ReadTheory - the right way

ReadTheory is a website that presents short texts to students accompanied by multiple choice questions. If the student fails, the system presents an easier text. If the student succeeds, the system presents more difficult texts. Logging in means you can store and track your progress. So far, so good. But ReadTheory really comes into its own as a tool for teachers to monitor students' progress and attainment.

I got into ReadTheory about 3 years ago and sadly, I made mistakes and missed opportunities to really get the most from the system. I was such a fool, doing it the wrong way. Here's how to do it the right way!

Step 1: Create your own account

Go to https://readtheory.org/app/sign-up/role and click "Teacher"

Then, if your institution uses Google, select "Sign in with Google". Otherwise, create a username and password.

Step 2: Create a classroom

Don't skip this stage! Create a class and make sure you check or uncheck the box beside "Some students in this class are under 13". You don't need to determine the grade at this point, but I think it's nice to fill in the name of your school.

Step 3: Add students

There are 2 ways to do this and I strongly recommend the "Send code" method if you have more than 5 or 6 students.

Step 4: Show the students how to create an account and join your class

If your school uses Google, get them to use their school Google accounts. It's very important that the students enter a valid email adress so they can reset their password later on. Also, make sure they choose a username that is recognisable and that they enter the correct class code.

Step 5: Set goals and deadlines for your students

Explain to the students that they'll need 15 minutes at a time to complete tests. When they complete a test, they earn "knowledge points". Set goals for your students such as, "Aim to earn 50 knowledge points today".

Step 6: Monitor your students using the "Progress Reports" tool. 

Using ReadTheory in Sweden

ReadTheory is aimed at students in the USA and the progress reports describe students' progress in relation to what they'd be expected to be reading at any given year in school (grade). The reports also descibe the Lexile level of the material the students have been working with.

Nobody seems to have done this before, so after hours of research, here's a rough comparison between ReadTheory progress report levels, CEFR and the common English language attainment levels in Swedish schools:

Grade (U.S.A.)	Age	Lexile band	CEFR	Swedish schools
0	3-6	0L-425L	A1
1	6–7		A2	Åk 6
2	7–8	450L-725L
3	8–9
4	9–10	645L-845L		Åk 9
5	10-11		B1
6	11–12	860L-1010L		Eng 5
7	12–13
8	13–14		B2	Eng 6
9	14–15	960L-1115L
10	15–16
11	16–17	1070L-1220L		Eng 7

Final thoughts

ReadTheory gets pretty boring after a while, so encourage students to work at it in short bursts rather than for hours on end. Give them goals and deadlines and create a bit of competition to make it more fun. Encourage your students because the effort they put in definitely pays off in terms of improved reading comprehension, vocabulary and production.