LightSail for Homeschoolers is a complete and adaptive language arts platform that focuses on four major areas reading, writing, vocabulary, and fluency. LightSail has a Young Learners program for PreK-3rd grade and a Literary Solutions program for 3rd-12th grade. LightSail offers both secular and faith-based reading options. With ChildSafe Content Controls parents are able to control what their child is able to see and read. Built in assessments are a great way for parents to see how their child is coming along. I was given the opportunity to have the Premium Subscription that is for up to 5 children and is good for 1 year.
LightSail for Homeschoolers Reading has a vast library of over 10,000 books for all ages. Your child is able to create their own library with specific interests and content that is targeted to their reading level. You are also able to purchase books within the LightSail program. Purchasing a book through the LightSail site enables your child not only to read the book but it has extra features built into each book such as fill-in-the-blank questions, multiple choice questions, short answer, and even mini video's that relate to the content. As your child reads their books the program is constantly monitoring their progress and comprehension.
LightSail for Homeschoolers Writing teaches the mechanics of writing. The writing modules enables students to practice their writing skills using writing prompts utilizing a variety of types of writing. To help your child in their writing there are graphic organizers that step-by-step guide your child through their writing. As your child's teacher you are able to give your child feedback and instructions along the way through written, verbal, and even video recordings. The Writing Workshop uses a game type feature. There is a virtual wheel that your child spins and depending on what it lands on your child is given grade appropriate assignments. There is a seven step writing process within your child's graphic organizer which includes:
- Brainstorming
- I Know
- I Wonder
- Research
- I Learned
- In Review
- Complete
LightSail for Homeschoolers Vocabulary takes a spiral approach to teaching vocabulary. What is a spiral approach? LightSail works on your child's spelling and vocabulary that is both personalized for your child and immersive. Your child will be introduced to new words and their spelling in a variety of ways and contexts. Depending on your child's reading level, vocabulary words will be suggested. You can also choose words for your child based upon their Lexile level as well as adding in sight words or word families. The vocabulary module has multiple ways to assess your child's familiarity with words. In vocabulary assessments student will be asked to define the word, give the part of speech, give a synonym for the word, and writing the words in sentences.
LightSail for Homeschoolers Fluency helps students gain confidence in reading as well as accuracy. Measuring a child's fluency after they become independent readers is important for several reasons: students may be skipping words that they are unfamiliar with and do not know how to pronounce. It is important to know long it takes a child to read given material and how well they are comprehending it. Knowing your child's speed of reading is a good measure to insure that over time they are advancing. There is a read-aloud setting in which you pick a book from your child's library and select a paragraph from the book. Your child reads aloud the passage and they are then able to play back what they have just read. If they struggled the first time they can continue to attempt to improve their reading. LightSail has a Running Record which allows the program to count your child's words per minute. You as a parent are able to listen to your child's recording and mark words that they have omitted, words that they have added into the reading, words pronounced wrong, etc. LightSail will then tabulate your child's fluency and words per minute based on your markings in the reading. LightSail Fluency also has an extremely helpful tool in which your child can retell in their own words what they have just read. A grading rubric is also part of the LightSail program to help make grading easier for parents. Recordings of your child's reading is stored for a full year. This is a wonderful tool to see how your child has progressed over a years time.
Before your child gains access to their libraries they are given a test to see what their Lexile Level is. I am not sure if it is different for all ages and grades. My daughter read passages and then had to answer a question based on the passage. She got to question 45 I think.
I was impressed with the sheer amount of available content available to students. The entire World Book Encyclopedia is included, the World Book's Atlas, and the World Book Timeline. The Encyclopedia has educational features built into it that are absolutely genius. The variety of books available from comic books to the classics and everything in between. There is something that will appeal to everyone. LightSail even has a Personalized Reader Tool for the child with reading difficulties. Whether your child just struggles with reading or they are diagnosed with dyslexia, ADHD, or various other learning issues, LightSail has you covered. Be sure to read what my Fellow Crew Members had to say about Lightsail for Homeschoolers.
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