Free titles include books from more than 400 publishers
K-12 literacy solution provider LightSail will offer a free Starter Library for all customers. The Starter Library includes 200 texts spanning elementary, middle, and high school reading levels, and will grow to 350 texts by March, 2015.
Each free text in the Starter Library comes with LightSail’s signature feature: multiple-measure assessments which are embedded into the text, and completed as students read. LightSail’s formative assessments not only gauge reading comprehension, they allow LightSail to offer a consistently personalized literacy experience.
As students read, LightSail monitors their progress and updates their individual Lexile score on-the-fly, causing the library to adapt based on reading level. Students are always presented texts that are best-suited to optimize their literacy growth.
Next page: Sample ebook titles
In addition to free texts, districts and schools can purchase ebooks for use with LightSail’s literacy solution from a selection of more than 80,000 titles spanning 400 publishers. LightSail is the only tool that combines content from more than 400 publishers into a single K-12 tool, thanks to an exclusive partnership with Baker & Taylor, the leader in library content management.
“We are excited to offer free content with LightSail’s award-winning literacy solution,” said Gideon Stein, Founder and CEO of LightSail Education. “Our district and school partners have enjoyed access to the very best books to motivate student readers, and the addition of excellent free content makes LightSail even more affordable for K-12 schools.”
“LightSail’s literacy solution is directly tied to our district mission, and facilitates our initiatives for critical reading and thinking,” said Chris McMurray, Student Achievement Specialist for the Parkrose School District in Oregon. “As a LightSail partner, we are thrilled that hundreds of free books are now available to our schools, helping us make the most of our district’s resources.”
Sample titles in LightSail’s Starter Library include:
– LightSail Classics: “The Goose-Girl” (380L, J. &W. Grimm), “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” (660L, B. Potter), “The Call of the Wild” (990L, J. London), “The Little Mermaid” (1060L, H.C. Andersen), “Romeo and Juliet” (1260L, W. Shakespeare)
– Poems: “O Captain! My Captain!” (690L, W. Whitman), “The Road Not Taken” (710L, R. Frost), “When the Teacher Gets Cross” (980L, unknown), “Paul Revere’s Ride” (1320L, H. W. Longfellow), “The Iliad” (1330L, Homer)
– Informational Texts: “Biggest, Baddest, Book of Dinosaurs” (460L, A. Hanson), “Cal Ripken Jr.” (950L, M. Doeden), “Apple: Company and Its Visionary Founder, Steve Jobs” (1200L, M. Lusted), “Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave” (1170L, O. Gilbert), “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” (1370L, B. Franklin)
LightSail was named “Best Ed Tech of 2014” by Common Sense Media. In addition, LightSail won the Mindful Data Award from EdSurge and Digital Promise in the 2014 DILA awards, which honored the company for providing instant, actionable data to teachers based on information captured while students read excellent digital books.
More than 30,000 students use LightSail in districts that include the New York City Department of Education, Los Angeles Unified School District, Denver Public Schools, and Parkrose School District in Portland, Oregon.
Material from a press release was used in this report.
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