ReadWriteThink

ReadWriteThink is a free website for instructors that includes a resource library of literacy lessons, interactive exercises, and handouts. It was developed by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and is aligned with NCTE, International Reading Association (IRA), and Common Core standards, as appropriate. The site is designed for language arts teachers in grades K through 12. ReadWriteThink is one of our recommended best website for teachers.

The site is organized into the sections Classroom Resources, Professional Development, Videos, and Parent & Afterschool Resources. Each heading contains hundreds of unit plans, lesson plans, and activities, each divided by subject, learning objective, and grade level. While ReadWriteThink is focused primarily on language arts, materials for science, math, history, and life skills can be found here as well.

There are also over 50 interactives or Flash-based games and widgets for kids, everything from a "Book Cover Creator" to a "Theme Poems" game and more. Interactives can also be saved in case it takes a student more than one class period to finish. Lastly, a literacy calendar makes it easy to find important events in literary history, authors' birthdays, and different holidays (with resources attached to them) to make these special days relevant to students.

What do we like about Readwritethink?

The homepage features a rolling selection of featured resources, but most visitors will rely on the explore experience, which includes a set of filters on the left side of the site. Users can look for content based on their grade level, learning purpose, topic, and other criteria. The site also has navigation with three main sections: Classroom Resources, Professional Development, and Other Resources. Hundreds of unit plans, lesson plans, and activities are organised by topic, learning purpose, and/or grade level in the Classroom Resources section.

What skills does it improve?

English Language Arts, English-Language Learning, and Critical Thinking are the skills it improves. It also aids in the development of instructional materials and professional development.

What age is it appropriate for?

Readwritethink is appropriate for students of K-12 Grades. 

Is Readwritethink free?

The site is free to access, but NCTE members receive discounts on books and live events.

Is Readwritethink easy to use?

There's also a reading calendar that makes it simple to locate significant literary events, author birthdays, and various holidays (with resources attached to them). A meeting/events calendar, as well as a library of research-based resources, are available under the Professional Development area, which includes strategy guides that break down teaching tactics and their research support. Primary Sources, Booklists, Authors, assessments, Writing, Poetry, and Media Literacy are just a few of the topics covered in the Collections area.

How will students benefit?

Student tools and professional development are designed to boost student engagement with traditional material. Some resources are outdated, yet they are still valuable.

How will teachers benefit?

Language arts teachers will like ReadWriteThink. There's a tonne of high-quality, easily accessible stuff here, spanning grades and intended for both students and teachers. The lesson plans and activities are well-designed and foster deeper learning; nevertheless, many of the resources are PDFs, making remixing more difficult.

Lesson ideas, student handouts, interactive worksheets, and chances for teacher professional development are all available through ReadWriteThink. Everything is grouped by grade, topic, category, and learning objective filters, so you can quickly locate what you're looking for and see what standards it fulfils. If you require a thorough resource on a topic, you can update and download lesson plans. They also include a large number of visual organisers (printable and interactive) that may be added to a current curriculum.

How will parents benefit?

Deep learning and research-based approaches are encouraged through well-designed lesson plans and activities. Authors and their qualifications are featured in this resource and this motivates the parents to choose it for their kids. 

What can Readwritethink improve on?

While there are comments on resources, it does not appear that this function is fully exploited. It would be fantastic to see ReadWriteThink engage teachers more on the platform and encourage great debate and collaboration among educators. While the interactive resources are still relevant, they need to be updated and modernised.

How much does Readwritethink cost?

Readwritethink is free to use for students. 

Final thoughts

The area of professional development includes strategy recommendations as well as information on meetings and events. The approach guides are worth a look because they include teaching tactics as well as brief descriptions of the research that supports them. Asynchronous webinars, on the other hand, are a significant omission from this section.

Classroom-tested and evidence-based resources are available, with author bios and qualifications to back up that claim. To that end, ReadWriteThink wants all curricula to be reviewed by "at least two literacy educators," including NCTE members and professional educators, who have been vetted as literacy specialists.

You may also like:

Best Lesson Planning Websites