logo
menu

Home » Blog » Reading at Home Tips » Power Challenge: Your Ticket to the Perfect Books


Power Challenge: Your Ticket to the Perfect Books

Kids thrive as readers when they have books that are just right for their reading level. They won’t grow bored by too-easy texts or be turned off by confusing passages. Spending time with books that match their current skills can even help kids’ reading abilities grow and develop. But you’re not a trained teacher or a literacy expert. How can you figure out where your kids are at?

LightSail’s Power Challenge offers the solution. This short assessment tool evaluates kids’ reading abilities. That includes their fluency — how well they can decipher words — and their comprehension — whether they understand what they read. Based on the results of the Power Challenge, LightSail will suggest books at the perfect reading level.

1. What is the Power Challenge?

When your child first logs on to LightSail, the Power Challenge will begin. This short assessment will provide brief passages for her to read. Each one will be missing a word. Your child’s task is to read the four choices provided and decide which of those words belongs in the blank.

LightSail will generate the first question based on your student’s grade level. The following questions may be easier or harder, depending on how your child is doing at answering them.

Here are a few tips to consider as you get started:

  • You can disable the Power Challenge if you don’t want your child to complete it right away. In your parent account, navigate to your child’s settings, select “Power Challenge” in the menu, and toggle the switch to “off.”
  • If you don’t disable the Power Challenge, the assessment will load automatically when your child connects to LightSail for the first time.
  • Kids can change the Power Challenge settings using the Toolbox. Options include adjusting the font or having the passage read aloud.
  • If your child needs a break, LightSail will save their progress. They can finish the Power Challenge the next time they’re on the platform.

2. What can you learn from the Power Challenge?

During the Power Challenge, your child will answer 32 to 42 questions. Based on their responses, LightSail will configure their Lexile level. At the end of the assessment, the results will appear in a popup box. You’ll also have the option to view a chart that shows typical Lexile ranges for children in each grade.

3. What is a Lexile level?

A Lexile number is a way of measuring your child’s reading abilities so that she can be paired with the right books.

Your child’s teacher may have already told you her reading level, but it might be based on a standard other than Lexile. That measure may tell only whether your child is good at pronouncing words, not whether they actually understands them. The great thing about learning your child’s Lexile level is that this framework addresses both fluency and comprehension.

Books and articles get assigned Lexile measures too. The best texts for a kid to read are ones that are close to their current level — anywhere from 200L lower to 200L higher.

LightSail automatically recommends books within that range. Plus, each item in the LightSail library includes Lexile information so that you can evaluate whether it’s a good fit for your reader.

4. Do kids have to keep taking the Power Challenge?

No, the Power Challenge is just to get your kids started on the LightSail platform. Once your children start reading books and completing the assessments they contain, LightSail will use that data to stay on top of their current skills. As your kids’ reading abilities change, you’ll see that reflected in updated Lexile scores every 15 days. The platform will also suggest books to match their growing abilities.

However, in your child’s settings menu, you do have the option to select “Reset Power Challenge” if you so choose.

LightSail’s Power Challenge offers peace of mind for parents. With it, you can rest assured that your kids are reading the perfect books for their abilities — not too easy or too hard. And that’s the way to grow happy, thriving readers.

sign up for homeschool literacy program

Posted on 3.Mar.22 in Reading at Home Tips

Money back

Our 90 day money back guarantee

30 Minutes a Day + 5 Days a Week + 3 Months = GUARANTEE your child’s independent reading level will improve.*

We're here to help!

Find answers to frequently asked questions or contact us for more support.

You can email us at

How do I know what books are right for my child?

LightSail takes the guesswork out of choosing books for your child by tailoring each child’s library to their precise reading level.

By honing in on a child’s precise Lexile reading score, LightSail can match them with books that are at that “just-right” level to promote optimal reading progress.

And because LightSail contains such a wide-ranging array of content, there is always a vast selection of books for any topic or interest.

What ages/grades is LightSail for?

LightSail’s Premium and Standard subscriptions are designed for children in grades 3 through 12 (ages 8-18).

We also have a World Book Kids subscription for grades 1 through 2 (ages 5-7) and a World Book Early Learners subscription for PreK through K (ages 2-5).

Is LightSail different from an Amazon Kindle or other e-readers?

Unlike static e-readers, LightSail doesn’t just offer children books.

Every book and article in LightSail contains 6 layers of added features that let your child experience books.

By adapting to a child’s precise reading ability, offering them content that is at that “just-right” reading level to promote literacy growth, and providing a fully customizable, rewarding reading experience, LightSail unlocks the magic of reading in ways no physical book or static e-reader can.

What types of parental control do I have over my child’s activity and content?

In short, complete control.

LightSail contains an entire suite of parental control features that govern every aspect of the platform from video viewing, to chats, to what content can be seen and accessed.

Additionally, LightSail’s revolutionary ChildSafe Content Controls lets parents screen and block content according to dozens of nuanced subcategories based on maturity factors, family values, and religious topics.

How can I make reading fun for my child?

LightSail incorporates gamification features into every aspect of the platform, especially reading!

By integrating badges, goals and milestones, social sharing options, motivational messages, and the ability for parents to add customizable gift rewards, LightSail incentivizes reading, writing, and learning just like kids’ favorite games.

Contact us