Welcome to READ 180!

Dear families and friends of striving readers,Many students in our schools struggle with reading. According to The Nation’s Report Card, only a third of students are proficient readers. Learning to read is a complex and difficult challenge, and the literacy demands on children and young people in the twenty-first century are higher than ever.

Your student is using READ 180, a blended learning solution that pairs powerful adaptive technology with teacher-led instruction. READ 180 is designed to provide personalized, purposeful instruction to accelerate reading success. It provides individualized digital experiences that engage students and ensure the mastery of critical reading skills.

I know from personal experience as a parent and teacher that it's hard to see your child struggle with anything. Please know that all of us involved in the development of READ 180 used the best knowledge from research and classroom practice to create a program in service of your child's unique needs. We have tried to help students move from being struggling readers to becoming striving ones. We have used research in growth mindset to help students in READ 180 better understand how their brains work and to teach them that their reading can improve with effort.

We take our responsibility to students, their teachers, and you—their families and friends—very seriously. Let us partner with you to support your student. On this website you can find out more about READ 180, get ideas for how to help your student, and contact me with questions and comments. Learning to read is essential to success in school and in life, and READ 180 will help your child grow as a student and person.

Happy reading.

Francie Alexander
HMH Intervention Solutions Chief Academic Officer

Learn about the more than 15 years of research and proven results behind READ 180.

Here are some ways that you can support a growth mindset in your student to build their confidence, persistence, and success.

• Give growth mindset feedback. Praise or criticize the process, not the person. Focus on what your child can control, like effort or use of strategy, and not on what he or she can’t control, like being “gifted,” learning easily, or getting a perfect score. Make challenge seeking and diligent effort—rather than perfect scores—the goal.

• Talk about the value of mistakes as learning opportunities. Celebrate mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow. Ask your child to share his or her “best” mistake of the week with you and what he or she learned from it—and you do the same.
• Teach your child to recognize a “fixed mindset voice” and replace it with a “growth mindset voice.” If you hear your child say something using a fixed mindset voice like, “I’m just not a math person” or “That was easy for her because she’s smarter than me,” help him or her replace these thoughts with growth mindset statements like, “If I practice, I can get faster at this” or “This is hard—that means I can learn a lot from it.”
• Ask questions to help your child think and solve problems for himself or herself. Instead of telling your child how to solve a problem, ask questions to build your child’s problem-solving skills. For example, ask, “What strategies have you tried so far?” “Why do you think this is happening?” or “What could you try doing differently next time?”
• Be a growth mindset role model. Tell your child about mistakes you’ve made and what you’ve learned from them. Share an example of an instance when you struggled to learn something and succeeded through effort. Don’t put yourself down by saying you “can’t” or “never could” do something. Share the skills you still want to learn and how you are working to grow and improve yourself each day.

Show your child that your family cares about books and reading and has fun with it, too!

• Learn what subjects interest your child. Then bring home library books or subscribe to magazines based on his or her interests.
• Play games that are related to reading. Games such as Scrabble and Bingo allow your student to work on spelling skills while having fun. You can even find free online versions!
• Extend positive reading experiences. If your student enjoyed a book about space exploration, rent or stream a movie about the subject.
• Start a book club with your child. Read his or her assigned books and talk about them together.
• Model any reading for pleasure. Let your child see you reading. Talk about the book or article with enthusiasm.

Article: “Give Kids Their Reading Choice,” By Mary Seehafer Sears “There are no reluctant readers,” proclaims Lisa Von Drasek, the children’s librarian at Bank Street College of Education in New York, “just kids who haven’t found their choice yet.” Plug in to her way of thinking, and you’ll see your child’s relationship to reading in a whole new light. She suggests these strategies for your not-yet-passionate reader:

• Don’t pressure him or her to read a certain something. Let him or her choose what he or she is going to read. Some kids will devour a book about World War II. Others want The Sporting News or a teen magazine. “It’s not the amount your child reads. High interest is what matters,” says Von Drasek.
• Find out what others like. Read book reviews and booklists. This will give your child a chance to see what appeals to him or her. (Remember, to him or her, not to you.)
• Consider a book group. Ask your child if he or she would like to get together with some friends, or even family members, who like to read. Keep expectations low. Meeting even once is fine! See what works.
• Read everywhere. And read out loud! Have books, magazines, and newspapers on hand. Bookmark favorite online newspapers, magazines, and other websites. And encourage him or her to read the starting lineup, menus, maps, train schedules, tide tables, the crawl at the bottom of the TV screen, weather warnings, nutrition labels, billboards—you get the idea.
• Parents, make time to read. Don’t expect your child to read if he or she never sees you reading. Be excited about books. “After you brush your teeth every night,” says Von Drasek, “read for a while. It’s as easy as that.”
• Remember: listening is reading. Consider audiobooks. They are especially helpful to kids and teens who have trouble decoding the written word. The spoken word may spark an interest in looking at the book. You can also encourage your child to use audiobooks as they are used in the READ 180 classroom: follow along in a print copy of the book while listening to the audio narration. Many audiobooks can be downloaded right from the web onto your child’s MP3 player.
• Be prepared for surprises. Von Drasek encountered a seventh grader “who’d been tested, tested, tested. There was nothing wrong with him; he just hadn’t found anything he wanted to read. One day he spotted After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson on a shelf in my office. (It’s the story of three New York City girls who bond over their shared love of rapper Tupac Shakur’s music.) ‘Are they allowed to write about this?’ he asked in wonder, taking it down and glancing through it.” After a quick inspection, he decided to check it out. Hooray!
• Enjoy, then donate. Decide you’re going to invest a certain amount in some fun reading, and then donate these popular reads to your child’s school or public library for other kids to enjoy. “I only had to buy one of the last Harry Potter titles for the library,” recalls Von Drasek. “The rest were all donations.”

Helpful Links

Children’s Book Council http://www.cbcbooks.org/reading-lists/
If you’re looking for reading material, check out the Children’s Book Council. Search books by genre, theme, and more!

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) www.loc.gov/nls/
NLS is a free national library program of Braille and recorded materials for blind and physically handicapped children and adults.

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/
Discover the best books published each year for teens! YALSA’s book awards and selected booklists honor the best books for young adults.

Page by Page Books www.pagebypagebooks.com
Page by Page Books features hundreds of classic books—including The Time Machine by H.G. Wells and The Call of the Wild by Jack London—which you can read for free online.

Poets.org www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/58
This online resource, from the American Academy of Poets, features thousands of free poems and bibliographies of famous poets that you and your student can read.

At the end of a long, busy day, homework might be the last thing on your student’s mind. Help create an atmosphere for success by showing that you care that it gets done.

• Help your student stay organized by keeping track of due dates on a family calendar.
• Read—and reread—directions with your student. Often, homework confusion comes from not following instructions carefully.
• Limit or get rid of distractions. Studying is most effective with the TV, music, and phone turned off.
• Ask to read your student’s research papers. He or she will appreciate that you care.
• Create a comfortable spot for doing homework in your home. Make sure it’s stocked with pens, paper, a computer, and other necessary supplies.

Article:“MAKE ‘BORING’ Books Better” - Your student’s textbook can be a launchpad for innovative, independent learning. Your student comes home looking frustrated. It turns out that today’s homework assignment involves doing research—using an online encyclopedia, maybe. Or even just reading a chapter in that fat science or social studies textbook. Your student complains that the assignment is just too hard, maybe even impossible! And when you open the textbook, you also want to howl. Who wrote this stuff, anyway? Given the fix your student is in, it’s important that you not panic as well. Of course, anyone who’s struggled with a keyboard or a soccer ball knows the path to mastery can be a bumpy one without a good coach. These strategies, offered by teachers and reading specialists, can help smooth the way:

• Check the reading level. Many textbooks are not keyed to your student’s reading level. So what’s a parent to do? Try reading the chapter yourself, and talk about it with your student to help him or her grow more familiar with the topic. Pick out the key concepts and vocabulary, and have a conversation about them. Look up words in the dictionary together. Even better: try to find some angle of interest to your student.
• Make it easier. You can also help your student by introducing some easy books on the same topic to break the ice. Choosing a book with easier vocabulary makes the research rewarding—and helps him feel successful rather than frustrated. If you’re stumped for an easier alternative, ask your local librarian for help.
• Don’t play teacher. As your student struggles, it can be tempting to jump in and start acting like a teacher, poring over textbooks, hammering away at concepts and vocabulary. When you feel this urge coming on, resist it! Instead, take him or her to the library or bookstore. Talk about what interests you about the topic. Be supportive and encouraging. But don’t judge your student’s performance. Instead of asking, “What’s the main idea?” or “What did you learn?” you can ask your student, “What did you think of it?” or “Did you agree?” That way, you get him or her to think about it, but you are not evaluating him or her performance, like a teacher would.
• Show your student the shortcuts. Textbook editors provide a road map to reading for information; all you have to do is point it out. Help him or her recognize and use cues such as:
  • The table of contents
  • Key words in boldface type
  • Titles summarizing the main idea
  • Subtitles tracking the main points in the argument Focusing on these clues helps students learn to analyze and organize information.
  • Expose your student to the world. Reading sticks when students have more knowledge about the world. That’s because experiences provide a context for the words and ideas. A trip to the aquarium makes reading about sharks easier and more interesting. Talking about the organic fruits at the supermarket makes studying pesticides or pollution more relevant.

Helpful Links

SchoolFamily.com www.schoolfamily.com
Created for parent-teacher organizations (PTOs), this site includes grade-by-grade guides to school, homework help, printable activities, a Q&A forum, and more.

Family Education Network www.familyeducation.com/home
This website covers academics, life, and entertainment for students up to age 18. The site also includes many articles written specifically for parent education. In addition, there is an active message board where parents share advice.

Factmonster www.factmonster.com
This free reference site connects students with dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases and maps, and other online resources.

Yahoo! Study Zone kids.yahoo.com/learn
This browsable, searchable directory of Internet sites for kids is a useful tool for research projects and other homework assignments.

Merriam-Webster’s Word Central wordcentral.com
This Merriam-Webster site features a student dictionary, interactive word games, and homework help.

Learner’s Dictionary www.learnersdictionary.com
Merriam-Webster also features an American English Dictionary for English language learners. The online dictionary offers help with word usage and also features a grammar glossary.

Discovery Education www.discoveryeducation.com/students
Discovery Education offers free resources in subjects such as science, math, English, and social studies education

Technology can be a powerful tool in your child’s education. The Internet, audiobooks, and eBooks can allow your child to have fun while practicing reading, writing, and listening skills.

• Encourage your child to correspond with friends and family members who live far away through email.
• Play an audiobook during a long car trip. It’ll be entertaining, and the narrator will provide your child with a model of fluent reading.
• Scan the Internet with your child for the age-appropriate information about favorite sports stars, influential figures, current events, and topics of interest.
• Work with your child to start a family blog. You can write entries together.
• Introduce your child to eBooks as well as print books. The choices can help make diving into a book more exciting.

Article: Get the Picture - Use movies to help your child create mental models. It will help him or her tackle challenging books. READ 180 students are already familiar with the use of video to create mental models. Every time they begin a new topic segment in the READ 180 Student App , they watch a video. The video provides background information about the topic. Then they read short passages about the topic. And the video they just watched helps them to picture what they are reading about. As a parent, you can provide your child with a similar experience at home. Here are a few videos that may tie in with the material your child is learning at school:

• Winged Migration: In this film, airborne cameras track flocks of migrating birds. The narrator speaks over spectacular visuals. He describes migration in easy-to-understand terms.
• Families of Korea: This visit to South Korea focuses on the lives of two families. One lives on a farm. The other lives in a city. We watch them go about their everyday school and home activities. The differences between the two families are striking!
• Mad Hot Ballroom: This is the story of some New York City fifth graders who love to dance. They take ballroom dance classes. Then they compete in a citywide dance challenge. It is a great study of hard work, hopes, and dreams. It also shows how kids handle it when they don’t get the results they had hoped for.
• Dear America: These are video adaptations of a popular book series. They let your child experience American history. The stories are told through the eyes of kids and teens from various times and places.
• Royal Diaries: Imagine if you could read the private journal of a real-life teen queen! These videos are also adapted from books. They give a peek into the young lives of famous royalty. Subjects include Cleopatra and Elizabeth I.So go ahead. Pop some popcorn. Turn on a video. And start building mental models.

Helpful Links

Common Sense Media www.commonsensemedia.org
This website gives parent-focused reviews of the media kids and teens love. From movies to websites and games, you'll find information that will help your child make media choices.

OnGuard Online www.onguardonline.gov
his comprehensive site informs through articles, quizzes, and games. Get the latest information on the many positive and negative aspects of exploring online.

Project Gutenberg www.gutenberg.org
Project Gutenberg offers more than 36,000 ebooks—in various languages—which can be downloaded to a PC, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Android, or other portable device.

Kids Learn to Blog kidslearntoblog.com
his site, created by an educator in San Francisco, California, offers blogging information and lessons for kids under 13, as well as parents and teachers.

KIDS Learn Out Loud kids.learnoutloud.com
KIDS Learn Out Loud is a directory of audio and video content for kids and teens. You’ll find reviews of the latest audiobooks, as well as many free learning resources, MP3 audiobook downloads, and podcasts.

Yahoo! Kids kids.yahoo.com
This searchable directory of kid-friendly Internet sites provides links to stories about celebrities, athletes, movies, games, and more.

Sports Illustrated Kids www.sikids.com
If your child loves sports, suggest Sports Illustrated Kids. This site offers breaking sports news and athlete profiles, as well as fun games and contests.

Even though your own life is busy, keeping track of your student’s school life is critical to his or her success. Stay informed of what your student’s school has to offer, and take advantage of it.

• Read the school website. Many teachers post important information for parents on the site.
• Make sure your student gets plenty of sleep and eats a nutritious breakfast. It will help him stay alert during the day.
• Encourage your student to get involved with teams and clubs. It will help build her confidence and appeal to colleges.
• If your student is struggling with a class, don’t wait—call the teacher and discuss it.
• Be aware of graduation requirements. Make sure your student is on track.

Article:“Success Tips FROM A MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: A veteran educator offers advice on how to help your child succeed in middle school and beyond.” By Les Potter, EdD When children enter middle school and beyond, some parents begin to feel as if their help and support are no longer needed. So, they stop being actively involved in their child’s schooling and after-school activities. But your involvement is still very important during this time. As a middle school principal, a big part of my job is to help parents support their children emotionally as well as academically. Here is my best advice for parents:

• Help your student manage homework time. Encourage him or her to aim high and always do his or her best work. After your student has completed his or her homework, go over it with him or her, and discuss what he or she learned. If he or she has difficulties, encourage him or her to ask his teachers for help. Sometimes you may need to discuss difficulties with the teachers, too.
• Discuss ideas and feelings about school, studies, and activities. Be realistic about what your student can do. Don’t expect top grades or high test scores if he or she isn’t yet capable. That expectation will only cause frustration. If necessary, find out about the school’s tutoring program. Or, look into other forms of academic help.
• Be sure that your student attends school on a regular basis. Even if he or she is absent, he or she needs to keep up with his or her studies. Call the school if your student will be missing a day. And find out what he or she needs to do to make up for it.
• Encourage your student to pursue interests and make friends through after-school activities. But make sure he or she selects just a few activities so he or she has enough time for schoolwork.
• Know your student’s friends. Who does he or she hang out with? This is a wonderful time of his or her life, but you must be the adult and lead him or her through it.
• Encourage your student to get to know his or her counselor. The counselor will help him or her with his or her academic path. A counselor is also one of many potential adult role models for your student.
• Attend parent meetings, open houses, parent education groups, and other activities for parents. This is very important for your student!
• If you can, volunteer at school. Both your student and the school will benefit from your involvement. Schools solicit volunteers to help in a variety of ways, such as tutoring and helping out with field trips and activities.
• Hold regular family meetings. Talk over any concerns or problems that your student has.
• Acknowledge efforts at school. When your student works hard, reward him. Rewards and acknowledgment motivate him to keep doing his best. Kids love monetary rewards, but you don’t have to break the bank to reward your student. You can also try a special outing together, a favorite dinner, or something else unexpected but of value.

Helpful Links

US Department of Education Parents Channel www2.ed.gov/parents
This comprehensive site produced by the U.S. government contains information on extending learning at home, finding after-school care, accommodating special needs, considering college, and many more topics.

U.S. Department of Education en español www2.ed.gov/espanol/bienvenidos/es
Come to this portal for information in Spanish.The U.S. Department of Education has articles, videos, and weblinks in Spanish that will help you help your student succeed in school.

National Center for Learning Disabilities www.ncld.org
Parents of children with learning disabilities will find support and guidance here in the form of articles on parenting issues and also advocating for your student at school.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) www.bls.gov/k12
BLS describes the nature, preparation, and future of various jobs in relation to a school subject.

U.S. News: Best Colleges colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges
If your student is considering college, check out the “Best Colleges” report by U.S. News. Your student can use the site’s search tools to find a college that fits his or her learning style and interests. In addition, the site features information about scholarships, loans, and grants.

The Learning Community www.thelearningcommunity.us
The Learning Community is a nonprofit organization devoted to helping parents help their children succeed in school, and includes reading tips and test prep information, as well as social issues.

Your emotional support means everything to your student. Even when your student acts out or tests your limits, he or she is looking to you for guidance, love, and acceptance.

• Find out what your student is passionate about. Support his or her interests and help him or her select reading materials based on them.
• Compliment your student. Recognize any effort he or she has put into reading or studying.
• Cook meals together. It’ll be fun—and a great opportunity to build a healthy relationship, while doing some reading for information together.
• Ask your student for advice. He or she will enjoy the role reversal and it’ll show that you value his or her opinion.
• Work on being happy in your own life. You’ll be a role model for your student.

Article: “INTEGRATING READING INTO Everyday Life for Reluctant Readers Build language skills in ways that hardly seem like reading. Here’s how.” Read Funny Favorites : Share comics, articles, jokes, and stories that make you laugh with your student. Read them aloud during breakfast. Or make it an after-school ritual. Ask him or her to tell you funny anecdotes about his or her day.

• Based on the Book or the Movie It is great to give your student a book that inspired a movie he or she liked. But also give him or her books that are based on TV shows and movies he or she watches.
• Books A Plenty Have reading material available to your student wherever he or she goes. Keep books in every room of your home. Store magazines in the car. Bring a comic book for him or her to read while waiting in line.
• Read in Public Let your student see that you like to read for fun. It’s important to show that you enjoy reading and make time for it. It will show her that reading is a fun fundamental.
• Talk About TV and Movies Encourage your student to tell you about the movies or TV shows he watched. Have him retell the plot. And ask him to describe the characters. It will help build his sense of narrative and story, and his general comprehension skills
• Interactive Is Interesting Ask your student what subjects interest her. Then use the Internet to help her explore those topics. Try to find sites that include graphics or games and aren’t too text heavy.
• Get a Subscription Kids and teens enjoy getting mail. So get your student a subscription to a magazine. It will give him something to look forward to every month. And the idea that the magazine is just for him makes it more appealing to read.
• Go to Readings and Plays Show your student different ways to enjoy books. Take her to readings at your local library or bookstore. Or, go to the theater. Plays are great because they are a form of literature designed not to be read, but to be seen.

Introduce Pig Latin Teach your student to speak in Pig Latin. The idea of talking in code is appealing to kids and teens. And it will help develop his ability to mentally picture words, figure out how they are spelled, and rearrange the letters within them.

Helpful Links

Book Adventure www.bookadventure.com/Home.aspx
Book Adventure is a free reading motivation program for children in Grades K–8. Children create their own booklists from thousands of titles, take multiple-choice quizzes on the books they’ve read, and earn points and prizes for their literary achievements.

Boston Public Library: Teen Lounge www.bpl.org/teens
This site connects teens to online tutoring programs, book lists, a section called "What Other Teens Are Reading" and practice tests for the state’s standardized exams.

The Lexile Framework for Reading: Find a Book www.lexile.com/findabook
Find a book that matches your student’s reading level at the Lexile Framework for Reading website.

Read Write Think www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources
Read Write Think features many interactive activities to get kids excited about reading and writing, such as a “Comic Creator” that invites students to compose their own comic strips.

¡Colorín Colorado! www.colorincolorado.org/families
Offered in English and Spanish, this website provides parents with information on how to help their children become more successful students.

Reading Rocketswww.readingrockets.org
This website contains information for parents and educators on teaching reluctant readers to read.

PBS Kids: Share a Story pbskids.org/shareastory
This national literacy campaign is designed to inspire adults to help millions of children develop language and literacy skills through daily activities, including book reading, drawing, storytelling, rhyming, and singing.

LDONline www.ldonline.org/parents
This website offers many helpful articles for parents of children with reading disabilities. These articles include topics such as setting academic goals and maintaining reading skills over the summer break

FAQs

• 1. What is READ 180?
• 2. What happens during a READ 180 session?
• 3. What skills do students develop using READ 180?
• 4. How was READ 180 developed?
• 5. What are the benefits of READ 180?
• 6. What is a Lexile measure?
• 7. How is a READ 180 student's reading level determined?
• 8. How do Special Education students benefit from READ 180?
• 9. How do English Language Learners benefit from READ 180?