Whooo's Reading

What do we like about Whooo's Reading?

However, some of the automated functions may interfere with a really tailored experience. The automatically created questions can be a little too broad, and the automatic scoring tool can occasionally reward responses that don't demonstrate a deep comprehension of a book.

Of course, teachers have the ability to change these grades, but this highlights the site's main flaw. This site works best when teachers add their own writing prompts or, better yet, let students generate their own book-specific questions based on the automatic features.

What skills does it improve?

It may, however, provide a more accurate picture of students' reading comprehension and growth. Furthermore, children are intelligent: they will be more interested if they believe their teachers intend to review their responses rather than relying on robots to grade them. Overall, this is a useful tool for developing close reading skills and encouraging passionate independent reading, particularly if teachers adjust the features to their students' needs.

What age is it appropriate for?

Whooo's Reading is best used in upper elementary and middle school; see the developer's three-week checklist for step-by-step instructions on how to integrate it into your classroom.

Is Whooo’s Reading free?

There's a free version, as well as silver and gold packages with a basic charge and a per-classroom fee.

Is Whooo’s Reading easy to use?

This can be a valuable tool for developing a classroom culture of active independent reading with a few smart changes on the side of teachers. Students are encouraged to read critically via open-ended questions, and sharing capabilities allow them to promote their favourite books to their peers.

How will students benefit?

Students can type or speak their comments, which is a useful option for students with poor typing skills or learning disabilities. Through their class shelf, students can see what other students are reading and receive book recommendations. Students earn coins for completing activities, which they may use to design their avatar in the app. 

How will teachers benefit?

Teachers create an account and a class roster to get started, and then customise open-ended questions for their students. Basic data on student reading and answers are available on the instructor dashboard; premium memberships provide further reporting and customization options.

How will parents benefit?

Also, because this is a browser-based application that requires internet connectivity, consider how you'll expect kids to log in and utilise it, particularly if they don't have dependable internet access at home.

What can Whooo’s Reading improve on?

For older students, avatars and awards may be unappealing, and auto-generated questions may be overly broad.

How much does Whooo’s Reading cost?

Take a look at the features of Whooo's Reading's paid and free editions to see which one best matches your classroom.

Final thoughts

This is an excellent resource for improving reading comprehension, writing skills, and student autonomy. While it isn't a replacement for teacher-led, book-specific activities, an emphasis on student-selected books and written answers can be a useful, complementary component of an independent reading programme. Whooo's Reading encourages kids to read more and to reflect deeply on what they read, especially for younger students. The main selling point is that this technique encourages students to think critically, analyse, and develop their ideas about what they read rather than using multiple-choice questions. Many other reading programmes clog things up with old books and a slew of knowledge-testing quizzes, but Whooo's Reading does so on purpose.