Martin Street Public School in Milton started a new online reading program this year and the principal and staff say they have already seen improvements and a stronger desire from students to open books.

All grades in the school are using a web-based teaching tool called, Raz-Kids. The school pays an annual one-time fee for access to the website, which follows Ontario Ministry of Education curriculum requirements. Raz-Kids allows students to listen to fiction and non-fiction books, read aloud by recording their story, read with vocabulary and pronunciation support, and read without any kind of support. They choose books in the website’s ‘bookroom’ that matches a student's reading ability. Teachers can limit students to appropriate reading levels and specific books and track student reading progress.

The work completed by the students can be sent to the teacher’s account for review as if the tasks had been done in class. Students can practice reading to improve reading comprehension and reading fluency anywhere with Internet access.



Grade 3-4 teacher Chris Massey says he’s very impressed with the results students have achieved through the online program. He’s seen improved fluency and comprehension scores, and has noted some students have increased their reading skills by as many as two grade levels. Massey said students must complete assessments to test their knowledge and comprehension of the book they read before they can move up a level. They get the results right away.

“The great thing about the quiz is it won’t let them pass or graduate that book until they have at least 9 out of 10, which shows 90 per cent comprehension,” Massey explained. “It’s become so addictive, a lot of parents have to compete for computer time with their children. I think the greatest thing is it’s self-paced and they’re getting instantaneous feedback.”

The interactivity of Raz-Kids is an incentive for students, Massey says. They can listen to the book being read to them and they can pause and go backward to hear it again if they misunderstood something. Words are also highlighted each time they are read.

“They really have a lot of control over the book,” Massey says.

The Board is running a pilot program this year by paying for Grade 1 and Grade 2 in all elementary schools including combined Grades of 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 for access to Raz-Kids, says Veronica Purcell, the Board’s Literacy Coordinator for Kindergarten-Grade 12. Some schools have purchased additional licenses to use with grades other than Grades 1 and 2.

Even though Raz-Kids is American-based, it aligns with the Ontario Ministry of Education curriculum for reading for Grades 1-8.

Purcell explains the benefits of the program include improving students' reading by providing an engaging way to practice reading; providing an easily accessible library of leveled books to practice reading; providing software that allows students to record and listen to themselves read, which provides feedback to students to improve their ability; and supporting a seamless transition between home and school to access leveled books.

“Some of our schools had independently purchased licenses and told us about the improved reading results they had seen with students,” Purcell says. “We decided to do a pilot this year to see if it warranted system-wide support.”

Students love the web-based features of the online program.

Grade 3 student Bradley said Raz-Kids has made reading more fun. Students can read harder books to challenge themselves, he says. “It helps you remember and read.” 

“It’s good because it helps people sound out the words,” said Grade 4 student Kaitlyn, adding she likes using a computer to read, referring to the use of the mouse to click buttons on the website to choose books and turn the pages.

Martin Street Public School Principal Robert Hamilton said he wants to offer Raz-Kids again next year. He’s noticed students’ improved attitude toward reading “because kids are coming home wanting to get on the computer and do reading activities.”

“Technology is one of those things that hooks kids in so many different ways,” he says. “It’s so much more comprehensive than anything we’ve ever seen. It’s pretty rigorous in terms of the number of things students are required to do before they can go to another (reading) level.”

Older students use Raz-Kids for their Kindergarten reading buddies program, Hamilton noted.

“It fits in perfectly with our literacy program. It is good, quality, guided reading.”