Achieve3000 is bringing teacher-led instruction to online classrooms in time for this year’s back-to-school season through a new partnership with Chicago’s rapping sensation Mr. Dwayne Reed, CEO of TeachMrReed. As educators and parents around the U.S. are raising increased concerns about the learning loss experienced due to the coronavirus pandemic, the partnership aims to reach students most in need of catching-up and getting back on track. Lessons will focus on teaching foundational literacy via Mr. Reed’s signature instructional style that engages students through music, a proven-effective method for enhanced literacy instruction (Kassel, 1997).
“The majority of online learning solutions are designed to provide opportunities to read or listen only. We wanted to do better than that. It’s more important than ever that we use every resource we can to keep kids excited about learning and provide the instructional resources teachers need to meet the increasing demands of their position,” said Mr. Kevin Baird, Achieve3000’s Chief Academic Officer.
Mr. Reed will facilitate complete, pre-recorded lessons that guide students through Achieve3000 Literacy’s original differentiated fiction stories. Each lesson will begin with students reading stories aloud along with Mr. Reed. Teachers can later access recordings of the students’ read-aloud sessions in order to evaluate pronunciation and provide personalized feedback for each student. Mr. Reed will then lead students through a series of word play games developed in partnership with Dr. Kay Stahl, Clinical Professor of Literacy for New York University. Finally, students will enjoy original instructional songs, including rap and other genres, performed by Mr. Reed before beginning their independent reading practice.
The lessons are designed to “make learning fun again” while helping older elementary school students access the foundational literacy skills, such as phonemic awareness, decoding, sight words, and fluency, that many struggling readers lack. “Songs and story-telling are the perfect mediums for teaching kids about language. Not only are they engaged, but songs naturally get kids listening, speaking, and reading all at the same time. This is a powerful combination, especially for students with learning challenges,” said Mr. Reed.
For more information about Achieve3000 please visit Achieve3000.com.
About Achieve3000
Achieve3000 delivers a comprehensive suite of digital solutions that significantly accelerate literacy growth and deepen learning across the content areas. Using personalized and differentiated solutions, Achieve3000 provides equity for remote and on-site instruction, enabling educators to help all students achieve accelerated growth. For more than four million students in grades PreK-12, Achieve3000 improves high-stakes test performance and drives college and career readiness.
