Many elementary schools have subscriptions to Reading A-Z, a resource that provides access to a wide variety of leveled books for students. Students can access the books on the Raz Kids website from school or home when given a login and password from their teacher.
One way for students who are blind or visually impaired to access this resource is using the Kids A-Z app on the iPad, which is free of charge to download.
Once the student is logged in (using login information provided by the classroom teacher), the student selects “Level Up!” to access the leveled books.
A variety of fiction and non-fiction books will be available to the student. (The level of books available to the student will be based on the level the classroom teacher has assigned to that student).
For each book there are three options: listen to the book, read the book, and take the quiz.
Important: The text in the “read the book” section is not accessible with voice over or the Refreshable Braille Display.
My students who are braille-readers use this app to listen to books and then take the comprehension quizzes. (This does not replace reading hard copy braille books; it is in addition to reading hard copy braille.)
One student uses this resource during her computer center in her 1st grade classroom in addition to using it at home once per week.
The Reading A-Z app will advance students to the next reading level when they have completed all 3 items for a certain number of books (listen, read, and quiz). However, if the student does not complete all 3 options, the classroom teacher can manually advance the student to the next level under the teacher login.
Overall, this app has been a great resource for accessing a variety of age appropriate fiction and non-fiction stories!
By Rachel Harris