LightSail partners with Antares Reading to build student literacy
Antares is fast becoming the most prolific children’s book publisher with more than 850 high-quality, beautifully illustrated titles available in English and Spanish.
NEW YORK, NY, September 7, 2016 – To fulfill a global need for more high-quality digital non-fiction content for early readers, LightSail Education, partnered with Antares Reading to provide access to 850 original titles of digital books, in English and Spanish, for K-6 students.
LightSail, the leading education technology dedicated to turning students everywhere into readers, partnered with Antares Reading™ to write and illustrate these digital books on topics that teachers say students want to know more about. Books with titles like “Lifecycle of a Frog” and “My Grandparents” cover issues as diverse as ecosystems, biological processes, American history, ancient cultures and more. The books reflect contemporary society, depicting a spectrum of races, ages and family structures.
The new content is available in LightSail’s adaptive digital literacy platform and includes its in-text, real-time assessment. Created in collaboration with school districts, lively text combines with quality, inclusive illustrations to engage students and extend learning opportunities. The available titles are appropriate for young readers’ abilities with Lexile levels ranging from 200-450.
Highly regarded educator Sarah Scott Frank oversees the creation of Antares Reading titles, drawing on 15 years of expertise working with school districts to improve literacy development and introduce innovative solutions for improved outcomes. She holds a master’s degree in Language and Literacy from Harvard University and a PhD in Literacy, Language and Culture from the University of Michigan.
“Research shows that even young children are interested in non-fiction. Antares Reading takes kids seriously at a lower reading level, fulfilling their thirst for quality non-fiction digital titles,” Frank said. “Many students prefer to read about how a rocket ship is constructed than a fictional account like, ‘My First Baseball Game’.”
Antares Reading’s selection of the right, personalized texts that students want to read and teachers want to teach is designed to help students exceed literacy goals and overcome the comprehension plateau often encountered among beginning readers. Antares Reading texts are written across multiple Lexile bands for continuous scaffolded growth with informational content to allow students to make connections between their everyday world and increasingly complex concepts. With Antares Reading, teachers have the curated resources they need, freeing them to dedicate more time to reading comprehension.
Antares is fast becoming the most prolific children’s book publisher. LightSail will have more than 850 original new titles available at year’s end and is on pace to release 1,000 new digital books in English and Spanish annually.
“LightSail is pleased to offer our school partners such high-quality content as an added value as we work together to help kids become great readers,” Gideon Stein, LightSail Founder and CEO, said. “Antares Reading respects the ability and curiosity of young readers to learn about the world around them. This is a significant contribution to young reader non-fiction with the continued commitment to produce an ever-growing library of titles.”
About LightSail
LightSail is the adaptive reading platform that helps students, classrooms and school districts exceed their literacy goals. LightSail students get access to personalized libraries filled with thousands of engaging, just-right texts from which to choose. Our award-winning solution embeds in-text assessments that motivate students to increase the volume of their reading along with the difficulty of the texts they choose. LightSail teachers get real-time access to meaningful data about student reading behavior, comprehension, and growth so they can provide the necessary guidance to enhance learning and encourage a love of reading. A study just released by Johns Hopkins University found that students reading a little as 30 minutes a day on LightSail experienced gains at a rate of 2.7x annual expected growth.
About Antares
Antares Reading provides short-form, nonfiction books across a wide variety of topics, in English and Spanish, exquisitely illustrated to engage and support young readers. These informational texts allow students to make connections between their everyday world and increasingly complex ideas, building foundational literacy skills, comprehension, and world knowledge. The books reflect contemporary society, depicting a spectrum of races, ages and family structures. They were specifically designed to meet the needs of the classroom, allowing for differentiation, capitalizing on student interests, and extending learning opportunities. For more information, visit antaresbooks.com.
Posted on 9.Sep.16 in News
