Using Raz-Plus to Engage All Learning Styles

Support All Learners, Including Those With Special Education Needs

When I was working as a special education teacher, one of the biggest challenges I faced every day was meeting the needs of all my learners. Making sure I addressed their identified goals was one thing, but doing so in a way that spoke to each of their individual learning styles and strengths was an entirely different obstacle. The class size, amount of time, available resources, and support staff I had on any given day had a huge impact on the nature and delivery of my instruction.

I often wished I had a curriculum that was flexible enough to support each day’s ever-changing environment and situation. Ideally, such a curriculum would promote varied instruction, elevate student confidence, and support student engagement while simultaneously addressing their individualized goals.

As teachers, we know there is always more than one way to learn a concept or solve a problem. What makes sense to one student may not make sense to another. Having an instructional toolbox filled with multiple options, strategies, and examples for students can greatly increase the likelihood of student learning.

For me, finding Raz-Plus was like winning the lottery. I quickly found that I could create any scenario, including variations in class size, learning styles, room setup, time limit, tech availability, staff number, etc.—and Raz-Plus would present not just one but several solutions that were all fun, meaningful, and engaging for students.

Thoughtfully designed to be flexible, dynamic, interactive, and self-paced, Raz-Plus resources support students with special needs by addressing all academic learning standards and educational goals while servicing different learning styles and multiple intelligence types. Whether individualized learning needs are visual, auditory, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, or a combination of several, Raz-Plus resources effectively serve them.

Take a look at some of the many scenarios teachers face each day and the ways Raz-Plus provides a one-stop solution for your learners:

• Have just a few computers or tablets in the classroom OR have a one-to-one setup? Raz-Plus resources come in printable, projectable, online, and mobile formats to support any classroom setup.
• Learn by doing? Engage a whole class or a small group with Project-Based Learning Packs, Reader’s Theater Scripts, Alphabet Chants, and more.
• Comprehend best in a quiet space? Students can learn from an iPad or computer with a pair of headphones, so they can focus independently.
• Need visual supports to make the connection? Interact with Diagrams, Graphic Organizers, Visual Devices, or one of over 2,500 books that offer engaging visuals to support student learning.
• Have specific learning gaps? Search for resources in the Foundational Skills tab, Reading Skills tab or even search by your state’s ELA standards to be paired with correlated resources at the click of a button. Raz-Plus also correlates with many popular core curriculum programs to help fill gaps in student learning.
• Benefit from repetition and practice? Check out the foundational skill flashcards, send printed books home with students, or choose one of the many engaging activities for your students to practice their learning.
• Grasp concepts best when paired with something that you’re familiar with or that interests you? Use the search tab to specify what you’re looking for, try the Themed Nonfiction Series to differentiate by student interest, or have students explore their reading library on the Kids A-Z student portal.
• Learn best by working with others? Try Literature Circles, Close Reading Packs and Passages, or one of many Learning Centers to support student collaboration and critical thinking skills.
• Need self-paced learning environments? Assign resources to students online so they can take their time, reread parts of a story, listen to books first with the natural-voice audio recording, and/or interact with texts using projectable features.
• Looking for an alternative curriculum? Multilevel resources support inclusive learning and give students the option to engage with the same content at their specific instructional level. With each subscription, teachers have access to 29 different reading levels of varied resources to support any alternative curriculum model.
• Working with a small group in a pullout setting? Access resources from an iPad or laptops OR print resources of any kind for small-group interaction and instruction.
• Need to see it in action in order to make sense of it? Each book comes with a comprehensive lesson plan that includes before-, during-, and after-lesson guidance. Tips for Building Background Knowledge, Introducing the Book, and Introducing the Reading Strategy, Comprehension Skill, and Vocabulary (all found within the Before Reading section) are great examples of how you can model learning for your students.

Knowing from my own experience how challenging it can be to meet the needs of all learners in my classroom, I can honestly say that Raz-Plus was a game-changer for me. I’ve shared here just a few of the many examples of how teachers can access over 50,000 differentiated resources in a blended learning and balanced literacy environment to support learners with special education needs—along with learners of all needs!

The variety and depth of options catered to the social needs of my classroom, as well—helping students find their own voice, encouraging confidence, and sparking interest in learning to read. Whether individually or with a partner, on a computer, in print, or with the whole class, Raz-Plus gave my students a choice in their learning and helped them to identify as readers. What more could you want?

As a former special education teacher and a former school administrator, I am a proud advocate and user of Raz-Plus: a curriculum solution that is teacher-tested and kid-approved!