Elisa Balbuena - ILA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website #2

Elisa Balbuena

IRA Newsletter Project: Effective Literacy Website #2

            ThinkCERCA (https://www.thinkcerca.com/cerca) is a website that provides literacy lessons that integrate technology. The lessons are well-structured and allow teachers to provide differentiated instruction to students while encouraging critical thinking skills that are applied through writing. The website provides resources that can be used in English Language Arts, Social Studies, or Math and Science, or for writing across the curriculum.

            The website was founded by Eileen Murphy when she left teaching after 15 years to work in her district’s central office. She realized that many students were leaving K-12 schooling without knowledge of how to work with and consume information, think about it critically, and then be able to express their thoughts effectively, and she started work to create ThinkCERCA as a result. Since its online launch in 2013, ThinkCERCA has been able to help many students achieve as much as 1.5 to 2.5 years of reading growth.

            The lessons provided on ThinkCERCA are self-paced and encourage collaborative learning, so teachers can easily use them in their daily routines. The ELA content on the website is organized by theme and includes leveled lessons for grades 3-12. Teachers assign a lesson based on a theme, which they can differentiate as needed. Students then read an engaging, authentic, and high-interest text provided through the platform. As they read, they have access to in-text vocabulary and audio support, can practice annotating for specific disciplines, and can even be assessed for comprehension. Afterward, the platform guides students through the writing process, during which students respond to engaging and discipline specific writing prompts. During this step, students are provided with interactive graphic organizers with writing scaffolds and sentence stems to help organize their thoughts and guide their writing. While engaging in the writing process, students can also participate in discussions and debates with their classmates to facilitate extra learning through speaking and listening activities. Once an activity is completed, teachers can then provide feedback that the students can use to grow and improve their skills. The ThinkCERCA platform also has built-in areas where student progress can be monitored as they move through the curriculum.

            The resources provided through ThinkCERCA are media-rich, engaging, and high-interest, characteristics that are important for building student investment. With a focus on improving critical thinking through reading and writing, ThinkCERCA separates itself from many other literacy websites. This makes it a great literacy website to use in the classroom.