Six Ways We Boost Literacy Platform Usage and Engage Students

Key points:

I became a reading specialist in 2015, at which time our school's previous reading specialist was already using an online literacy platform. This was right around the time that a leading literacy provider was launching its new literacy program for struggling teen readers, so the following year I decided to integrate that program into our English curriculum.

As soon as we did the training for our new program, Lexia PowerUp Literacy, The teachers loved being able to see which students were working and which were not in the program. Plus, they had the resource center with everything in it, including all the lessons. At that time, teachers really began to understand the value of using the literacy tool.

Our county funded the purchase of our literacy program, and since our elementary schools were already using another program from our literacy partner, they were able to transition to the first as soon as they entered sixth grade. That's a big plus, because it's basically an “adult version” of a literacy platform they were already used to.

Six ways to boost the use of literacy platforms

We have almost 1,000 students here in grades 6-8, and they use the program every other day in their PACK class as part of our new 5-day/90-minute “Wit and Wisdom” curriculum program. Everyone is enrolled and students divide their time between math and reading.

Here are six ways we've been working to increase usage of our literacy platform:

1. Train all teachers. Like many school systems, Stafford County is struggling with staffing and teacher retention. This year we have so many long-term substitute teachers that we require them to also receive training for the literacy program. We also have PLCs where grade level teachers meet to discuss student progress. We had regular meetings with our representative and talked a lot about setting goals for both teachers and students. We had full staff meetings with our software vendor to make sure all of our teachers were well versed in the program.

2. Focus on more than minutes. We really pushed the minutes at the beginning. Then, when we had another meeting, we realized that we also needed to see progress in the units, and not just have the minutes. We started to see the minutes add up and we had kids with 383 minutes in “other,” which meant they were watching videos or just passing time. To solve the problem, we began preparing weekly morning announcements that revealed the top 10 grade level winners, both in minutes and units. That really helped, because the kids just wanted to see their names up there. They wanted to be in that top 10.

3. Give autonomy to students. Having an online literacy platform helps with students' self-esteem and independence, knowing that they have the power to make changes. They have the power to go in there and fill in the gaps they may have that prevent their reading comprehension. It seems like they know someone is watching and they want to do more. I love that about our platform. During the COVID-19 years, when teachers watched and commented because everything was virtual, students tried to log in and do more when they knew someone was watching.

4. Use the program as an intervention tool. Last year, all eight middle schools in our county had a reading strategies and skills class where everyone used our literacy platform. When class started, people kept asking me why our students were doing better than some of the other schools. Some directors thought they could put a sub in there every day and it would be cool, and as long as they logged in there, everything would happen. They didn't realize all the resources we have at our fingertips on the platform, including skill builders. When children are working, their teachers can see their progress (or lack thereof) and intervene as necessary.

5. Recognition is key. We have our own certificates and our platform awards certificates and badges as students achieve their goals. If they have finished a line, they get a badge. And if they finish two, they get the second badge. If they finish the entire program, they will be included in the Lightning Club. They give them a crown with a wolf (our mascot) and a lightning bolt. We always offer a great prize, which this year was lightning sunglasses. We encourage the kids who have finished to keep working, but we also give a lot of recognition to the students because they have worked so hard. Students who have completed even give advice to others on how to excel in the program, which is nice. It's part of the culture.

6. Involve parents. It is very important to make sure that all teachers tell students that “this is part of your instruction” and cannot be left out. Students should know that their teachers will see what they are doing, comment on their work, and help them when they have difficulties. We share the reports with parents and I think that's really powerful when we have a child who is struggling. We call their parents and I email them the report so they can see where the student is working. We tell you that the more time your child spends in this program, the better they will be and you will see them grow.

Success in numbers

Students who use PowerUp also earn higher scores on their NWEA® MAP Skills®, further demonstrating the value of augmenting literacy instruction with a robust, science-backed literacy platform. In fact, more than 70 percent of our students who used the literacy program finished the 2022-2023 year in intermediate or advanced zones in each of the three areas. Ninety percent of the students who used it finished the year in intermediate or advanced areas of comprehension.