Zinc Reading Labs
ELA
6th - 12th Grade
Supplemental, Enrichment, Intervention
Embedded Files
Product: Zinc Reading Labs
Company: Zinc Learning Labs
Company Overview - Products/Services: Zinc provides an online suite of test-prep based literacy tools for middle and high school students. To raise reading levels and scores on standardized assessments, Zinc has three core components: vocabulary, reading and data. Our vocabulary ranges from 3rd to college level, and uses four modes of game play, along with spaced repetition. Our reading is leveled from 4th grade to college, and uses authentic text, cherry-picked from around the web. Reading quizzes and vocabulary points fuel data. For more about Zinc, click HERE.
Product Design - Problem Statement: Data consistently shows that most US students graduate reading below even a "proficient" level; teachers lack tools to fix this, and are unable to meet each reader where they are in large classes with diverse levels. Zinc's leveled, personalized, self-guided literacy resources address this problem.
Grade-Level Focus: 6th - 12th Grade
Compatible Devices:
Chrome OS
iOS Tablet (iPad)
MacOS
Windows 7
Windows 8
Windows 10
Evidence of Effectiveness:
We measure learning outcomes through number of words learned through our vocabulary platform, number of articles read and quiz performance. In our most active classes, the average number of words learned is 3,541, and articles read is 327. Among our 10K most active students, the average number of words learned is 189, and articles read is 19. These numbers, along with feedback from teachers and students on Zinc's contribution to their reading growth and high scores, are evidence of success. In addition to these measures, we'll have a reading diagnostic in early 2018, which will allow users to quickly monitor reading level growth. This will be an easy way to measure our overarching learning objective. Further, Zinc is/was a part of the NYC DOE's iZone, which has learning outcomes assessed by a third party research organization.
User input:
"My co-teacher and I piloted Zinc for about five weeks before our 7th graders at Success Academy Harlem East took state testing. Most of them added dozens of Tier II words. A few added hundreds. I doubt they saw a lot of those words on the test, but they saw some. More importantly, they liked the games, and knowing so many words increased their confidence and contributed to their achieving the highest score averages of any SA 7th grade class." - Lucas, Success Academy teacher
"Zinc is engaging, motivating and enduring. My kids said the FSA [Florida Standards Assessment] practice test was easy because they know the words from Zinc." - Ms. Daly, Language Arts Teacher, Hillsborough County, FL
"I've used Zinc for the past 3 years in my 6th, 7th and 8th grade test prep classes and seen impressive results. Zinc usage nearly tripled the number of students in my classes whose 8th grade PSAT scores qualified them for the South Carolina DoE's Junior Scholars program. I attribute the growth to the daily interaction with the Zinc program along with strategies to succeed at the test." - Ms. Lewis, Horry County
Product Integration - Weekly Usage Recommendations:
Student Usage: 50 minutes per week
Student Progression: Students should complete at least one article and one vocabulary activity each week. They should complete two close reading exercises each month.
Teacher Engagement: This will vary depending on how teachers use Zinc and whether they want to dive deep into student reports or just look at percentages correct. The range is 15-45 minutes each week.
Learner Focused
Zinc - Learner Focused.mp4Learner Led
Zinc - Learner Led.mp4Learner Demonstrated
Zinc - Learner Demonstrated.mp4Learner Connected
Zinc - Learner Connected.mp4tag:supplemental tag:enrichment tag:intervention tag:ELA tag:reading tag:6th tag:7th tag:8th tag:9th tag:10th tag:11th tag:12th tag:other tag:30-60min
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