It frustrates teachers and parents, alike, that the line between plagiarism and original writing is becoming so blurred with today’s students.  Blended Classroom Management is a training I offer to teachers that gives them an empowering awareness of and practice with the digital savvy to manage student writing misbehavior (cheating, plagiarism, etc).  Even digitally savvy teachers often aren’t aware of Version History’s level of detail.  Someone had to show me!  Watch me show others below.  We have a lot of fun learning together at Aztec Schools!  To schedule this training for teachers or administrators near you, CLICK HERE.  I'd love to work with you and your colleagues!

CLICK HERE to skip to the section on Version History

Commonlit is a freemium application:  a yearly, initial diagnostic is free; whereas the premium version provides mid-year and summative diagnostics for each of a teacher's students.

The initial diagnostic is made of three readings that use Lexiles compatible with the grade level of the students taking the test.  Students read two nonfiction excerpts and one fiction piece, then answer multiple choice questions to test their comprehension and diagnose their reading level.

One of my colleagues enjoys the performance aspect of this free diagnostic.  Every 9th grader, for example, that takes the diagnostic is compared to students across the United States that are taking the test.  Aztec High School's ELA teacher Lisa Myers explains, “Though the diagnostic helps me learn their Lexile range, it also helps them see how they compare to tens of thousands of their peers around the United States.”  “You want to be 70% or higher,” she tells them.  “If you’re not, we’re going to try and get you to grow.  You’re behind.”  The opening diagnostic is just the beginning of Commonlit’s features.  It’s not so much an application as it is a curriculum program.  It features lessons that target Common Core anchor skills, a writing component, and text sets on popular, age appropriate themes.

Con:  with adaptive learning software now available in many online spaces, it should be noted that Commonlit does not adapt assignments to a student as they move through their work.  However, a teacher can pick from and assign readings by grade level, genre, theme, and Lexile, or even common core standard.  “Once I know what Lexile they are at [with the initial diagnostic], I can easily assign lower grade level/Lexile readings to individual students.  With next year’s increased load in team-taught classes, I will appreciate that capability."

L. Myers, personal communication.  June 19th, 2023

I first found Rewordify after a conversation with one of our most experienced ELA teachers on staff.  She was bemoaning the artificial nature of vocabulary lists.  Why learn words out of their native context?  She wanted an application for  learning vocabulary that began with the words in the context they are found, rather than learning them in a decontextualized list for rote memorization.  If a teacher uses Rewordify with their students’ assigned readings, the students start with the context of new vocabulary.

One of the many online paraphrasing applications students can access, Rewordify does not just generate paraphrased “dumbed down” versions of difficult writing.  It generates personalized learning tools to help each person grow their reading level up!

See a three minute demonstration of Rewordify’s vocabulary tools below.  

Tech in a SEC: Rewordify. YouTube. (2022, October 25). https://youtu.be/yUXPJU6PAFU

Warning:  students could use paraphrase tools like Rewordify to disguise plagiarism.  

Though this article is published on Rewordify's own website, it contains wise advice for writing teachers.  

Rewordify.com and plagiarism. Rewordify.com | Help Center. (n.d.). https://rewordify.com/helpplagiarize.php