Our Mission Turn Reading from a Chore into an Adventure

As educators, we have the power to transform reading from a mundane task into an exciting journey of discovery. These five research-backed strategies will empower your students to become confident, passionate readers.

1. Sound Detectives Master Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness is the critical foundation of reading success. It’s about helping students develop the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in words. By turning sound recognition into an engaging, playful experience, we transform a technical skill into an exciting exploration.

Strategy Aligned Challenge: Turn sound learning into a classroom mission

• Transform phonemic awareness into a game
• Use interactive activities like “Sound Spy”
• Clap out syllables, play rhyming games
• Help students crack the reading code through playful sound exploration

2. Phonics Power Build a Solid Reading Foundation

Phonics instruction is the bridge between recognizing sounds and reading words. A systematic approach helps students understand how letters work together to create meaning. By providing structured, explicit instruction, we give students the tools to decode words confidently and independently.

Strategy Aligned Challenge: Implement a systematic phonics approach

• Introduce letter-sound relationships strategically
• Use decodable books that reinforce phonics skills
• Create a structured path to reading confidence
• Systematically build word-decoding abilities

3. Vocabulary Expeditions Expand Word Horizons

Vocabulary is the gateway to comprehension. The more words students know, the deeper their understanding of texts becomes. Rich vocabulary development goes beyond memorization—it’s about connecting words to experiences, creating context, and helping students express themselves more precisely.

Strategy Aligned Challenge: Launch vocabulary-building adventures

• Read high-quality books aloud
• Engage in meaningful word discussions
• Use visual aids to introduce new vocabulary
• Encourage storytelling that naturally expands vocabulary

4. Fluency Fuel Read with Confidence and Expression

Reading fluency is more than speed—it’s about reading with understanding, expression, and enthusiasm. When students read smoothly and confidently, they can focus on comprehension rather than struggling with individual words. Fluency transforms reading from a mechanical task to an enjoyable, expressive experience.

Strategy Aligned Challenge: Make fluency practice exciting

• Implement paired reading techniques
• Use reader’s theater to boost expression
• Encourage rereading of familiar passages
• Transform fluency from a skill to a performance art

5. Comprehension Detectives Unlock Deeper Understanding

Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading. It’s not just about recognizing words, but understanding, interpreting, and connecting with the text. By teaching active reading strategies, we help students become critical thinkers who can navigate complex texts and draw meaningful insights.

Strategy Aligned Challenge: Turn reading into an investigative experience

• Teach active reading strategies
• Create comprehension bookmarks with guiding questions
• Practice summarizing, predicting, and connecting
• Encourage visualization of story worlds

The Big Takeaway

This isn’t just about reading, it’s about opening doors to infinite possibilities. Every strategy you implement brings students closer to becoming lifelong learners.

Final Challenge This Literacy Month, let’s celebrate the magic of reading. Every small step brings students closer to becoming confident, passionate readers. Together, we can turn reading from a challenge into a thrilling journey of discovery!

Did You Know?

Seesaw has an Early Literacy curriculum that is a powerhouse of literacy innovation? With over 600 lessons for PreK-2 students, it’s an ESSA Tier IV evidence-based intervention that transforms literacy learning. The curriculum offers unique features like student voice recording for fluency practice, flexible lesson formats in both English and Spanish, and tools that allow teachers to differentiate instruction with ease. Our approach combines joyful engagement with research-backed strategies, making foundational reading skills both accessible and exciting for young learners.

Check it out today here!

The post Unlock Reading Magic With 5 Literacy Strategies to Try This Month! appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

Highlights That Made This Year’s BETT Truly Special

• First, we announced that we’ve began work on localized versions of Seesaw in British English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic! This has been one of our most requested features, and seeing educators’ faces light up when they discovered they will be able to use Seesaw in their preferred language was absolutely priceless.
• One of our biggest announcements was our work on our Early Literacy curriculum. We have launched an American English version of our Early Literacy curriculum with plans to expand to British English. We know how important it is to support early readers with content that matches their learning environment. Educator feedback has been instrumental in shaping this development!
• Our Community Lesson Library also got a major upgrade! We’ve added collections in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Arabic, making it easier than ever for educators to find and use ready-to-teach resources that work for their classrooms.
• We’re also excited to announce new partnerships with AWS, Wonde, and D2L. These collaborations will help make Seesaw work even better with the other tools you use every day.

The Excitement Continues

While at the conference, we were honored to have been named a finalist in the “Primary – Digital Learning Product – Wider Curriculum” category at the BETT Awards!

The conversations at BETT were just as exciting as our announcements. Our CEO Matt Given participated in an inspiring fireside chat about “Education Transformation in the Digital Age” on January 22nd. The next day, our Chief Product Officer Sara Romero-Heaps shared her insights on how technology can empower students during the “Technology as a Force for Good in Developing Student Agency” panel. And on January 24th, our Lead Product Manager Daniel Mrdjenovich gave an informative talk about developing products that support research-backed educational practices during the “ISTE Sealholder Profile” session.

Being at BETT reminded us why we do what we do – seeing educators light up when they discover new ways to engage their students and hearing your stories about how Seesaw helps keep everyone connected is what drives us forward. We’re more committed than ever to creating innovative, inclusive, and localized solutions that work for educators and learners worldwide. We hope you enjoyed these highlights that made this year’s BETT truly special!

Want to see more? Check out the official BETT 2025 Day 3 Highlights video for a glimpse of all the excitement!

Stay tuned for more updates – we’ve got lots of exciting things planned for 2025!

The post Our Amazing Week at BETT UK 2025! appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

Seesaw Instruction & Insights 

Exclusive Updates

What is my Seesaw subscription plan type?

Updated December 2, 2024

Focus Mode Update – Disable Individual Drawing Tools

You asked, and we listened! Provide students with even more guidance in Focus Mode by selecting which drawing tools students are available to students.

Admin Learning Insights Dashboard

Equip instructional leaders with deep learning insights to make data-driven decisions. Monitor how students are performing on standards and gain visibility into what standards are being taught using Seesaw. 

Video Tutorial ->

Help Center ->

School & District Library Collections

School and District Library Collections will allow admins to bring their scope and sequence into Seesaw, helping them customize their use of Seesaw to align with their school and district initiatives. Teachers can browse the curated collections in a space they already utilize, helping save valuable time!

Tutorial Video ->

Help Center ->

Read-with-Me

The Read-with-Me scaffolding tool supports emerging readers with passages that can be read aloud to them with word-by-word highlighting, allowing them to make powerful connections between written and spoken word.

Tutorial Video  ->

Help Center ->

Reading Fluency Assessment Tool

The Reading Fluency Assessment Tool allows teachers to quickly understand student progress on literacy skills like word identification and reading fluency. The tool collects and automatically analyzes student reading samples and provides at-a-glance, actionable reporting to teachers. 

Tutorial Video  ->

Help Center ->

Free Response Assessment Type

The Free Response Assessment Type adds additional flexibility to Seesaw assessments by allowing teachers to collect open text responses to formative assessment questions. The tool allows for manual grading and autograding and provides aggregated response data in reporting.

Tutorial Video -> 

Help Center ->

Focus Mode 

Focus Mode makes any activity align to the developmental level of the students completing it by helping to minimize distractions and ensuring students respond in the appropriate and desired formats.

Help Center ->

Flexcard

Flexcard expands the way teachers engage with students! Flexcard offers more customizability and variability in activities to meet the unique needs of your classroom. Flexcards can contain text images and voice, or a combination on each side with up to 30 sides. 

Tutorial Video  ->

Help Center  ->

Seesaw for Schools Updates

*All Seesaw for Schools updates are included in Seesaw Instruction & Insights

What is my Seesaw subscription plan type?

Updated December 2, 2024

Creative Tool Enhancements 

You asked, we listened! Creating new activities is easier than ever with the ability to select multiple objects at once and move, scale, apply styling, and bulk lock/unlock on the creative canvas.

 

Activity Templates 

Save time creating new activities with simple reflection and assessment templates in the custom activity creation flow.

Help Center ->

 

Quarterly Digital Portfolio Activity Templates

Guide students to showcase their learning with ready-to-assign templates, perfect for conferences!

Assign Now ->

 

Admin Engagement Dashboard

Gain deeper insights into how students, teachers and families are engaging on Seesaw. 

Get visibility into teacher and student activity on the platform, number of activities assigned, how many families are logging in, and more! 

Tutorial Video ->

Help Center ->

Sitewide Standards

Sitewide Standards allows schools and districts to localize to their state/region standard sets. This saves teachers time and makes all places within Seesaw easier to use and more personalized.

Assigning and Grading Against Standards Tutorial  ->

Standards view on the Progress Dashboard Tutorial  ->

Help Center  ->

The post What’s New in Seesaw appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

Below, we discuss 4 key takeaways from the UK Technology in Schools Survey and how Seesaw aligns to the survey results.

1. Varied methods for evaluating technology effectiveness

The majority of teachers surveyed (63%) reported that they do evaluate technology use, with classroom observations as the most popular method of evaluation. Most survey participants who did evaluate technology used informal or qualitative means to determine edtech effectiveness, such as observations, student feedback, or personal reflection.

Seesaw helps teachers and school leaders track the effectiveness of technology through engagement and learning insights dashboards, making the task of measuring technology effectiveness data-driven, seamless, and straightforward.

2. Digital strategy adoption is increasing at the primary level

From 2020 to 2021, the percentage of primary leaders who said they had a digital strategy increased from 38% to 55%. Digital strategies increase the likelihood that technology adoption and implementation are purposeful. This trend indicates that more schools in England are using technology in a way that supports academic and student attainment goals.

3. Mixed feelings about technology’s impact on pupil attainment

Primary school teachers were more likely than their secondary school counterparts to report that technology had made no difference to pupil attainment (46% vs. 40%). Technology in schools survey report: 2022-23)

As one of the only education technology platforms built from the ground up for primary grades, we understand the challenges that primary teachers face when trying to use technology built for older learners. In fact, we explored this in our Reimagining Edtech for Early Learners white paper. The white paper found that only 25% of teachers believe that edtech was well-tailored to the needs of young learners. Many tech tools currently used in primary schools were initially designed for university.

While some improvements have been made to the design and implementation of technology for primary grades, it’s no surprise that many primary teachers continue to see limited impact on the educational attainment of young learners.

4. Key investment areas align with Seesaw capabilities

Seesaw aligns with most of the areas that primary leaders identified as investment priorities. We dive into each of those areas below:

Support pupils with SEND

According to a survey we conducted in 2023, 95% of teachers believe Seesaw enables them to modify instruction to meet their students’ diverse needs. Seesaw Instruction & Insights includes tools built for primary learners that help teachers differentiate instruction and promote student choice to meet the needs of all learners. Learn more about our capabilities here.

Delivering lessons

Teachers deliver lessons with Seesaw’s flexible multimodal tools and ready-to-teach lessons. From the previously mentioned internal survey, 98% of teachers found Seesaw helpful for delivering engaging instruction and capturing evidence of student progress.

Teacher training and continuing professional development

Seesaw provides flexible professional development options for school leaders to ensure effective technology implementation and promote effective instructional practices. Learn more about our professional development offerings.

Tracking pupil progress

Teachers can track student progress in a number of ways with Seesaw:

1. Pupils and teachers see immediate, auto-marked feedback with formative assessments.
2. Teachers and school leaders can assess class progress against curriculum standards with learning insights dashboards.
3. Teachers, leaders, pupils, and families can track progress with digital portfolios. Portfolio items and numerical marks paint a complete picture of student progress over the course of their primary school journey.

Planning lessons and curriculum content

Seesaw helps teachers streamline lesson and curriculum planning. Educators can use pre-made activities from the Seesaw Library or create their own. Teachers can also organize and categorize lessons for future use, making long-term planning more efficient.

Collaborating and sharing resources with others

Seesaw improves collaboration amongst teachers by making it easy to share activities and resources through Libraries. In School Libraries, here educators can browse, customize, and share lessons with colleagues. Teachers can create and organize collections of activities and resources, ensuring curriculum alignment and the exchange of best practices.

Seesaw supports co-teaching by allowing multiple teachers to manage a class, collaborate on assignments, and provide joint feedback to students. Additionally, Seesaw Instruction & Insights offers school and district-wide libraries where educators can share learning materials, promoting consistency across grade levels and subjects.

Seesaw is trusted and loved by 1.4 million educators, pupils, and families in the United Kingdom. We continue to meet the needs of British teachers and school leaders and have made significant enhancements for our customers for the UK 2024-25 school year. Learn more at https://seesaw.com/uk.

The post 4 Key Takeaways from the UK Technology in Schools Survey appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

The expanding educational technology landscape brings an increasing number of options. This blog aims to help you determine if Seesaw is right for your classroom. 

The purpose of this blog is to share 7 specific ways Seesaw provides powerful benefits in classrooms around the world. Learn how Seesaw is helping teachers streamline their workflows, communicate more effectively, engage their students, and so much more. 

Seesaw Helps Me Differentiate and Personalize Learning

By addressing the diverse needs of all students, Seesaw serves as a powerful tool for promoting equity and access. As Kelsey L., a 2nd Grade Teacher, notes, “Seesaw helps me guide what my students need. Seesaw allows me to practice multiple differentiation.” This feature is crucial for supporting students with learning challenges, helping all learners reach their potential.

Julie W., a 1st Grade Teacher, echoes this sentiment, stating, “I have such a range of academic levels in my first grade classroom. Seesaw helps me differentiate activities for the various learners so that each level is challenged.” It also facilitates the documentation of learning for students with special needs. Supporting educators in implementing individualized education plans (IEPs) and 504 accommodations for effective education. By breaking down socioeconomic and language barriers, Seesaw offers equitable access to learning.

Seesaw Helps Me Engage Students and Keep Them Motivated to Learn

Seesaw promotes student engagement by providing features built specifically for elementary learners. As Julie W., a 1st Grade Teacher, observes, “The activities are engaging for students so they are motivated to complete them.” Seesaw ignites creativity with interactive tools that help creative learners express themselves and explore their ideas. Robust multimedia embedded right into the platform streamlines engaging lesson delivery. Seesaw incorporates audio elements allowing students to add annotations making complex concepts easier to explain.

Angela R., a 3rd Grade Teacher, notes, “The kids are always engaged in the learning and love seeing what their classmates are doing.” Ready to teach lessons help capture and foster students’ interests, well-being, challenges, and situations. Lessons such as “Daily Check-ins” help to capture this information in their digital portfolio. Samantha W., a 4th Grade Teacher, adds, “When students are given the opportunity to create with choice, they feel empowered!” This empowerment further enhances student engagement and motivation to learn.

Seesaw Helps Me Assessment and Progress Monitor All Students Quickly and Easily

Student achievement is boosted due to the learning portfolio Seesaw creates. As Teddi W., a Kindergarten Teacher, points out, “It helps me see where they are in their learning. It helps with students who may be struggling as I can see where they need more support and help.” Seesaw provides text, video, and audio based tools for students to use throughout reflective activities. Seesaw’s ease of use encourages critical thinking and comprehension skills. This allows students to demonstrate deeper understanding of content knowledge.

Educators find power in using Seesaw to assess reading fluency levels. Luz Q., a 2nd Grade Teacher, adds, “When I see my student’s work on their digital portfolio over the course of a school year, it helps me see the growth of each individual student.” Built-in automatic scoring tools, like the formative assessment tool, save teachers time grading. In addition, Seesaw encourages open communication and collaboration with families. By empowering parents to support their child’s learning challenges, a strong learning loop is built around academic growth. Tamra M., a Reading Intervention Teacher, emphasizes, “Seesaw helps me document their growth and needs. Not only can I document what they know- I can get a window into their thinking as well.“

Seesaw Helps Me Engage Families as Active Members in Learning

Engaging families as active members in the learning process unlocks the ability to support learning beyond the classroom walls. Stephanie R., a 1st Grade Teacher, notes, “Seesaw allows me to communicate with my families in a way that I could not before.”

Seesaw helps schools develop strong family relationships and build them as partners in their child’s learning. This is particularly critical for supporting immigrant families, divorced families, families overseas, and non-English speaking family members. As Amber R., a 5th Grade Teacher, puts it, “Seesaw helps me bring the classroom to my families.” Parent-teacher conferences, IEP meetings, and academic support advocacy are made easier thanks to the transparent view Seesaw provides families. Robyn G., a 2nd Grade Teacher, emphasizes this accessibility: “Seesaw is the way I can reach my students and families 24/7.”

Having all stakeholders involved in the learning process ensures that there is a focus on the students’ growth. Terese K., a Kindergarten Teacher, shares a powerful example: “Seesaw helps me share videos of my student’s practice reading in the classroom. A mom was shocked to see her little one reading, she had no idea that she could read like that.” This level of engagement and transparency helps build a strong partnership between educators and families.

Seesaw Helps Me Showcase Progress and Growth by Creating Digital Portfolios

Schools are integrating digital portfolios as a streamlined way to monitor student learning. As part of IB certification, it is a requirement to have a portfolio of learning. Learning is archived and organized over time with Seesaw’s digital portfolio.

Seesaw is the only digital portfolio designed specifically for elementary students. Our focus is to ensure that even our youngest learners have the ability to showcase their learning. As Crissy C., a PreK Teacher, puts it, “In a digital world, the option to keep a digital learning portfolio for my students is a no-brainer.”

With Seesaw’s digital portfolio, educators can showcase student progress to families and measure academic growth. Deborah G., a K-5 Media Specialist, notes, “The digital portfolio aspect helps me see throughout the year the progress students are making.“. This is particularly valuable for special-area teachers, as Laura F., a K-5 STEM and Computer Science Teacher, explains: “As a special-area teacher of STEM, I teach almost 600 students. Having Seesaw as a kid-friendly platform for grades K-5 to submit their work has been life-changing!“

Seesaw Helps Me By Supporting Students With Special Needs and Student Who Are Multilingual Learners

Seesaw serves as a powerful tool for providing access to education. It facilitates and measures the implementation of individualized education plans (IEPs) and the accommodations outlined. As Melanie T., an Inclusion Special Education Preschool Teacher, explains, “I can create digital portfolios of student work to help show parents how their child has worked and made progress towards meeting IEP goals.”

Seesaw breaks down barriers related to poverty, educational obstacles, and language differences. It empowers educators to customize content with easy by providing learning scaffolding tools. By addressing the diverse needs of all learners, this award-winning platform helps close the equity gap. As Andrea M., a PreK ESL Teacher at a Title 1 school, puts it, “Seesaw closes the gap between school and home,“. Seesaw helps to overcome language barriers and connect with families who might not be comfortable engaging in an educational setting.

Seesaw Helps Me Save Time and Gives Back Instructional Minutes

Educators never have enough minutes in the day. Critical elements like core instruction, interventions and extensions, and planning time make for full days. Add in distractions like meetings and peer collaboration, the teaching day is full. Any time a teacher can regain instructional minutes, no matter how few, can make a huge difference for student achievement. This time can provide a critical intervention for a student in a time of need.

Seesaw is gives time back to teachers. In fact, 92% of educators say that it saves them time and gives back instructional minutes. As Amy W., a 2nd Grade Teacher, shares, “Seesaw is a huge time saver for me!” The platform’s design, tailored with the classroom in mind, provides tools that streamline teacher tasks. Crissy C., a PreK Teacher, highlights this by stating, “Digital portfolios make my job so much easier and set me up for successful parent-teacher conferences and updates.” With features like digital storage and kid-friendly submission processes, teachers like Laura F., a K-5 STEM and Computer Science Teacher, find it “life-changing” for maintaining organization and reducing paper use.

Give Seesaw a Try!

Seesaw makes the learning experience more engaging and personalized for students, and has proven to be an invaluable tool for educators across the globe. Facilitating stronger student engagement, simplifying assessment and progress monitoring, and encouraging family involvement helps teachers to become true experts in their fields. Seesaw stands out in a landscape where educational technology options are abundant by offering comprehensive, user-friendly solutions that meet the diverse needs of classrooms. Seesaw is your ally in the pursuit of effective and innovative teaching in today’s dynamic educational environment.

The post 7 Ways Seesaw Helps Educators Become Teaching Experts appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

Seesaw’s tools are certified for Learner Variability, Research-Based Design, UDL, and more, amplifying evidence-based best practices for multilingual learners. These tools drive academic growth, foster language acquisition, and build learner confidence. For years, Seesaw has been a vital asset in ELD initiatives, helping educators implement these research-based methods in their classrooms. From digital portfolios to creative tools and family communication, Seesaw provides a comprehensive platform that empowers both teachers and students.

Intuitive Tools That Empower Expression and Foster Accessibility

Seesaw’s multimodal tools enable teachers to support learning with visuals, video models, and audio support. Additionally, these tools provide students with alternative ways of showing their understanding. Sharon, a 1st and 2nd grade teacher, said, “Having many formats available for student responses makes a huge difference for my English Language Learners”. Supporting students’ language needs allows multilingual learners to show what they know without barriers, giving teachers actionable insights to move students’ language and academic development forward.

Differentiated Content That Meet Students Where They Are

Providing students with “just right learning” is an end goal for every educator. Seesaw is an industry leader in this area. Through hosting a thousands of leveled activities, to customizable group assignment options, teachers are finding power in using Seesaw to provide students exactly what they need to learn at their fullest potential. 

Out of 900 teachers surveyed, 95% said Seesaw enables them to differentiate content to meet students’ diverse needs.

Capture and Celebrate Student Growth Over Time 

Seesaw’s student driven digital portfolios revolutionize how teachers assess and document student progress through language domains. Unlike traditional portfolios, Seesaw creates a reflective space where growth is clearly seen and becomes a tool to showcase student achievements. This space is also uniquely shared with connected family members making it a transparent view for all stakeholders into student growth over time. 

Bring Every Family into the Learning Loop

Family involvement is critical for student success, especially for ELL students. Valencia, a PK teacher, shared how Seesaw motivates her student’s best work. “Knowing that their families will see their work truly excites my students. When they are proud of their completed crafts, they place them directly into their backpacks. Their focus is to share that joy with their families. Seesaw fulfills that desire for students immediately.”  The learning journal by Seesaw ensures that learning extends beyond the classroom creating a shared space for families to experience their child’s growth. 

Early Markers of Transformative Impact

The Seesaw ELD program has had a significant impact on schools even when they had a chance to just preview it. Educators across these districts are reporting transformative results for their multilingual students. Alex Isaacs from Long Branch School District has observed a notable increase in student engagement and pride, stating, “Students are empowered to participate and excited to share their learning with parents and families.” This heightened engagement is bridging the gap between school and home, creating a more inclusive learning environment.

In Vacaville USD, Cheryl Carter has seen a marked improvement in how multilingual students interact with their lessons. “Multilingual students engage by recording their responses and then listening/rerecording with enthusiasm,” she notes. This increased participation has led to more confident learners and more accurate assessments of student progress.

Teachers are also benefiting from Seesaw ELD’s comprehensive resources. As Carter points out, “Teachers don’t have to create support lessons; they are ready to use through Seesaw ELD Content.” This time-saving aspect allows educators to focus more on individualized instruction and less on lesson preparation.

Schools report that students from diverse backgrounds feel valued and seen as a result of the program’s cultural representation and multimodal tools. This has resulted in increased motivation and academic improvement. Several schools report increased test scores and English proficiency among their multilingual learners as a result of scaffolded lessons across core subjects.

As more schools adopt Seesaw ELD, the positive impacts continue to multiply. From boosting student confidence to saving teacher time, from improving family engagement to enhancing overall academic performance, Seesaw ELD is proving to be a game-changer in supporting multilingual learners and creating more inclusive, effective educational environments.

Research Validated English Language Development Solution

Seesaw’s supplemental curriculum is validated by LearnPlatform, a third-party edtech research company, to satisfy Level IV requirements according to Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The programs systematic evidence-based practices and developmentally appropriate design leads to easer differentiation, stronger interaction, and more purposeful assessment. Read the full report outlining how Seesaw satisfies this validation here.

Experience The Seesaw Difference for Multilingual Learners

Seesaw equips teachers with intuitive tools to differentiate instruction for Multilingual Learners and foster culturally-responsive classrooms that drive academic growth and language acquisition. Seesaw ELD provides K-5 Multilingual Learners with scaffolded opportunities to practice reading, writing, listening, and speaking English in the context of over 480 ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies lessons.  

Developmentally appropriate lessons can be flexibly taught through various ELD models and follow the WIDA Framework, Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model, and state content standards. 

Try out the following lessons to support your students in language development:

• Language Arts Grade 2: Language Level 1-2 
• Math Grade K: Language Level 3-4
• Science Grade 5: Language Level 5-6
• Social Studies Grade 1: Language Level 1-2
• English Language Explorers: Newcomers

The post The Learning Experience Platform for Multilingual Learners appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

Educators who use Seesaw in their classroom on a regular basis report significant benefits. Students can share their understanding of a topic in a low pressure environment by utilizing multimedia features such as audio and video recordings, or the multiple drawing tools. In order to foster a strong home to school connection, student work is shared with families and accompanied with powerful translation features that are built right into Seesaw messages.

Our mission at Seesaw is to create joyful learning experiences for all learners every day. In our journey to ensure that this is reality, we have created a comprehensive suite of lessons that are specifically designed for multilingual learners. Before we dive into what that looks like, read how Seesaw supports learners today. 

Real-World Success Stories

Iris P., a 1st and 2nd grade Newcomer teacher, shares how Seesaw enhances her instruction

Iris found Seesaw helpful for differentiating instruction and tailoring learning to multilingual learners’ needs. With Seesaw’s visual and audio features, every student was supported in their development, but she had the option to go even deeper for students who needed it. For improving English speaking skills, she found recording opportunities to be particularly powerful. 

Key Takeaway

Seesaw’s multimedia features allow Iris to differentiate instruction effectively, supporting English language acquisition through interactive technology.

Learn How to Differentiate Instruction Like Iris

Watch this video to see exactly how Seesaw supports multilingual learners 

Julia T., a 5th grade Teacher, describes how Seesaw strengthens the home-school connection

In addition to capturing a deep understanding of content, Seesaw’s recording features made it easy for her to share with her family. The visual evidence of learning built a strong connection between home and school, enabling more powerful conversations to occur and supporting language learning for English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Additionally, the recordings served as a roadmap for how the family could continue Mohammad’s learning beyond the school gates. 

Key Takeaway

Seesaw’s video feature not only captures student progress but also fosters stronger relationships between teachers and families through visual evidence of learning and a visual playbook for continued growth at home.

Learn How to Capture Progress and Voice Like Julia

Read how to use voice and creative tools inside Seesaw and how to connect families to the learning taking place in your Seesaw class

Katie C., a PreK-3rd grade English Teacher, explains how Seesaw engages students and impresses families

Katie discovered that students shared more of their understanding when using the video tool within Seesaw. With Seesaw, her students were able to share more than just the answers. They can articulate their thinking with the video tool. These videos then become a powerful learning archive providing a clear bridge between home and school. This approach is particularly effective for (ESL) students. 

Key Takeaway

By enabling students to record and share their language progress, Seesaw increases engagement and creates meaningful connections between school and home, surprising and delighting families with their children’s progress in the target language.

Learn How To Share Progress Like Katie

Watch our recent webinar Critical Methodologies: Optimizing Achievement for Multilingual Learners to get practical ideas for how to bridge the home<>school gap in your classroom today! 

Katherine M., a 2nd grade bilingual teacher, describes how Seesaw helps track language development

As Katherine tracked her students’ growth and progress over the course of the year, Seesaw’s digital portfolio for tracking language development clearly demonstrated that they were learning. In addition to supporting language acquisition, the visual representation of growth from the Seesaw class journal boosted students’ confidence. 

Key Takeaway

Seesaw’s digital portfolio feature allows both teachers and students to visually track progress in English language acquisition, boosting student confidence as they witness their own growth over time.

Learn How to Use a Digital Portfolio Like Katherine

Tune in to this podcast episode where we talk about how Seesaw supports language development – Apple Podcasts, Spotify

Lisa R., a K-5 English Language (EL) teacher, highlights how Seesaw promotes inclusivity

Seesaw’s multimedia features provided Lisa and her families with easy-to-use tools focused on learning. Seesaw’s built in translation features allow families and students who spoke different languages at home to communicate seamlessly. By creating such an inclusive learning environment, students were able to participate more and gain a deeper understanding of the learning, making Seesaw an effective tool for differentiated instruction in multilingual classrooms.

Key Takeaway

Seesaw’s multimedia and translation features create an inclusive learning environment, breaking down language barriers and enabling easier communication between teachers, students, and families of diverse linguistic backgrounds.

Learn How to Engage Families Like Lisa

Read this article to learn how to translate text right inside Seesaw

Teacher Loved, Research Validated ELD Solution

Seesaw’s supplemental curriculum is validated by LearnPlatform, a third-party edtech research company, to satisfy Level IV requirements according to Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The programs systematic evidence-based practices and developmentally appropriate design leads to easer differentiation, stronger interaction, and more purposeful assessment. Read the full report outlining how Seesaw satisfies this validation here.

Begin Your Success Story

Using Seesaw like the teachers above is a great start. If you are looking to go deeper, the Seesaw English Language Development (ELD) package provides K-5 English Language Learners with scaffolded opportunities to practice reading, writing. Listening, and speaking English in the context of over 480 ELA, math, science, and social studies lessons.

With Seesaw’s multimodal tools, English Language Learners have a safe space to learn, practice, and build confidence while honoring their strengths and experiences, providing personalized language learning experiences for diverse learners. Developmentally appropriate lessons can be flexibly taught in any classroom model. Embedded language supports make content accessible to English Language Learners to build proficiency with ease. 

Try out the following lessons to support your students in language development:

• Language Arts Grade 2: Language Level 1-2 
• Math Grade K: Language Level 3-4
• Science Grade 5: Language Level 5-6
• Social Studies Grade 1: Language Level 1-2
• English Language Explorers: Newcomers

The post Supporting Multilingual Learners: Seesaw Success Stories appeared first on Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform.

In recent years literacy has received even more attention from educators, public policy, and government – putting it in the spotlight for many districts.  A lot of this new attention comes from the post-pandemic effects we have seen in reading & literacy data; students are behind grade-level in this critical, foundational area. Moreover, there have been recent movements highlighting the lack of evidence backing popular reading programs. At this critical time, many schools and districts are looking into their literacy programs and looking for evidence-backed, research-based solutions for early literacy. 

Word Recognition

Word recognition is invaluable in learning to read as it enables swift and accurate identification of words, fostering fluent reading and comprehension. Proficient word recognition leads to reading fluency, allowing readers to focus on understanding the text rather than slowing down to decode individual words. Additionally, it contributes to vocabulary development by exposing readers to a diverse range of words encountered in text, promoting language enrichment. Purposeful practice of word recognition skills is more important than ever. With proficient word recognition, readers gain independence and confidence in reading, leading to increased engagement and enjoyment of reading. Overall, word recognition serves as a foundational skill that empowers readers to navigate texts with ease, unlocking the doors to enjoyment and lifelong learning. Given evidence-back strategies, educators can effectively support children’s development of phonological awareness, decoding skills, and sight word recognition–all components of word recognition–laying a strong foundation for reading success.

Strategies to Improve Students Word Recognition

Phonological Awareness:

• Rhyming: Engage children in rhyming and rhyming games where they identify words that rhyme. This helps develop their awareness of phonemes and sound patterns.
• Segmenting and Blending Sounds: Have students practice segmenting words into individual sounds and blending sounds together to form words. 
• Syllable Segmentation: Encourage children to clap or tap out the syllables in words. Start with simpler words and progress to more complex words as children develop proficiency.
• Phoneme Manipulation: Have children manipulate phonemes within words by substituting, adding, or deleting sounds.

 Decoding:

• Phonics Instruction: Provide systematic and explicit phonics instruction, teaching children the relationship between letters and sounds.
• Word Families: Teach children to recognize common word patterns or word families Have them practice decoding words within the same word family to reinforce phonics skills.
• Decodable Texts: Use decodable texts that contain phonetically regular words aligned with the phonics skills children are learning. Encourage children to apply their decoding skills while reading these texts.
• Word Building Activities: Engage children in word building activities where they manipulate letter tiles or magnetic letters to form words. Encourage them to blend the sounds together to read the words they create.

Sight Word Recognition:

• Word Walls: Create word walls with high-frequency sight words that children encounter frequently in text. Encourage children to practice reading and spelling these words regularly.
• Flashcards: Use flashcards to practice sight word recognition. Review a set of sight words daily and have children read the words aloud or spell them.
• Contextual Reading: Encourage children to identify sight words within the context of sentences or short passages. Provide opportunities for them to practice reading sight words in meaningful contexts.
• Games and Activities: Incorporate games and activities that reinforce sight word recognition, such as sight word bingo, sight word memory match, or sight word scavenger hunts.

Language Comprehension and Development

Developing language skills early is critical for academic success and lifelong achievement, serving as the foundation for literacy growth. Oral language skills such as segmenting and blending sounds are strong predictors of word reading abilities. In addition, a robust vocabulary helps children to determine meaning from written text. Achieving optimal language development depends on access and opportunities to practice verbal interactions. From adult conversations and caregiver-child exchanges to content encountered on platforms like YouTube, children are exposed to various sources as models that develop their language skills. Early literacy is the foundation of acquiring language through listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Strategies for Language Comprehension and Development:

1. Build Background Knowledge: Provide ways for students to build background knowledge through exposure to diverse texts, experiences, and discussions. Activate their prior knowledge before reading.
2. Explicitly Teach Vocabulary Instruction: Teach vocabulary explicitly and systematically, focusing on tiered vocabulary words that are essential for comprehension. Use evidence-based strategies such as semantic mapping, word webs, and context clues to deepen understanding of vocabulary words.
3. Demonstrate Language Structures: Implement structured literacy approaches that integrate phonology, syntax, and semantics, and more in a systematic and explicit manner.
4. Expose Students to Verbal Reasoning: Engage children in text-based discussions to deepen comprehension and critical thinking skills. Encourage students to ask and answer questions about the text, make inferences, make connections to their own experiences, and support their ideas with evidence from the text.
5. Broaden Students Literacy Experiences: Develop literacy knowledge by teaching concepts such as print concepts, genres, and text structures. Use scaffolded instruction to build upon children’s existing literacy knowledge and support their development as proficient readers and writers.

Early Intervention and Assessment

Early intervention and assessment ensure students growth is on track leading to long-term academic success and overall development. Identifying and addressing growth opportunities at an early age can lead to more effective outcomes and stronger interventions. Research shows that early intervention has long-term benefits for children’s academic achievement, social-emotional development, and overall well-being. 

Strategies for Implementing Early Intervention and Assessment:

1. Regularly Screen and Assess: Use evidence-based screening and assessment tools to identify ways to support students. Certain tools can assess various aspects of early literacy development, including phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
2. Embed Observational Assessments: Conduct ongoing observations of student’s literacy behaviors and interactions with literacy materials in various contexts, such as during free play, small group activities, or reading time. Observational assessment provides valuable insights into children’s strengths, challenges, and progress in literacy development.
3. Involve Parents or Caregivers: Engage parents and caregivers in the assessment process by providing information about early literacy milestones, offering opportunities for parent-teacher conferences, and encouraging home-based literacy activities. Collaborating with families ensures a holistic approach to supporting children’s literacy development.
4. Progress Monitor: Implement ongoing progress monitoring to assess student growth and determine the effectiveness of interventions. Use formative assessments, such as curriculum-based measurements, to track students’ progress over time and make data-informed instructional decisions.

Teacher Friendly, Research Validated Early Literacy Solution

Seesaw’s supplemental curriculum is validated by LearnPlatform, a third-party edtech research company, to satisfy Level IV requirements according to Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The programs systematic evidence-based practices and explicit instruction of phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension align with research-based practices to accomplish this task. Read the full report outlining how Seesaw satisfies this validation here.

Say Hello to Seesaw

Seesaw provides evidence-based early literacy content that can be implemented flexibly while instilling a love of reading.  We support foundational reading skills with engaging, meaningful, standards-aligned lessons that bring joy and student autonomy to any classroom. Say goodbye to boring, repetitive, drill-based programs, and say hello to Seesaw. 

Try out the following collections, which also include formative assessments, to support your students in literacy:

• Fun Phonemes, also offered in Spanish, helps students build phonemic awareness by listening to, identifying, and matching sounds to build mastery of each phoneme.
• Alphabet Garden introduces learners to letters where they practice letter formation, phonemic awareness, and making connections to each letter in the real world.
• Alphabet Treasures assists students in building rapid letter recognition and identification in multimodal ways.
• Phenomenal Phonics, also offered in Spanish, helps students recognize sound-spelling relationships by sorting, blending, segmenting, and making connections.

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Create

The activity creation experience has been updated to showcase the range of multimodal ways that Seesaw can be used by students to show what they know.

When creating a new activity, teachers can choose one of five student response template types: Creative Canvas, Assessment, Upload Resource, Link Resource, or Note. If no template is selected, students get the option to choose how they respond to your instructions using any of Seesaw’s tools.

• Creative Canvas: Create interactive activities where students can respond using multimedia tools like photos, video, draw+record, voice, drawing, and more.
• Assessment*: Jump straight into adding auto-graded questions to activities. Bonus! Save time using the AI-powered Questions Assistant to find suggested questions quickly and edit them to fit your needs.
• Upload Resource: Don’t reinvent the wheel – Upload a PDF, images, video, or any file from Google Drive to start your template. Then make it Seesaw-special using any of the interactive multimedia or assessment tools.
• Link Resource: Quickly link to an external resource, like another online tool or website. Then use any of the interactive multimedia or assessment tools to make your activity more robust or engaging.
• Note: Collect longer-form text responses from students with optional voice recording.

Assign

Assigning activities on Seesaw is even easier– plan ahead, differentiate instruction, and stay organized with our new updates.

• Plan Ahead*: Schedule activities in advance as you’re planning out your week. Add a due date to activities so that students know when to complete them. Automatically archive activities to keep your Activities Tab organized.
• Differentiate Instruction: Edit any activity to meet the needs of your students. Add in voice instructions or additional pages to make any premade activity your own. Easily assign to individuals or to student groups with similar needs, so every student receives the right level of support and challenge.
• Stay Organized*: Tag activities with a standard to monitor progress and track learning outcomes in your classroom. Add activities to folders so you can keep the materials in your digital classroom organized and easily find them later.

Manage

We’ve updated the Activities tab with a Calendar View so that teachers can easily plan ahead and manage their instruction on Seesaw. You can also use the Present to Class feature to model behaviors and instructions for students in front of the class.

• Looking Ahead: The new calendar format saves you time by visually showing what activities are currently active to your students and what’s scheduled for a future date. Easily track how your week will play out and how Seesaw aligns with your lesson plans.
• Managing Instruction: Review student responses to activities that are currently assigned to students. Make edits to scheduled activities before they go live to students. Help students stay organized by archiving activities so that they are no longer active for students.
• Present to Class: You can now access this feature from the Activities tab to model behaviors and instructions for students in front of the class before they complete an activity on their own devices.

This is just a short summary of the many exciting updates coming to Seesaw. Join us at Connect 2023, Seesaw’s two-day personalized conference, on August 8-9, 2023 where we will give a closer look at all the new features, give them time to explore, and ask questions directly to members of the Seesaw team. If you can’t attend live, register for on-demand access after the conference.

*Assessment, AI-powered questions assistant, schedule activities, due dates, and the Progress dashboard are available with all school and district subscriptions. 

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Start With Just One Idea From ISTE

Many people leave conferences inspired and energized, but they can also be overwhelmed! With several action-packed days of learning, sharing and networking, it’s tough to know where to begin after the conference. You must consider your unique professional context, the needs of your students and staff, and your comfort level with technology. Ask yourself the following questions to narrow down where to start:

What are your educational goals and priorities?

Find out which areas of your curriculum or teaching practice could benefit from technology integration. Consider ideas that enhance student learning outcomes and align with your instructional goals.

Can I simplify this idea?

Just like you do with curriculum and lesson planning, break down complex ideas from ISTE into manageable steps or adapt them to your student’s current skill level if they seem too advanced. To ensure that students can grasp and participate in the activities, simplify the concept while preserving its essence.

What are your student’s needs and interests?

Consider the demographics of your students, their learning styles, and their interests. Choose ideas that resonate with them and will motivate them. Student buy-in is crucial for successful implementation.

Can my students do this on their own?

Look for ideas that promote student agency, allowing them to take ownership of their learning. Think of strategies to encourage collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. These approaches help students become active participants and contributors to the learning process.

Who can I ask for help?

If you’re unsure of what to do, don’t hesitate to ask fellow educators, technology experts, or online communities for advice. Seesaw offers active communities where educators are willing to share ideas and provide feedback. Join one of Seesaw’s professional learning communities to gain valuable insights, new resources, and practical tips for successful classroom activities.

Kickstart Your Year with Seesaw Upgrades

This year at ISTE, we announced exciting new improvements to Seesaw, making teaching more efficient and effective.

Formative Assessment

Our new formative assessment capabilities combine the time savings of auto-grading with the power of multimodal tools to gain deeper insights into student learning to provide targeted support and guide instruction.

Formative assessments help teachers quickly gauge student understanding by adding auto-graded multiple choice, true/false, poll, and drag & drop questions to any Seesaw assignment.  Live student response data enables responsive instruction & differentiation. Time is of the essence in any classroom, so teachers can use the “Find Questions Tool” that automatically generates editable formative assessment questions. Students can continue to use all of Seesaw’s creative multimodal tools alongside formative assessment questions to explain their thinking.

Content Playlists

Playlists save teachers time and support differentiation, allowing teachers to assign instructional sequences that reinforce learning across multiple activities. Teachers can assign multiple activities to their class at once, a lesson from the Seesaw Library, or collections of lessons in the “My Library” tab.

New Lessons

Seesaw is expanding its library to offer over 500 NEW high-quality lessons, including 200+ for grades 3-6, to reinforce essential skills. The library now contains thousands of ready-to-teach, standards-aligned lessons as a part of your Seesaw subscription.

Through our platform, educators are able to save time, simplify differentiation, and foster student engagement. As more updates and refinements are underway for educators around the world, we remain dedicated to offering ongoing support and resources to help teachers maximize the potential of the Seesaw platform.

Join Us at Connect this August

Looking for another opportunity to sync with other educators, learn best practices, and get energized for the upcoming school year? Look no further than Connect, Seesaw’s annual FREE virtual conference taking place this August 8-9. On-demand sessions will be available from August 10 until September 30, 2023.

You’ll hear from inspiring keynote speakers who share their knowledge and expertise and motivate teachers to start their year right. In addition to the keynote sessions, there will be 20 sessions covering a wide range of topics, including classroom management strategies, innovative approaches to technology integration, and bringing lessons to life with engaging online and offline activities.

Educators will have the opportunity to join engaging panels to discuss current trends and challenges in education. These panels offer an excellent opportunity to learn from experienced educators and gain new perspectives. Don’t miss the Ignite Talks that will provide you with practical ideas you can implement immediately in your classroom.

Connect isn’t just about learning; it’s also about networking and connecting with fellow educators. You’ll have ample opportunities to connect, exchange ideas, and build lasting professional relationships throughout the event. To enhance your classroom resources, there will be fun games and giveaways, including over $6,000 in door prizes.

Connect is an event you shouldn’t miss out on, as it will provide you with the tools and inspiration you need to succeed this school year. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to connect with fellow educators and learn from some of the best in the field. It’s free, it’s online, and it’s happening in August.

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