For a group of third- and fourth-graders at C.A. Tatum Jr. Elementary School, reading during spring break paid off big time, and not just in the skills that they gained.
Those who accumulated 400 minutes of reading in iReady also received a bicycle thanks to a donation from a community partner, Deloitte Big Give.
Deloitte Big Give, a program of the Deloitte Foundation, donated bikes, blankets, teddy bears, and backpacks stuffed with school supplies.
Renata Verástegui, a fourth grade teacher who led the spring break reading camp, said it was wonderful to see the students get rewarded because it was somewhat of a competition.
“We worked with the parents, and they were enthusiastic, too,” she said. “Students were able to bring their computers home with them during spring break and do both instruction and the fun part.”
Marisol González, who teaches third grade bilingual reading, started using iReady in August with after-school tutoring to help students practice and develop different skills to improve their reading foundations, comprehension, understanding different parts of the text, expanding vocabulary, and different subjects.
iReady offers the opportunity to go below grade level to meet the students where they are with lessons that help them develop skills by creating tracks that are unique to them based on their needs, González said.
It allows teachers to use lessons from lower grade levels to help students develop foundational skills when they are more than one grade level below expected, before moving up to the skills at the higher levels, Verástegui said.
“We have seen tremendous growth from the beginning of the year to now,” she said. “It’s also happening with the little ones.”
