to move forward in the material.
Providing additional reading materials and related resources is an excellent method for enhancing learning about a topic, as well as for giving students material to read outside of the classroom.
Platforms like Google Classroom and Clever simplify the student login process. However, many advanced features are reserved for their paid premium packages. More details on this will follow.
What is The Cost of CommonLit?
CommonLit is available in several versions, including a no-cost version and subscription-based premium levels.
The Free Membership encompasses access to both the CommonLit Digital Library and the comprehensive CommonLit 360 Curriculum.
The Essentials plan, at $2,000 per school Provides you with all the aforementioned benefits as well as beginner-friendly webinars, prioritized customer assistance, integration with ClassLink and Clever for roster management, and access to professional development resources whenever you need them.
The Essential Pro tier, at $3,250 per school Grants access to everything previously mentioned as well as the CommonLit Assessment Series, integration with Canvas, and data insights for administrators.
Go for the Essential Pro Plus package, at $5,500 per school Additionally, included with the package are biannual virtual personal development and consultancy sessions, as well as comprehensive skills evaluations every quarter.
CommonLit Tips and Tricks
Use the themes
Explore a central topic within a single lesson or throughout an entire week, delving into subjects like Family, America, Prejudice and Discrimination, Resilience, among others.
Use Text Set
Choose the Text Set functionality which provides 50 different selections sorted by historical era, literary trends, among other categories, to organize assignments for the students.
Annotate
Encourage students to utilize the annotation feature to offer comments and point out questions that require your attention in the classroom, allowing you to provide assistance.
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