Lalilo is an engaging, standards-based program that provides K–2 students with foundational literacy practice both in and out of the classroom. Read on to discover new Lalilo features to help accelerate student learning this fall and beyond.
Introducing Direct Instruction lessons
Beginning this month, Lalilo will release the first six Direct Instruction lessons in our US curriculum. The goal of these lessons is to give students explicit instruction and guided practice on concepts before they practice them and—when needed—during practice. Our first Direct Instruction components will support students in Grammar and Conventions lessons. We aim to reduce the number of inefficiencies in learning by explicitly teaching skills when needed and supporting students who are struggling with certain literacy concepts, such as collective nouns:
We will continue to add comprehension content through the end of 2022 to give students more variety and opportunities to practice comprehension skills. We will release additional Direct Instruction lessons in 2023 as well.
Updated state standards and enhanced comprehension books
In our continued efforts to enhance both the student and teacher experience in Lalilo, we have added content in our comprehension books that cover more standards. These 20 new books span grade levels and genres (fiction, informational text, and poetry). In addition, students can now navigate back and forth across pages and view larger images, and the new illustrated texts also support deeper comprehension. Our book topics include fairy tales, realistic fiction, problem solving, space, animal adaptations, biographies, sports, environment, and food.
We added 20 new comprehension books to our English language content:
We also increased standards coverage across key standards systems:
New Lalilo Implementation Guide for teachers
It has never been easier for teachers to set up Lalilo. The Implementation Guide is a new addition to the Lalilo Resources page and was created based on teachers’ feedback. This comprehensive guide shows teachers what to expect when getting started with Lalilo and how to continue using the program throughout the school year. In addition, a new Nearpod Lessons List shows all of our connected Nearpod lessons to help teachers align Lalilo practice with teacher-led instructional resources.
Both the Implementation Guide and Nearpod Lessons List are accessible in the teacher interface under “Resources.”
New Star Phonics–Lalilo crosswalk
As research has shown, phonics skills are the most important indicator in determining if a student will become a successful reader. We recently developed a “crosswalk” between Star Phonics and Lalilo to easily connect assessment with skills practice. Once you’ve used Star Phonics to assess your students’ phonics skills (areas of strength and where they may need extra attention), you can use Lalilo to engage your students with additional support. The crosswalk displays each Star Phonics category with specific practice in Lalilo; it not only connects the Star Phonics skill with the Lalilo lesson, but also tells you where to locate it in Lalilo, saving teachers time and helping them to be more action oriented:
To access the new Star Phonics–Lalilo crosswalk, click here.
Understanding the important role of individualized Lalilo practice
A new study observing 1,512 students in grades K–2 who used both Star Early Literacy and Lalilo during the 2021–2022 school year examined how patterns of growth vary depending on the way students use Lalilo. The findings indicated that early literacy practice with Lalilo was associated with higher levels of growth in general literacy achievement. Despite national rates of literacy growth falling during the pandemic, students using Lalilo during this time demonstrated typical or above typical rates of growth relative to peers in the same school districts who did not use the program. More intensive use of Lalilo was associated with stronger rates of literacy growth relative to less consistent use.
These promising results suggest that supplementing instruction with adaptive early literacy skills practice in Lalilo may be an efficient and effective way to boost critical foundational skills.