Reading
IMPROVE YOUR READING SKILLS WITH LIGHTSAIL
Improve Your Reading Skills with LightSail Personalizing and adapting the text is at your fingertips! Watch our video to learn the adaptive power of our Personalized Reader!
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Every year, millions of people visit Egypt. Many go there just to see the amazing pyramids that the Egyptians built thousands of years ago. The pyramids are massive structures in the middle of the desert. The tallest one is almost 500 feet tall, and made of stone! But why did the Egyptians build these pyramids? What purpose did they serve? Pyramids were designed as burial tombs for Egyptian kings and pharaohs. The families could also be buried in the pyramids. The Egyptians believed that their kings were negotiators between gods and the people on Earth. This meant that kinds received the greatest respect from all of the Egyption people. Egyptians wanted to treat them well, even in death. Egyptians also believed in life after death. They wanted to make sure that kings were comfortable in the next life. That is why they made their kings into mummies to preserve their bodies after they died. They buried kings with gold and valuables. They wanted to make sure the kinds had everything they would need in the next life. A pyramid was the last part of the burial ritual for kings. The pyramids showed the importance of the kings. The first pyramid was built 4,500 years ago in Saqqara, Egypt. The first pyramids looked a little different from the ones that we know today. They were not smooth on the sides. They had steps going up all sides. The pyramids were built by stacking steps on top of each other. The pharaoh Sneferu created the style of pyramid that we see today. His pyramids were built with smooth sides all the way up. The smooth sides were important. They symbolized the rays of the sun. The Egyptians also believed that the smooth sides would allow the souls of the kings to ascend into heaven. Sneferu’s son, Khufu, built the Great Pyramid in Giza. It is the most famous of the pyramids. People still visit it today. For 4,000 years it was the tallest man-made structure in the world! Building the pyramids took a very long time. The Egyptians did not have construction equipment. They did not have electricity. The wheel had yet to be invented! The pyramids required a lot of workers. 20,000 men contributed to the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza! The pyramid had 2.3 million limestone and granite blocks on the outside. Each one weighed over 2 tons! Inside, there were many chambers and passages. It was like a mansion. That is why construction of the Great Pyramid took over 20 years. Eventually, the Egyptian culture lost some of its wealth and power. As that happened, fewer and fewer pyramids were constructed. Today, the insides of the pyramids are mostly empty. Over the course of time, grave robbers took the valuables from the inside of the pyramids. The outsides of the pyramids are still intact. They are amazing to see. The pyramids are still some of the most impressive man-made structures in the history of the world. Maybe you will visit them someday!
Designed to help struggling readers with:
- Dyslexia
- ADHD/ADD
- Autism
- CVI
Welcome to Our Multimedia Library
Explore LightSail’s vast array of books from the world’s top publishers, including homeschooling favorites from Lerner Publishing, World Book Encyclopedia, and many others. LightSail also brings you their popular LightSail Classics, a curated collection of classic titles homeschoolers have treasured for generations.
Features that make us great!
We take the struggle out of reading with our great features! We offer one-of-a kind reading tools for struggling readers. Come see the more than 100 features that make LightSail a complete language arts solution to improve literacy skills.
Age Range
We are LightSail for Struggling Readers- a complete language arts platform that advances literary skills in children through young adults.
15-Day Lexile Cycle
Every 15 days, LightSail automatically updates your child’s Lexile score, allowing every feature to be tailored precisely to their reading level.
Your Data
Unprecedented data feedback presented in an easy to understand format empowers both parents and children to harness the power of data.
Power Texts & Zone of Proximal Development
Every 15 days, LightSail automatically updates your child’s Lexile score, allowing every feature to be tailored precisely to their reading level.
Reading Comprehension
Never wonder again whether your child is absorbing what they’re reading. Built-in comprehension assessments provide real-time feedback as they read.
Social Media
Parents and children can share achievements to popular social media platforms.
Reading Incentives
Come see how we incentify reading with the clever use of badges, gift rewards, motivational messages, and more.
Parental Controls
Complete oversight and control over all of your child’s content and activity.
Offline Reading
Your child can access their reading library while offline- no connection to the Internet is necessary!
Learn how LightSail uses
Gamification!
LightSail is Lexile® Driven
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.*
* Measured by Lexile® level after completing the Power Challenge and by then reading Power Texts on LightSail's Platform.
The building blocks of LightSail
We are a Literacy Platform
Reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, fluency, and more. We are a complete literacy program
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Gamification
Earn badges and rewards, share achieveements, and more!
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Library
Expore our extensive library. Thousands of books from dozens of top publisers, including faith- based content.
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Assignment Module
Our comprehensive assignment module gives parents and children special features and support for all assignments.
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Lerner Sports
Lerner Sports explores the backgrounds, career-defining moments, andeveryday lives of popular athletes to helpchildren develop research skills and citation experience for reports, or for pleasure reading.
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Meet the educators who contributed to our reading modules.
Chrsitine Roman-Lantzy (Ph.D)
🎓 Behaviors Characteristic of CVI and SPED Teacher
Christine Roman was raised in Michigan and received degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education/Visual Impairment at Michigan State University. She worked as an itinerant teacher of the visually impaired in the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area for 17 years prior to becoming a Research Assistant in the Vision Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh. While at Pitt, she completed studies in Orientation & Mobility and received a Master’s Degree in Medically Fragile/High Risk Infants.
Her doctoral studies were also completed at Pitt where she completed a Ph.D. in 1996; her dissertation, Validation of an Interview Instrument to Identify Behaviors Characteristic of Cortical Visual Impairment in Infants revealed that caregivers of infants can reliably report regarding the presence or absence of the characteristics of CVI.
Dr. Roman is the Director of The Pediatric View Program at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA and a former Project Leader of the CVI Project at The American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, KY.
She has lectured extensively regarding the CVI educational materials she has developed. These materials include: The CVI Range an assessment of functional vision, and The CVI Resolution Chart & CVI/O&M Resolution Chart used to plot and monitor progress both of which will be available in a book in press (working title, CVI: Identification, Assessment & Intervention) with The American Foundation for the Blind.
🎓 Behaviors Characteristic of CVI and SPED Teacher
Christine Roman was raised in Michigan and received degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education/Visual Impairment at Michigan State University. She worked as an itinerant teacher of the visually impaired in the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area for 17 years prior to becoming a Research Assistant in the Vision Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh. While at Pitt, she completed studies in Orientation & Mobility and received a Master’s Degree in Medically Fragile/High Risk Infants.
Her doctoral studies were also completed at Pitt where she completed a Ph.D. in 1996; her dissertation, Validation of an Interview Instrument to Identify Behaviors Characteristic of Cortical Visual Impairment in Infants revealed that caregivers of infants can reliably report regarding the presence or absence of the characteristics of CVI.
Dr. Roman is the Director of The Pediatric View Program at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA and a former Project Leader of the CVI Project at The American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, KY.
She has lectured extensively regarding the CVI educational materials she has developed. These materials include: The CVI Range an assessment of functional vision, and The CVI Resolution Chart & CVI/O&M Resolution Chart used to plot and monitor progress both of which will be available in a book in press (working title, CVI: Identification, Assessment & Intervention) with The American Foundation for the Blind.
Kelli Trenga (Ph.D)
🎓 Educational Leadership and SPED-Elementary
Kelli Trenga, Ed.D. is the coordinator of PENNCREST Cyber Academy in western Pennsylvania. She previously taught various levels of elementary education for over 15 years, with heavy emphasis on literacy instruction and special education. During that time, Kelli was honored with the Crawford County’s Educator of the Year award. She holds degrees in Elementary and Special Education, and Curriculum and Instruction from Mercyhurst University and Gannon University, respectfully.
Her passion for education drove her to pursue her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from Liberty University. Her dissertation was a phenomenological study of dental professionals’ preparedness to manage the behaviors of patients with autism spectrum disorder during dental treatment. In addition to professional pursuits, Kelli serves on local boards for the United Way and Child to Family to Connections. She resides in Meadville, Pa. with her husband and two sons.
🎓 Educational Leadership and SPED-Elementary
Kelli Trenga, Ed.D. is the coordinator of PENNCREST Cyber Academy in western Pennsylvania. She previously taught various levels of elementary education for over 15 years, with heavy emphasis on literacy instruction and special education. During that time, Kelli was honored with the Crawford County’s Educator of the Year award. She holds degrees in Elementary and Special Education, and Curriculum and Instruction from Mercyhurst University and Gannon University, respectfully.
Her passion for education drove her to pursue her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from Liberty University. Her dissertation was a phenomenological study of dental professionals’ preparedness to manage the behaviors of patients with autism spectrum disorder during dental treatment. In addition to professional pursuits, Kelli serves on local boards for the United Way and Child to Family to Connections. She resides in Meadville, Pa. with her husband and two sons.
Amanda Strout
🎓 Reading Specialist
Amanda Strout, M.Ed., is a Reading Specialist who has taught children with language-based learning disabilities for over 15 years. She has worked with children at the pre-school, elementary, and middle school levels. She has worked as a reading teacher, a 2nd grade self-contained classroom teacher for kids with LBLD, and a learning specialist focusing on students who need individualized academic remediation.
Amanda is trained in multisensory phonics and math programs and likes finding new ways to teach familiar skills. She loves teaching reading and writing as well as sharing great literature with children. She finds no greater joy than watching a student gain the confidence to accomplish a skill themselves.
In her free time, Amanda loves reading, cycling, and traveling with her family. She is always searching for new great children’s books and can spend hours at the library or looking at book lists.
🎓 Reading Specialist
Amanda Strout, M.Ed., is a Reading Specialist who has taught children with language-based learning disabilities for over 15 years. She has worked with children at the pre-school, elementary, and middle school levels. She has worked as a reading teacher, a 2nd grade self-contained classroom teacher for kids with LBLD, and a learning specialist focusing on students who need individualized academic remediation.
Amanda is trained in multisensory phonics and math programs and likes finding new ways to teach familiar skills. She loves teaching reading and writing as well as sharing great literature with children. She finds no greater joy than watching a student gain the confidence to accomplish a skill themselves.
In her free time, Amanda loves reading, cycling, and traveling with her family. She is always searching for new great children’s books and can spend hours at the library or looking at book lists.
Kelsey Thompson
🎓 Speech Language Pathologist
Kelsey is an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) certified speech language pathologist who is also licensed by the state of North Carolina. Kelsey earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from Northeastern University in Boston, MA, where she earned awards for academic achievement and research.
Kelsey has worked in pediatric private practice since 2015, serving children birth to 22 in the home, school, daycare, and clinic settings. Kelsey has experience working with a variety of diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, Dysarthria, Down Syndrome, expressive/receptive language disorder, fluency, articulation/phonological disorder, dyslexia, ADHD, as well as a number of genetic and feeding disorders.
Notably, Kelsey has specific experience treating children with apraxia and working with middle school and high school age students on higher level language processing, executive functioning skills, and reading. In addition to her clinical experience, Kelsey is currently pursuing her PhD in Speech & Hearing Sciences.
🎓 Speech Language Pathologist
Kelsey is an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) certified speech language pathologist who is also licensed by the state of North Carolina. Kelsey earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from Northeastern University in Boston, MA, where she earned awards for academic achievement and research.
Kelsey has worked in pediatric private practice since 2015, serving children birth to 22 in the home, school, daycare, and clinic settings. Kelsey has experience working with a variety of diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, Dysarthria, Down Syndrome, expressive/receptive language disorder, fluency, articulation/phonological disorder, dyslexia, ADHD, as well as a number of genetic and feeding disorders.
Notably, Kelsey has specific experience treating children with apraxia and working with middle school and high school age students on higher level language processing, executive functioning skills, and reading. In addition to her clinical experience, Kelsey is currently pursuing her PhD in Speech & Hearing Sciences.
Why Children Love LightSail
Come see what parents of struggling readers have to say about LightSail.
We're here to help!
Find answers to frequently asked questions or contact us for more support.
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How many parent accounts are included with a childs license?
I am part of a homeschool group and we share teaching responsibilities. How can I access those accounts?
Is your platform only Faith-Based?
If I want to purchase a book with your E-Commerce store, do I have to buy a copy for each license I purchased?
How does LightSail’s childsafe protection work?
At LightSail, a parent’s ability to oversee their child’s online experience and align it with their faith and values is of the utmost importance. To this end, LightSail contains an entire suite of parental control features and never-before-seen ChildSafe Content Controls giving parents ultimate peace of mind.
These content controls contain dozens of nuanced subcategories for potentially objectionable material based on both maturity and religious factors. Then, it shows parents if a book contains a reference to any of those subcategories and allows them to block or allow single titles or entire subcategories for each child individually. Our ChildSafe Content Controls offer unprecedented insight into and control over the content your children consume without the need to read every book in advance.
- Block or allow individual pieces of content.
- Block or allow entire subcategories of content.
- Require a child to request parental approval before opening entire subcategories of content.
- Block, allow, or require requesting parental approval for all Classics library content.
- Block or require requesting parental approval for all unrated content.
Click here to learn more about all of our parental controls.
About Us
We are LightSail for struggling readers - a complete language arts platform built on the shoulders of LightSail Education, advancing the literacy skills of struggling readers through individualized, evidence-based strategies and content.
