Raz Kids

I am not sure how many of you have heard about this site, but I fell in love with it last year.  Raz kids is an online site that you can create a class roster, assign reading levels to each student, and you can track their progress.  Students can access their books online (at school or home) and complete each level.  They are also rewarded with points that go towards their spaceship (they absolutely love that part).  You can also see how much time the students spend on their spaceship and on their reading (this is very entertaining).  They can record their reading (which you can listen to and make notes using the program.... this part is super cute) and take a comprehension quiz when they are done.  This was a great tool to see if students really understood what they were reading, or if they were rushing.  One of my favorite features is that you can assign a specific reading to one student and award an individual student any amount of points. 

The only negative with this site is that you have to pay for it... the school I was at last year paid for each teacher to set it up as a trial run (you can sample the books and look at the comprehension questions on their website for free).  Depending upon their reviews they were considering keeping it as a school reading program.  The only thing I have left to figure out is if the teachers are able to transfer a student to a new teacher so that the new teacher can listen to their reading before the new school year starts (and not have to set up a new reading level for that student). 

Have any of you used this yet? If so what is your opinion?  Do you use a different system for encouraging students to read?

Tuesday Quote #2:
I want to add this quote to my organization board that will be above my teaching desk.  I love being weird different UNIQUE! It is what makes me ME.  This also reminds me of another quote that I pinned on my inspiration board. A friend may laugh at your silliness.. but a true friend will get up and join you.  Have a great TUESDAY!