The Power of Project-Based Learning

Have you found yourself feeling a little stuck when it comes to delivering literacy instruction? If so, you are not alone. Helping students achieve literacy proficiency requires a delicate balance of research-based instruction, resources that build key foundational skills, such as fluency, and reading material that reinforces comprehension while keeping students engaged and appropriately challenged. Rather than going it alone, we’d like to show you how the Project-Based Learning Packs within Raz-Plus can act as your trusted companion to help you build these skills in addition to critical thinking, active learning, and more!

Reading Comprehension: A Sign of Success

Though not the only indication of reading proficiency, reading comprehension plays an important role in becoming a successful reader. Furthermore, cognitive studies show that there is a reciprocal relationship between reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, and background knowledge.

To strengthen all of these variables simultaneously, the Project-Based Learning Packs within Raz-Plus allow students to explore a variety of high-interest topics that center around a Driving Question. As students read many different types of nonfiction and fiction texts, books, and passages, they’ll gain exposure to a variety of genres and text types. This will help them acquire background knowledge about new topics and vocabulary words associated with these topics. Our Project-Based Learning Packs include titles about a wide variety of topics including:

As you can see, the content within our Project-Based Learning Packs covers high-interest science, social studies, and ELA topics, making it easier to strengthen reading skills and relate to the content area topics students are already learning about simultaneously.

Strengthening Literacy Using Collaboration

It is no secret that collaboration is a powerful tool for both students and teachers alike. This reigns true when it comes to the journey toward achieving literacy proficiency. Collaboration allows students to share their perspectives, learn from one another, and reinforce learned skills and knowledge through activities with other students.

Designed to help students become skilled readers, the Project-Based Learning Packs available within Raz-Plus encourage student collaboration in many ways. Once students have been introduced to the new concepts and vocabulary within the text, they are encouraged to form teams and share the information that they think will aid with answering the Driving Question. Then, students are able to decide on a presentation format from a list of options within the lesson, practice their speaking and listening skills that will be used to present the information about the driving question, and work together to present the information to their audience. This collaboration truly helps students refine key literacy skills while helping them find their voice, style, and love for reading and writing.

Learning at a Comfortable Pace

As you know, there are a plethora of skills involved in the act of reading, which is why it can feel like it is necessary to rapidly cover concepts. With the Project-Based Learning Packs within Raz-Plus, this is a thing of the past. With this solution, students are given ample time to read and reread texts, build vocabulary, and deepen their understanding of new topics, as instruction and learning are meant to span over an extended timeframe (10-20 days).

How to Use Our Project-Based Learning Packs

To help you get started, we’d like to show you how to optimally implement our Project-Based Learning Packs in the classroom.

Visit raz-plus.com to view this interactive graphic.

Collaborating to Develop Proficient Readers

Building proficient readers can be difficult, but with the right tool by your side, it won’t seem so overwhelming. The Project-Based Learning Packs within Raz-Plus possess all of the tools you need to reinforce reading comprehension, build content area knowledge, vocabulary, and developmental skills that form the foundation for reading success.