REACTIONS TO STORYWORKS AND SCOPE When teachers first heard about the plan to begin using Storyworks and Scope as their main sources of texts for ELA instruction, they liked the engaging articles and stories they sampled—but it was when the Scholastic PD specialist introduced the teachers to the online system and its array of teacher tools and instructional resources that the teachers started to get really excited about the programs. They appreciated the teacher tools for making Storyworks and Scope easy to implement, including the searchable archives, the online teacher communities for sharing ideas about how to use the programs, and the seamless integration with Google Classroom. Sixth-grade teacher Maddy Meehan is impressed that all the genres teachers need to teach are well represented in the Scope archives, including informational, narrative, and argumentative texts. She also values the paired texts for lessons on analyzing texts to make comparisons, the slide decks for introducing ELA skills, the introductory videos for building background knowledge, the audio read-aloud option, the embedded focus on grammar and usage, the graphic organizers for structuring students’ thinking and writing, and the podcasts as a “different way to engage students.” She also noted that students are really attracted to the multimedia components. Third-grade teacher Kelly Angelone especially appreciates how engaging and current the Storyworks articles are. “A lot of times, the kids are like, 'Can I read this? Can we read that?'” She appreciates the vocabulary slide decks that help prepare students to read the articles. She finds the Text-to-Speech feature valuable for a student with a physical disability. She values the different question types, including interspersed Pause and Think questions focused on basic comprehension and critical-thinking questions that help develop higher-level thinking.
IMPLEMENTING STORYWORKS AND SCOPE
McGilloway and the teachers at Mansion Avenue Elementary have used Storyworks and Scope in various ways. McGilloway discussed using the programs for whole-group, small-group, and individual work. The school uses the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) as a universal screener, and Storyworks and Scope articles are correlated to DRA levels. This simplifies assigning appropriate texts to small groups and individual students, whether they are reading below, on, or above grade level. When working as a whole group, students at different reading levels can be assigned the same article but at different levels.
SCHOLASTIC STORYWORKS AND SCOPE SUCCESS STORY: AUDUBON, NEW JERSEY, SCHOOL DISTRICT 5
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