What is Amplify reading?
Amplify is the new reading platform (the umbrella company) that the OJCS purchased licences for this year to use as a pilot project to enhance our current reading programs. We bought three programs for our school through Amplify, each explained below.
- mClass – DIBELS 8 assessment
- Boost Reading
- Boost Close Reading
Why did we choose Amplify?
It is the platform that most closely aligns with the evidence-based body of research referred to as the ‘Science of Reading’. The Science of Reading research shows the need for students to have word recognition skills (such as phonemic awareness, decoding skills through phonics, and reading fluency) and language comprehension (including knowledge of vocabulary, morphology, and syntax) in order to read and comprehend text.
Boost Close Reading is the reading program licence we purchased for our students in Grades 6-8. Boost Close Reading brings students through a dystopian world called The Last Reader. It was designed using foundational and research-based pedagogical strategies to grab students’ attention and teach them essential reading concepts and strategies for approaching complex texts. The driving principles are to:
- Employ a student-centred, interactive digital platform with timely feedback and formative assessment.
- Engage students with compelling storytelling in a powerful narrative.
- Target sophisticated reading skills that help students to dissect, consider, and construct their own argumentative and narrative texts.
The Last Readers draws students into a dystopian world where all instruction, practice, and embedded assessment is couched in a compelling story line and visually rich graphic novel universe. In many missions, students create content, such as propaganda messages, which will later appear in comics throughout the story. Additionally, students participate in a variety of “choose-your-own-adventure” interactions, giving them the opportunity to direct and influence the narrative.
Boost Close Reading teaches 22 units of different literary and informational topics and reading techniques, which offer students an opportunity to engage with complex texts in a deep and meaningful way. This skill is needed in all content areas. Each unit covers a different approach to engage with complex texts and includes content and topics that alternate between informational and literary concepts.
What will I see as a parent on report cards?
On the report card, I will share how your child is performing on a specific reading comprehension strategy by indicating the percentage score they received, and how this compares to the national average.