The Reading Room in Raz-Plus and Raz-Kids is getting an updated experience that makes it easier for students to discover books, explore their interests, and read widely.
The Reading Room will now focus on grade-level texts and Books by Topic, giving students more opportunities for choice and independent reading while continuing to give teachers control over their students’ reading experience.
What’s Changing in the Reading Room?
The Reading Room is moving from an experience organized around leveled texts to one centered on grade-level texts and topics.
Students will:
Explore Books by Topic rather than Books by Level.
Have access to books at their current grade level, one grade level below, and one grade level above by default.
Discover books based on their interests and topics, encouraging choice and independent reading.
Have access to a deep library of grade-level texts across subjects and content areas.
As part of this update:
The Leveled Books section will no longer appear in the Reading Room.
The Rainbow Levels bar will no longer appear on Reading Room pages.
Reading level indicators will no longer be displayed in the Reading Room.
What about the books that were in Leveled Books?
No books are being removed from the library.
Books previously available in the Leveled Books section can still be found in other areas of the Reading Room. The change is to how students discover and access books, not to the availability of the library.
What Will Students Experience?
The updated Reading Room is designed to make it easier for students to find books they want to read while keeping grade-level content at the center of their experience.
Students can:
Explore topics that interest them.
Choose from a wide variety of grade-level texts.
Read across different subjects and content areas.
Explore books slightly below and above their current grade level.
Build reading volume through greater choice and discovery.
This approach encourages students to become more independent, engaged, and active readers.
What Stays the Same for Teachers?
Teachers will continue to have the ability to customize the Reading Room for their students.
The main change to the Reading Room settings is the default text complexity range. By default, students will have access to texts one grade level below through one grade level above their current grade level.
Teachers can still modify the grade range and other Reading Room settings as needed to support their students.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Reading Room still customizable by teachers?
Yes. Teachers can continue to customize the Reading Room.
The default text complexity range will be one grade level below through one grade level above the student’s current grade level, but teachers can adjust the settings as needed.
Will students lose access to books?
No. The library of books is not being reduced.
Books that were previously available in the Leveled Books section can still be found in other areas of the Reading Room, including Books by Topic.
Why was the Leveled Books section removed?
The Reading Room is shifting from a focus on leveled texts to a focus on grade-level texts.
This makes grade level and topic the primary ways students discover books and encourages them to explore their interests, read widely, and build reading volume.
Will students still see their reading levels in the Reading Room?
No. Reading level indicators will no longer appear in the Reading Room.
The Rainbow Levels bar and other indications of students’ reading levels will be removed so the Reading Room can focus on grade-level reading, student choice, and exploration.