[Student Engagement] Practicing Literacy Skills Over Winter Break with Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress

Educators know that one of the best ways for students to become stronger readers is to practice every day. Don't let your students get out of the habit this holiday season; keep students reading over the winter break with our 2-in-1 literacy solution, Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress.

Reading Eggs - Grades Pre-K-2

Because students working in Reading Eggs move through their individualized My Lessons learning path at their own pace, keeping students learning over the break is simple. Encourage your learners to continue working on their lessons, and set a goal of how many lessons they should try to complete over the break. Some students are able to complete an entire lesson in 30 minutes or less, while others may take longer--keep this in mind when deciding how many lessons to require of your students. About 30 minutes of practice a day is a good guideline to follow.

For more advanced students who finish lessons quickly, encourage them to work in other areas of the program that are available to them as well, including Spelling Skills Bank, Storylands, Driving Tests, Puzzle Park, and Story Factory, or recommend books in the My Books to Read section. Remember: some areas of the program only become available once students have made it to a certain lesson.

Reading Eggspress - Grades 2-6

For students working in Reading Eggspress, one approach that you can take to keep them learning over the break is to simply have students complete a set number of lessons. This way, every student has individualized assignments tailored to his or her needs. To help mix things up, encourage students to read at least two books from the Reading Eggspress library, then take the associated quizzes for each of the books, and write reviews. Students will love getting to choose stories that interest them; just be sure that you have taught students how to self-select books appropriate for their reading levels.

Tip: Want to add a little extra fun to Reading Eggspress winter break homework? Schedule virtual "meet up" times for your students to log into the Reading Eggspress Stadium and compete against each other. If multiple students log in at the same time and select "VS the Class", they will be able to play against their classmates. Stadium games are a great way for students to practice spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and usage, and your students will enjoy getting to compete with their classmates outside of school.

Whether your students are working in Reading Eggs or Reading Eggspress, don't forget to celebrate their hard work! Reward students who complete their winter break work with a prize or invitation to a special celebration.

Looking for more ideas to keep your elementary students engaged and motivated to learn during the busy holiday season? Check out these three ideas to effectively use incentives in your classroom!