The 2020 school year is rapidly approaching and is sure to offer just as many potential achievements and new challenges as ever. Now is the time to commit to unlocking every student’s true path to reading success. With CARS & STARS Online offering proven benefits and demonstrated improvements over the printed version, there has never been a better time to go digital!
In the high-pressure world of the 21st-century classroom teachers are busier than ever. You shouldn’t have to spend valuable time correcting answers or assessing what to teach next. With CARS & STARS Online, you can now easily monitor progress on every student’s device at the same time, or immediately generate class overview or student summary reports that show individual strengths and weaknesses in the twelve reading strategies. This unique and instant functionality is only available with CARS & STARS Online, providing an overview of class success that printed books just can’t match while also delivering these results much more quickly than any teacher using old-fashioned textbooks could hope to achieve.
But CARS & STARS Online is not just quicker and more comprehensive than printed books – it’s also cheaper. In fact based on current pricing, going digital with CARS & STARS Online provides access to these unique features while saving you approximately seven dollars per student compared to the printed editions! A CARS & STARS Online subscription includes all the content in both the CARS & STARS series of printed workbooks, but with added benefits that can only be delivered digitally, such as automatic assessment, instant marking and suggested next steps to instruction.
Each student subscription gets full access to every reading level. This is currently the equivalent of the content of eight printed CARS books and eight printed STARS books! Those using CARS & STARS Online don’t need to purchase any printed books or additional products at all since CARS & STARS Online already covers all the content. What’s more, CARS & STARS Online was specifically designed to make it easy to teach multiple reading levels in the same classroom, meaning that teachers no longer need to worry about sorting out individual book lists!
CARS & STARS Online currently covers the eight main reading levels from A to H, with CARS & STARS level AA arriving in Term 1, 2020. CARS & STARS AA includes pre-reading and listening skills that are primarily visual, and which can be teacher guided. In addition to all the usual hallmarks and benefits of the CARS & STARS Online program, it will also include two new features that are unique to level AA.
Firstly, Read Aloud will allow students to listen to content instead of reading it themselves. This feature increases word exposure and improves vocabulary. Having the content read aloud like this, while students actively listen, can help reduce the working-memory deficit as well as remove anxieties students may have around decoding the printed word.
The Drawing Canvas feature will allow students to draw their ideas directly on device screens. Students can therefore begin to interact with the reading strategy through drawing, and so learn to use their imagination and think visually. Feeling comfortable with simple drawing and sketching can help early years, EAL/D students and those learners with special needs.
It’s clear that there has never been a better time to go digital with CARS & STARS Online. The program can help every one of your students achieve reading success. Will 2020 be the year you let it help you embrace teaching success as well?
If you are interested in learning more about the CARS & STARS Online subscriptions and how they can help children to achieve better results, then sign up for a 30-day free trial to be an integral part of your child’s reading success. View Pricing & Plans
This blog discusses the CARS & STARS program’s alignment with ACARA’s reading comprehension standards. It highlights how the program uses diagnostic assessments and targeted instruction to map 12 core reading strategies to specific ACARA outcomes. The approach allows educators to effectively pinpoint and nurture students’ reading strengths and weaknesses, ensuring tailored and data-driven instruction that aligns with national educational standards. Click the link below to learn how CARS & STARS program’s alignment with ACARA’s reading comprehension standards.
Explore the transformative journey of literacy education with our latest blog. Uncover how reading comprehension strategies reshaped teaching and empowered students globally. From Reader-Response Theory to modern educational practices, discover the pivotal role of these strategies in classrooms. Interested in how these techniques enhance learning and foster engagement? Click the link below and discover the impact of these innovative strategies in education today.
Discover the secret to unlocking your students' reading potential! Dive into our latest blog post to explore how explicit instruction with the CARS & STARS program can transform reading comprehension in your classroom. Learn about the systematic approach that demystifies learning and provides tailored strategies for every reader. Ready to foster a culture of reading success? Click the link below about this game-changing framework for educators.
Technology in education can serve as a catalyst for innovation, personalisation and accessibility. To find out how CARS & STARS Online, as an advanced online reading comprehension program, aligns with these goals, click the link below.
Effective classroom management aims to create a supportive and structured learning environment where both you and your students can thrive. Click the link below for 24 great and easy strategies to help you establish a positive and productive classroom atmosphere that benefits everyone.
With the right strategies and a bit of practice, students can significantly improve their comprehension and appreciation of poetry. To find out more, and how CARS & STARS Online can help students to better understand the kind of figurative language used in poetry, click the link below.
Reading a variety of text types is essential for developing better reading comprehension for several reasons. To find out more, and how CARS & STARS Online exposes students to different types of texts from its earliest levels, click the link below.
Maintaining an organised workspace is a simple yet effective way to create a conducive environment for teaching, learning and personal development. To find out more, and how CARS & STARS Online can help, click the link below.
One way that you can counter distractions is by using strategies that enable students to process information better, even under adverse conditions, because they have a proven method in place to do so. To find out more, and how CARS and STARS Online employs this approach, click the link below.
Encouraging students to explore a diverse range of genres can be a powerful tool in fostering a love for learning and literature. To explore some of its benefits, and to see how CARS & STARS Online can help, click the link below.
Students learning critical thinking can develop the ability to distinguish between what's logical and illogical through a combination of practice, understanding logical fallacies and employing specific strategies. For some ways they can improve their skills, click the link below.
The way we talk, including our speech patterns, accents and word choices, can create and deepen social biases, starting from the point of view of children. For some examples of how speech can contribute to the development of biases in children, and how these can hopefully be mitigated, click the link below.
In a classroom setting, stimuli refer to the various sensory inputs and learning materials that students encounter every day. To find out more about how classroom stimuli can relate to cognitive development, click the link below.
Cognitive flexibility (or cognitive shifting) refers to the ability to adapt and switch between different cognitive tasks in response to changing situations or demands. To find out how thinking games can be valuable tools for improving cognitive flexibility, click the link below.
Concentration is the ability to direct our attention and focus to a specific task or stimulus while ignoring distractions. To find out some reasons why people might find it hard to focus or maintain concentration, and some helpful strategies to improve concentration, click the link below.
A flow state, also known as being “in the zone”, refers to a mental state of optimal performance and engagement in an activity. It typically occurs when the challenges of a task align with an individual's skill level. To find out more about flow states, and some tips for reaching them, click the link below.
We all know how important sleep is, and most of us know that because we aren’t getting as much of it as we would like – or at least in the quality we would prefer. Lack of sleep, especially on a chronic basis, can have significant negative effects on both the body and the academic performance of students. For some key impacts of sleep deprivation, click the link below.
The role of the natural environment in learning in general and study spaces in particular is something we are only just beginning to investigate seriously. But we know that sunlight especially can play an important role in a classroom or study setting for several reasons. To find out what they are, click the link below!
It might some like a no-brainer, but there are advantages to both quiet and loud study environments while learning. Whether you like one or the other can depend on nothing more than your personal preference or learning style, but there are advantages and disadvantages to both. The choice between studying in quiet spaces or noisy places depends on individual preferences and the nature of the task at hand. To find out some considerations for both options, click the link below.
Everyone knows how important diet and exercise are to every aspect of our lives – even if we like to pretend we don’t sometimes. It turns out food is just as vital to our brain’s well-being too. When it comes to supporting cognitive function and promoting optimal brain health, several foods have been associated with positive effects. Click the link below for some examples!
Parent-teacher interviews are valuable opportunities for teachers to communicate with parents about their child's progress, strengths and areas for improvement. For some tips for teachers to prepare effectively for parent-teacher interviews, and to see how CARS & STARS Online can help parents become more involved in their child’s learning.
CARS & STARS Online is a comprehensive reading comprehension program that offers flexibility, interactivity, customisation, and cost-effectiveness for educators. It also provides premier support and professional development at no extra cost. For existing customers, specialised training programs are available to ensure a seamless transition to the online platform. With CARS & STARS Online, educators can provide their students with a high-quality reading comprehension program that prepares them for success in school and beyond.
Both written and verbal speech are essential components of language across different languages, and each plays a crucial role in communication and human interaction. For some reasons both forms are important, and how CARS & STARS Online can help with both, click the link below.
A person’s personal history of language, which includes their linguistic experiences, exposure to different languages and language learning background, can significantly impact their present language abilities, including how they speak and comprehend reading. Click the link below to find some ways personal language history can influence the present.
The CARS & STARS Online program uses technology to open doors for parents that let them better understand the context of their child’s learning and have a more engaged role within it. CARS & STARS Online gives parents an instant overview of their child’s progress that they can access at any time and from anywhere.
Being a highly skilled, competent reader is a skill that improves every learner’s life. And with CARS & STARS Online, achieving that is within every student’s grasp – even those with special needs – and more easily achievable for their teacher than ever before.
A tongue twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly and can be used as a type of spoken (or sung) word game. Tongue twisters can be a fun and engaging tool to support the development of foundational reading skills and promote a positive attitude towards reading.
Riddles are questions or statements that offer a puzzle to be solved. They encourage children to think critically, analyse clues and apply logical reasoning to arrive at the answer. This problem-solving aspect of riddles stimulates the brain and helps children develop creative problem-solving skills.
Supporting struggling readers often requires a multifaceted approach, including tailored instruction, accommodations, explicit teaching of reading strategies, scaffolding of comprehension skills and addressing underlying difficulties through targeted interventions.
By engaging in cooking and following recipes, individuals practise critical thinking and problem-solving skills within a practical and enjoyable context. These skills, developed through cooking, can transfer to other reading materials and real-life situations, supporting improved reading comprehension and the ability to analyse, evaluate and solve problems effectively.
