LightSail is a digital reading platform that promotes, progresses and assesses student learning. It uses eBooks specifically, so it can work on a large number of devices for maximum accessibility for students.
The idea is not just to give students access to digital reading options (although this works well) but to adapt, guide and evaluate in a way that truly accelerates students' reading ability.
Available in English and Spanish, with a huge digital library available, LightSail should become a highly accessible platform that most schools can invest in.
What is LightSail?
Light sailing is a digital library and literacy improvement platform designed specifically for schools and districts.
Thanks to a combination of a wide variety of reading options, integrated assessments, and teacher feedback, this can be a powerful way to help advance students' literacy.
This applies to grades K-12 and covers a wide range of Lexile measures. By incorporating assessments, this allows students to progress at a pace that suits their abilities and needs. This is something that both student and teacher can track for a team effort in reading progression.
How does LightSail work?
You can register for LightSail at the school or district level, providing access to over 6,000 titles in this digital library. Teachers can purchase more, add their own, and create content using the tools. Crucially, these have built-in assessments so that student progress is measurable.
Students earn points for their progress and teachers can see it on their dashboard. This makes the process not only supportive and adaptive in progression, but also fun and with feedback to help promote student engagement.
Since students can choose what they read, it can be a liberating experience. But with the ability to organize by Lexile score, grade, or fiction and nonfiction, it allows for exploration to keep students interested and engaged.
What are the best features of LightSail?
LightSail offers a really useful annotation system that works for both students and teachers. Part of the text can be highlighted and notes can be added, which is a great way to collect notes before writing an essay, for example.
Teachers can view and comment on student notes, allowing for open dialogue. Helpfully, these notes can be written or audio, allowing teachers to provide personalized feedback using their voice so that students can listen to it whenever they want.
LightSail is adaptive, so it automatically creates custom libraries for each student based on their reading ability. This is measured from the results of the comprehension exercises, carried out throughout the books. While ideal books are suggested, there are also some with enlightenment symbols, called Power Texts, that students can choose from if they want to take on greater challenges and potentially progress faster.
There are many reading customization options available, such as adjusting font size, highlighting, and more, which can make the experience comfortable and controlled for students.
All content and assessment activities are aligned to the Common Core Standards (CCSS), making this a really useful way to teach. Additionally, there are many support materials available for teachers, including lesson plans and videos.
How much does LightSail cost?
LightSail comes in a few tier options including Premium and Standard, as well as a selection of homeschool options. TO free A 30-day trial is also available.
School-based pricing is charged at a custom level, with all features included. Homeschool options are here:
He Standard plan, charged in $65/yearoffers you 20,000+ educational videos, 150+ library collections, 1,500+ audiobooks, 1,000+ live streams, 150+ data points, quotes, bookmarks, vocabulary, spelling, writing, grammar, and more.
go for it Premium level, at $99/year and you also get over 50,000 encyclopedia articles, over 10,000 biographies, 360-degree images, world book timelines and maps, and reading support for ADHD/dyslexia.
Top LightSail Tips and Tricks
Meet
Use Content Builder to add your own texts and assessments for personalized student learning; ideal for use with web articles, for added ease.
weekly update
Take digital progress and add it to the class wall so students can see how they are doing and where they are sitting in class that week.
Present the best
Have students give book reviews so others can know what good finds are worth looking for on their reading lists.
