MindPlay Reading Studio

Evaluation for 1.1a
Materials include an explanation of the stated purpose of the supplemental program (e.g., additional instruction and/or practice, targeted remediation or acceleration).

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual’s “Introduction” section states that MindPlay Reading Studio is a targeted remediation and acceleration program. The materials provide an “adaptive, research-backed literacy solution” designed to deliver comprehensive reading intervention. The materials offer tiered instruction and intervention that address the language needs of developing and struggling readers at tier-two and tier-three levels. MindPlay Reading Studio supports a diverse range of learning needs through adaptive computer-based instruction and flexible supplemental resources.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual provides layered instruction and interventions to meet the language needs of emerging and struggling readers. In particular, the program addresses tier-two and tier-three intervention requirements through structured, cumulative instruction while also serving general education (tier-one) students.

Evaluation for 1.1b
Materials include guidance on how to appropriately use the supplemental program to support an existing core reading and language arts program.

MindPlay Reading Studio includes guidance on integrating the program with a district’s core English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) program. The MindPlay program provides adaptive, computer-based instruction and flexible supplemental resources that combine direct and digital teaching. The resource manual offers educators a suggested pacing-and-dosage chart and explains that the program “accommodates flexible classroom models, allowing students to work independently, in small groups, or follow offline, scripted lessons.”

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual provides educators with guidance on navigating the Teacher Dashboard and its features. The dashboard offers data on individual students and classes and provides recommendations to support tailored instruction and student progress. The manual also explains the features of the Student Dashboard.

The materials support “flexible integration across instructional models” and align with Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Response to Intervention (RTI) frameworks, flexible classroom groupings, and blended learning.

Evaluation for 1.1c
Materials include a scope and sequence outlining student expectations, skills taught, and a rationale for the design of the scope and sequence.

The Scope and Sequence moves from simple to complex skills in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and grammar. It also shows how these foundational skills appear in the individual student growth overview reports available through the Teacher Dashboard. MindPlay Reading Studio includes a list of the TEKS addressed in the program in the “TEKS Alignment” document for grades 3–5. Correlations identify the content type for each lesson as direct or digital instruction.

The Scope and Sequence table organizes instruction within a comprehensive, research-based framework and ensures that skills are introduced, reinforced, and mastered in a logical progression aligned with the Science of Reading and the Orton-Gillingham Foundation. The materials provide a rationale for each Scope and Sequence covering phonological awareness instruction, phonics and decoding, fluency progression, comprehension, and grammar progression.

The materials explain the rationale for the Scope and Sequence in the “Path to Grade-Level Growth” document. The Scope and Sequence builds individual skills across levels and connects them to overall reading development. The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual explains that phonological awareness instruction responds to students’ phonics performance rather than to age or grade level, and it guides students through explicit instruction on the six syllable types, progressing from skill introduction to advanced application. It also outlines a five-step fluency sequence and describes the progression of comprehension and grammar instruction.

Evaluation for 1.1d
Materials include guidance on time requirements (e.g., duration, frequency) and suggested pacing for effective implementation.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual breaks down the desired usage into daily and weekly goals and sets a “20-hour milestone.” Students should use MindPlay for 30–45 minutes per day or 80–150 minutes per week, with a minimum of 60 minutes per week to demonstrate progress. Additionally, the materials state that at 20 hours, “Many students demonstrate up to a full year of reading growth.”

The “Suggested Pacing and Dosage” section of the Implementation Guide specifies frequency, session length, and goals for tier-two and tier-three students. For example, tier-two students should use the program four days per week, with 30-minute sessions, with the goal of Targeted Gap Closure.

Evaluation for 1.1e
Materials include resources and guidance to support educators with implementing the materials as designed.

The “MindPlay Knowledge Base” document provides resources for educators and administrators and covers topics like getting started, reading coaches, personalized libraries, assessments, student data and reports, technical support, and training and resource videos. These articles and videos go beyond the manual and provide in-depth resources on implementation, rationale, and instructional support for literacy.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual supports educators in implementing the materials as designed. The manual explains that the Universal Screener determines each student’s initial independent reading level. When students first enter a story-reading activity, they are assigned four stories at the screener-determined level. Students then complete diagnostic assessments embedded in the program to identify skill gaps. These assessments place students precisely within individual learning pathways. The guidance and included charts help educators implement the assessments as designed.

Evaluation for 1.1f
Materials contain supports for families in both Spanish and English with suggestions on supporting the progress of their student.

The materials include an Overview Report and a printable version of key student data from the dashboard and “Skill” tabs. This formatted report helps educators share students’ progress with parents, families, and other stakeholders.

The Supporting Your Reader at Home Family Guide, available in English and Spanish, provides families with concrete, actionable suggestions to support their student’s reading progress across five key literacy skill areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. These same skill areas are tracked in the MindPlay Reading Studio Student Dashboard.

Evaluation for 2.1a
Materials include appropriate instructional assessments for the stated purpose of the supplemental program (e.g., diagnostic placement assessments for targeted remediation or acceleration).

The materials include diagnostic assessments embedded within the program. These assessments identify skill gaps and strengths in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The MindPlay Universal Screener includes seven tests that capture data on all aspects of foundational reading skills and use a variety of test formats. The materials use the Universal Screener to place students in individualized learning pathways, provide targeted instruction when skill gaps are identified, and accelerate instruction when students demonstrate mastery. The materials also administer benchmark assessments four times per year to monitor overall growth.

After assessing a student’s current knowledge, the MindPlay Reading Studio develops targeted lessons and refines the learning path in real time, based on student performance. When data indicates mastery or sufficient improvement, students automatically transition back to grade‑level instruction.

Evaluation for 2.1b
Materials include the definition and intended purpose for the instructional assessments included.

The product manual includes an “Assessment & Monitoring Frequency” table that identifies four assessment types, specifies how often the program administers each, and explains each assessment’s purpose. The materials use instructional assessments to place students in individualized learning pathways, provide targeted remediation when skill gaps are identified, and accelerate instruction when students demonstrate mastery.

The Implementation Guide lists each assessment and its purpose. The “Assessment & Monitoring Frequency” section defines the main assessments and their uses. Key assessment schedules include benchmark assessments four times a year—at the start of the year, in November, in February, and 30 days before the end of the school year—to track overall growth. The guide also defines the program’s other assessment types and their purposes.

Evaluation for 2.1c
For instructional assessments administered by educators, materials include guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because the program is student driven. Assessments are administered by the program, not an educator.

Evaluation for 2.1d
Instructional assessments include items at varying levels of complexity.

The MindPlay Reading Studio program includes seven tests, with items progressing from simple to complex. Early tasks target single skills (e.g., sound–letter connections). Later tasks require applied skills such as multisyllabic decoding, fluent reading, and text comprehension. Item difficulty adapts to the student by raising accuracy standards, removing supports, and using more complex language.

Instructional assessments include items that evaluate varying levels of complexity. For example, the Comprehension Screener is adaptive and adjusts based on student responses. When using the Universal Screener, if a student does not pass any of the tests related to the four stories, the system automatically lowers the fluency level to match the student’s needs. The Universal Screener includes items at varying levels of complexity, progressing from foundational skills to the application of reading skills.

MindPlay Reading Studio offers instructional assessments featuring a variety of item types. For example, spelling activities appear in several formats. Students can place letters in Elkonin boxes, type words, select a correctly spelled syllable, or connect syllables to form words. For reading comprehension, students can use a variety of response types, such as multiple choice, hot text, inline choice, and arrange-sentence activities.

Evaluation for 2.2a
Instructional assessments and scoring information provide guidance for interpreting student performance.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides educators with tools to monitor and analyze students’ reading progress. The program includes real-time dashboards and reports that display student performance in phonics, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. These reports help educators identify learning gaps, adjust instruction, assign targeted practice, and form strategic small groups based on students’ needs. The Teacher Dashboard also provides additional data, including Independent Reading Levels, comprehension performance, and risk categories, giving educators multiple ways to review and respond to students’ progress.

The materials also provide guidance on interpreting assessment results. MindPlay’s Universal Screener includes charts that report students’ performance in topics such as visual scanning, grammar for meaning, listening vocabulary, phonics, and spelling real words. Each chart includes grade-level norms and explanations of the skills measured. The program categorizes performance into four levels—Critical (C), Approaching (A), Meeting (M), and Exceeding (E)—to help educators determine appropriate instructional next steps. Color-coded reports on the Teacher Dashboard further support data interpretation and decision-making by presenting student performance trends in an accessible format.

Evaluation for 2.2b
Materials provide guidance for the use of the supplemental program to respond to student trends in performance on assessments.

MindPlay Reading Studio generates and saves actionable guidance for educators based on student performance until the educator approves or removes it. These suggestions make it easy to add targeted practice or plan small-group lessons. For example, when a student passes a phonics lesson, the program recommends a matched decodable book and groups other students who need the same practice. If students struggle with phonemic awareness, phonics, grammar, or comprehension, MindPlay Reading Studio suggests a small-group lesson with a support sheet and groups students who share that need.

The materials provide educator guidance through dashboards that track assessment performance trends. In these dashboards, educators can access data on average class growth and usage, along with specific recommendations to support students’ progress. For more insight into foundational skills, the “Individual Skills” tab generates student reports featuring color‑coded charts that break down progress by category.

The materials include data-triggered recommendations (decodable-book assignments and Support Sheets) and four methods for responding to trends: tiered activities, small groups, targeted remediation, and scaffolding.

Evaluation for 2.2c
Materials include tools for educators to track student progress and growth, and tools for students to track their own progress and growth.

MindPlay Reading Studio includes a digital Teacher Dashboard that allows educators to view progress by student and by class. They can also identify trends over time using graphs and charts that capture diagnostic, formative, and summative data. The dashboard updates every two weeks. Information provided in the dashboard through Growth Widgets helps educators intervene and adjust instruction as needed.

MindPlay Reading Studio features a digital Student Dashboard that helps students take ownership of their learning with interactive progress trackers and growth reports. Students can set personal learning goals, see which skills they have mastered, and identify areas for improvement.

Students can see their progress on the Student Dashboard, with data broken down into a detailed analysis of foundational skills. Students can also view their usage data, such as how many books they read, their current activity, and how many minutes they logged in the library.

Evaluation for 2.2d
If applicable for the stated purpose of the supplemental program, materials include guidance for entry and exit criteria.

MindPlay Reading Studio focuses on entry criteria and provides onboarding steps for diagnostic and embedded assessments. These assessments pinpoint gaps and strengths in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Results are used to place students in personalized learning paths, prompt targeted remediation for foundational needs, and accelerate instruction when students demonstrate mastery. The program also offers embedded progress monitoring through the Teacher Dashboard. Exit criteria include benchmarks, pretests, and posttests across various levels, based on grade-level proficiency.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides built-in diagnostics and progress monitoring to guide placement within the program. The Universal Screener determines each student’s initial independent reading level and automatically adjusts the fluency level to match students’ needs. These diagnostics pinpoint gaps in foundational reading skills. Skill-specific data from nationally used assessments, such as Lexile, is also provided.

Evaluation for 3.1a
If applicable for the stated purpose, materials include educator guidance for differentiated instruction and activities for students who have not yet reached proficiency in grade-level skills.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual includes a “Differentiation and Scaffolds” section that provides specific guidance for educators supporting students who perform below proficiency. Educators use report data and the Recommendations Widget to identify skill gaps and form small groups for targeted instruction. The materials provide tiered practice to reinforce foundational skills and include printable Supplemental Support Sheets for small-group or one-on-one remediation. The materials also offer scaffolds such as additional modeling, prompts, and guidance to support students as they progress toward grade-level skills.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual includes a “What is the Recommendations Widget” section that guides educators in differentiating instruction. The system generates recommendations based on Reading Coach triggers and students’ current progress. These recommendations remain active until educators dismiss them, and the widget allows educators to adjust students’ learning paths, as needed. The “Resources” section provides printable Support Sheets, including instructional scripts and student handouts. The system also recommends decodable books aligned with students’ demonstrated mastery of phonics skills.

Evaluation for 3.1b
If applicable for the stated purpose, materials include educator guidance for differentiated instruction and activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level skills.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because the program has a stated purpose of targeted remediation or acceleration, not additional instruction and/or practice.

Evaluation for 3.1c
Materials include educator guidance for providing specially designed instruction (SDI) for students receiving supports and services through special education.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual includes a “Delivering SDI [specially designed instruction] with MindPlay Reading Studio” section that guides educators working with students in special education. It shows educators how to use MindPlay test results to write Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals and explains which scores align with each teaching target. This section also explains how to set instructional intensity, record changes in service logs, use educator modeling and specialist support, and track students’ progress over time.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual identifies resources that support instructional adaptations. The materials direct educators to use the Recommendations Widget to identify students assigned to the “Reinforce Concept” pathway and to provide printable Support Sheets for small-group or one-on-one instruction, including instruction aligned with students’ IEPs. The system updates students’ Lexile levels every two weeks, and the materials recommend adjusting instructional strategies when student growth plateaus. The materials also provide Skills Mastery reports that educators can use when developing a Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) report or when participating in an Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meeting.

Evaluation for 3.2a
Educator-led supplemental programs include explicit (direct) prompts and guidance to support the educator in modeling and explaining the skill(s) to be learned.

The materials include Support Sheets that guide educators and recommend effective delivery and facilitation through a variety of instructional approaches. For lessons that target foundational skills, such as the lesson “2 syllable + K,” the Support Sheets provide educators with specific prompts to read during instruction, enabling them to model and explain the skills to be learned. In this lesson, the educator receives targeted “Suggestions and Tips,” such as “Provide clear demonstrations of individual sounds, sound combinations, and full-word production.” Support Sheets also include lesson-delivery scripts.

The materials provide brief, explicit prompts that help educators model and explain reading-comprehension skills. For example, the comprehension lesson “Characteristics of Children’s Literature” offers clear, actionable guidance, including a lesson introduction, direct instruction, an activity, guided practice, assessment components, grade-level discussion starters, and an answer key. The grade-level discussion-starter prompt reads, “To deepen the lesson based on the specific grade, ask these follow-up questions,” and then provides a list of questions differentiated for each grade.

In the educator-led portion of the MindPlay Reading Studio program, the prompts explicitly help educators model and explain the concepts students will learn. For example, the lesson “Consonant -le Support Sheet” directs educators in the “Strategies and Tips” section to “provide clear demonstrations of individual sounds, sound combinations, and full-word production.” Educators print Chant Cards, cut them out, glue the pieces together, and laminate the cards, then use them for spiral review throughout the year. The “Coach” section provides educators with an explicit script to model and explain the consonant -le pattern.

Evaluation for 3.2b
Educator-led supplemental programs include educator guidance and recommendations for effective delivery and facilitation using a variety of instructional approaches.

In the educator-led portion of MindPlay Reading Studio, Supplemental Support Sheets provide a range of instructional approaches to guide educators. For example, in the lesson “Silent Letters,” the educator demonstrates sound production and uses Coach and Chant Cards to provide practice and repetition. Students build letter–sound correspondence through “Match It” and “Built It” activities. They then apply learned phonics skills in a “Spell It” activity to practice encoding. During the “Roll-and-Spell” activity, students work with a partner and roll dice to pick an activity from a choice board. These varied instructional approaches help students strengthen their knowledge of silent letters.

The materials provide educators with clear guidance and recommendations for delivering lessons through a variety of instructional approaches. Each lesson shows educators how to introduce concepts and model reading skills. Lessons combine paired practice, whole-class Q&A, and independent work so students can apply modeled comprehension skills. Every plan includes concise, explicit directions for facilitating these activities. The program offers a range of instructional activities and flexible levels of educator support. For example, in the lesson “Character Dynamics,” the educator assigns students roles such as major and minor characters. Students toss a ball of yarn from the major character to minor characters, then use academic language to explain the relationships among those characters.

Evaluation for 3.2c
Materials include guidance for educators on recommended structures (e.g., whole group, small group, individual) to support effective implementation.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual provides educator-led lesson plans that outline recommended structures for each lesson component—whole group, small group, and individual work. For example, a grammar lesson on active and passive voice prompts educators to lead a whole-class review of the definitions, have students take turns completing a card-sorting activity, pair students for a matching activity, and give each student an activity sheet to complete.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual guides educators on when to use small groups or individual lessons to support effective implementation. The manual states, “Implement MindPlay for self-paced student learning or within blended models that combine direct and digital instruction.” The Recommendations Widget groups struggling students and gives the educator a recommendation for in-class, small-group instruction, along with a corresponding Support Sheet.

Evaluation for 3.3a
Materials include educator guidance on providing linguistic accommodations for various levels of language proficiency [as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)], which are designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic language.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual provides general guidance on scaffolding with linguistic accommodations. However, it does not provide specific support for varying language proficiency levels. It also lacks sentence and paragraph stems, cognates, or targeted vocabulary instruction. The educator-led Supplemental Support Sheets do not mention linguistic accommodations or strategies to promote academic language development.

The materials offer general linguistic accommodations to help students use increasingly academic language. The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual provides general strategies for supporting emergent bilingual (EB) students, such as using the program’s reports—the Foundational Skills Profile and the Error Report—to monitor growth in English proficiency. The Teacher Dashboard recommends actions and automatically groups students who struggle with the same concept. The Teacher Dashboard also prompts educators to use Support Sheets to deliver targeted small‑group instruction. The manual encourages educators to incorporate language activities to reinforce listening and speaking skills, but it does not specify particular activities.

The “Multilingual Learner Supports and Program Design” section of the Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual provides general guidance on academic language acquisition. However, these materials lack specific linguistic supports for the various ELPS levels.

Evaluation for 3.3b
Materials include implementation guidance to support educators in effectively using the materials in state-approved bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual includes a section titled “Implementation Guidance for Bilingual and ESL [English as a Second Language] Programs.” This guidance provides recommendations for small-group intervention structures, adaptive instructional pathways, targeted supports, and the use of Recommendations Widgets and Support Sheets.

The Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual explains how educators can use foundational skills profiles, error reports, Lexile growth data, and progress-monitoring tools to distinguish decoding difficulties of language-acquisition in EB students.

The “Multilingual Learner Supports and Program Design” section serves as a compliance and implementation roadmap, mapping MindPlay’s instructional features directly to the TEKS, the ELPS, and the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS). It validates program effectiveness by integrating adaptive, research-based literacy instruction, such as oral language modeling and bilingual reporting, into established bilingual and ESL program models. This ensures educators have the structure and evidence needed to support EB students and meet state documentation mandates.

Evaluation for 3.3c
If designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs, materials include resources that outline opportunities to address metalinguistic transfer from English to the partner language.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs.

Evaluation for 4.1a
Materials do not include the three-cueing method as defined in Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.0062. TEC, §28.0062 defines three-cueing as a method of reading instruction for the identification of words in which a student is encouraged to draw on context and sentence structure to read words without sounding the words out or using a phonics-based approach.

No evidence of three-cueing as defined in Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.0062 was found in this program.

Evaluation for 4.2a
Materials include a systematic sequence of phonological awareness skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose that progresses from basic skills and larger units of sound to more complex skills and smaller units of sound.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list phonological awareness skills.

Evaluation for 4.2b
Materials include a systematic sequence of phonemic awareness skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose that progresses from basic skills (e.g., identifying, blending, and segmenting phonemes) to more complex skills (e.g., adding, deleting, and substituting phonemes).

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list phonemic awareness skills.

Evaluation for 4.2c
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list phonological or phonemic awareness skills.

Evaluation for 4.2d
Materials include cumulative student practice of phonological and phonemic awareness skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list phonological or phonemic awareness skills.

Evaluation for 4.2e
Student practice includes only phonological and phonemic awareness skills that have been explicitly taught.

This guidance is not applicable to the program because TEKS for the grade level do not list phonological or phonemic awareness skills.

Evaluation for 4.A.3a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing sound-spelling patterns in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio uses an adaptive, student-led design to place learners in a structured sequence of sound–spelling patterns based on Universal Screener results. The Universal Screener implements the program’s Scope and Sequence by first assessing phonemic awareness and then requiring students to spell nonsense words, identify rhyming words, and spell real words. While the system adapts to each student’s performance, students must demonstrate mastery of closed syllables, open syllables, and vowel teams before the program advances them to initial and final blends, digraphs, diphthongs, and final-stable syllables.

MindPlay Reading Studio includes a systematic sequence for introducing sound–spelling patterns that aligns with grade-level TEKS and the program’s instructional goals. Appendix A of the Texas MindPlay Reading Studio Manual, titled “Scope and Sequence,” organizes instruction so that learning proceeds in a clear, sequential manner. Instruction begins with consonant letters, short vowel sounds, and two-letter consonant digraphs. It then advances to vowel teams and diphthongs and concludes with r-controlled vowels, complex digraphs, and final-stable syllables. The “TEKS Alignment” document for grades 3–5 enables educators to map each lesson directly to the required Texas standards.

For TEKS 2Aiv (“Decoding words using advanced knowledge of the influence of prefixes and suffixes on base words”), the aligned lessons include phonics activities and educator-led Support Sheets on inflectional and derivational suffixes. For example, lessons cover consonant suffixes and the suffix -ed. An additional seven derivational suffixes are provided for TEKS 5.2Aiv, including -ion, -ive, -ble, -ous, -ial, -ure, and -al. These lessons comprise lessons 59–67 of the Phonics Scope and Sequence.

Evaluation for 4.A.3b
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction in decoding and encoding words using sound-spelling patterns in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

In MindPlay Reading Studio for grade 5, students receive explicit instruction in encoding words using grade-level sound–spelling patterns. For example, in a multisyllabic -tion/-sion lesson, students demonstrate their spelling skills through an interactive “Spell” activity. They spell a series of words provided orally, such as celebration, invasion, musician, and reduction. If any part of a word is incorrect, the Reading Coach provides immediate instructional feedback. The Reading Coach explains that the common spellings for the /shun/ sound are -tion, -sion, or -cian, then asks the student to try spelling the word again. To ensure mastery and prevent automatic assignment of differentiated instruction for this phonetic concept, students must spell each word correctly on the first attempt.

Educator-led lessons consistently provide explicit instruction in decoding and encoding using target sound–spelling patterns. The lesson “Phonics 5.61: Suffix -able/-ible” includes decoding activities that build sound awareness, the alphabetic principle, and letter–sound correspondence. Educators model and guide students in blending sounds and reading whole words through clear demonstrations and interactive practice. Encoding instruction emphasizes correct spelling through specific structural rules. Educators explicitly show students how to add the suffix -able to common Anglo‑Saxon base words and how to use the suffix -ible with Latin roots that are not standalone words. The materials include engaging practice activities such as Bingo and “Word Hunt” that allow students to brainstorm, identify, and record spelling patterns.

Evaluation for 4.A.3c
Materials include cumulative student practice in decoding and encoding words using sound-spelling patterns in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose, both in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text, to develop automaticity.

MindPlay Reading Studio includes cumulative student practice in decoding words using sound–spelling patterns in isolation to develop automaticity. Educator-led lessons include Coach and Chant Cards featuring words with the week’s sound–spelling pattern. Educators receive guidance on preparing and using the letter–sound cards as instructional tools to review and reinforce phonics chants throughout the year. This guidance and these resources enable students to apply the targeted pattern independently while reinforcing earlier decoding and encoding skills with automaticity.

The materials provide cumulative student practice in decoding words using sound–spelling patterns within decodable connected texts to build automaticity. MindPlay Reading Studio’s Digital Library includes 271 decodable books for concept review. Each book includes a word list at the end that offers isolated practice options—Focus Words, Sight Words, Advanced Sight Words, and Superstar Words—that appear in the text. In the decodable book Super Bowl Snow, students practice decoding long-vowel digraphs—specifically, oa, ow, and oe. The focus-word list for this book includes examples such as snow, Joe, slow, gloating, and goals, allowing students to apply previously taught skills in context. These decodable texts focus on targeted sound–spelling patterns to reinforce word analysis and decoding strategies. Books are assigned after students demonstrate mastery of a particular phonics skill; they also serve as a cumulative review to strengthen retention of earlier patterns.

The materials provide cumulative practice for encoding words using sound–spelling patterns to build automaticity and align with grade-level TEKS. MindPlay Reading Studio offers “Edit,” “Order,” and “Spell” activities that let students encode words in isolation. For example, the lesson “Suffix -tial/-cial” includes a “Spell” activity featuring words such as essential, sequential, confidential, interracial, noncommercial, and impartial. These words also recycle previously taught patterns, including r-controlled vowels, open and closed syllables, and prefixes, for continued cumulative practice.

Evaluation for 4.A.3d
Student practice includes only sound-spelling patterns that have been explicitly taught.

In MindPlay Reading Studio, student practice includes only sound–spelling patterns explicitly taught. After completing a lesson on multisyllabic endings -tion and -sion, students apply their spelling knowledge in an interactive “Spell” activity. The automated Reading Coach asks each student to spell a series of orally presented words, such as repetition, compassion, expression, and adoption. If a student spells any part of a word incorrectly—for example, writing adopcian instead of adoption—the Reading Coach provides immediate instructional feedback and narrows the student’s choices to the remaining valid endings (-tion, -sion, or -cian). The Reading Coach then asks the student to try spelling the word again. To ensure mastery and avoid assigning differentiated instruction for this phonetic pattern, students must spell every word correctly on the first attempt. In this activity, the words and task structure align with the instruction.

Students complete encoding tasks using sound–spelling patterns explicitly taught in the lesson. For example, the “Coach Content” lesson on tch and dge includes a “Spell” activity featuring the word smidge. This activity reinforces the previously taught consonant-blend skill. The remaining words and tasks align with the instruction.

Evaluation for 4.B.3a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing regular and irregular high-frequency words from a research-based list in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio follows a systematic sequence for introducing regular and irregular high-frequency words, using a research-based list aligned with grade-level TEKS. Instruction is explicitly aligned with the Science of Reading and the Orton-Gillingham method. The Scope and Sequence introduces high-frequency “heart words” after students learn related phonics patterns, ensuring a structured progression from decodable words to instruction on irregular words. Across Levels 1–4, instruction increases in complexity, with higher levels incorporating greater analysis and application of high-frequency words in reading and writing tasks.

The MindPlay Reading Studio program uses the Fry Instant Word List, organized into groups of 10 words to support systematic instruction. Students engage in “Word Mapping” activities to identify the phonetic and irregular components of high-frequency words and categorize them by spelling patterns. Instruction progresses from decoding and mapping words in isolation to applying high-frequency words in connected reading passages and in writing tasks such as paragraph-level responses and quick-writes using target words.

Evaluation for 4.B.3b
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction in decoding and encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words from a research-based list in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides explicit instruction in decoding and encoding high-frequency words using a research-based “High-Frequency Words” resources document with grade-specific differentiation. Instruction builds on prior years; students map multisyllabic high-frequency words and then analyze their Greek and Latin roots. Words in the 600–1000 range of the Fry Instant Word List commonly include derivational and plural suffixes, as well as the suffixes -ing and -ed. When students complete the “Sound Cipher Search” activity, they decode by scanning word lists for morphological elements, including targeted prefixes and suffixes. Encoding practice requires students to apply correct spellings of high-frequency words in a “Formal versus Informal” writing task.

The program’s “High-Frequency Words” document provides explicit, research-based instruction in decoding regular and irregular high-frequency words, aligning with grade-level TEKS as appropriate to the program’s stated purpose. In the “Heart Words” lessons, students analyze multisyllabic high-frequency words and identify Latin or Greek roots to support decoding. Instruction proceeds sequentially: students first map sounds, then map letters into sound boxes and mark the segment they should memorize with a heart. The lesson concludes with a formal-versus-informal code-switching activity in which students apply the target words. Each activity includes clear objectives and step-by-step directions for educators, providing multiple opportunities for review and practice. During the student-led portion of the program, students complete the instructional sequence before attempting the “Read” activity for “Heart Words” units 1–4 to practice independent decoding.

Evaluation for 4.B.3c
Materials include cumulative student practice in decoding and encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words from a research-based list in alignment with grade-level skills as appropriate for the program's stated purpose, both in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text, to develop automaticity.

The materials provide cumulative practice for students to decode both regular and irregular “heart words” from an Orton-Gillingham list, presented in isolation and aligned with grade-level TEKS. In the student-led component, explicit decoding instruction appears in the “Heart Words 1” sequence through the following lesson formats: Rule with Examples, Abbreviated Rule, Expanded Rule, and Compare Rule. The “Heart Words 1” Support Sheet includes a dice activity in which students roll and read the corresponding isolated word. Students also practice with a partner using a “heart words” matching game. During reading assessments, students point to each word as they read it aloud.

The MindPlay Reading Studio Digital Library assigns decodable books after students demonstrate mastery of a targeted phonics skill and uses cumulative review to reinforce earlier patterns. Word lists at the back of the books support authentic application of high-frequency words and help build automaticity with irregular spellings. For example, in the decodable book A Love for Gloves, students practice spelling high-frequency words previously taught in “Heart Words” units, such as come, some, done, much, rich, such, says, could, and is. Students apply encoding and decoding skills from the Orton-Gillingham Word Lists, in line with the program’s stated purpose of adaptive mastery and targeted remediation.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides cumulative student practice in decoding and encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words from the Orton-Gillingham Word Lists, which are aligned with appropriate grade-level skills. Practice occurs in isolation and within decodable connected texts to build automaticity. In “Heart Words” units 1 and 2, students decode and encode high-frequency words through the program’s SLP‑led “Rules With Examples” instruction and “Read” and “Spell” activities. In the “Read” activity (decoding practice), a high-frequency word appears on screen while the on-screen SLP speaks three different words; students then select the video that matches the target word. Example words include has, do, was, from, his, and friend. In “Heart Words” unit 2 (encoding practice), students spell words dictated by the on-screen SLP. Example words include say, some, done, have, and come.

Evaluation for 4.B.3d
Student practice includes only regular and irregular high-frequency words that have been explicitly taught.

Student practice includes only regular and irregular high-frequency words that were explicitly taught. In “Heart Words” unit 4, lesson 57, students complete a “Copy” activity in which target high-frequency words appear on-screen above a keyboard. Students hear each word and type it into an entry field, reinforcing previously taught word forms through guided practice. Words in this unit include awkward, awesome, always, fasten, listen, often, castle, laugh, cough, enough, tough, and through. All of these words were explicitly introduced in prior instruction.

Student practice includes only regular and irregular high-frequency words that align with previously taught sound–spelling patterns. For example, grade 5 “heart words” include mayor, dollar, collar, grew, sugar, and threw. These words reflect earlier instruction on the /oo/ sound, spelled ew (introduced in the lesson “Show Exceptions”). Students also practiced r-controlled vowel patterns (e.g., or and ar) and open- and closed-syllable patterns in Lesson 41. Students practiced spelling and reading only explicitly taught words, ensuring consistent reinforcement of previously learned word sets.

Evaluation for 4.C.3a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing syllable types and syllable division principles in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides a systematic sequence for introducing syllable types and syllable-division principles, aligned with grade-level TEKS when used as a supplemental program. The Scope and Sequence reaches its greatest orthographic complexity by emphasizing structural word analysis of complex, often multisyllabic, words. Greek-root lessons and the spelling–pattern units at the end of the Phonics sequence explicitly address morphological syllable types. Specifically, Unit 59 addresses multisyllabic endings -tion and -sion; Unit 60 addresses suffixes -tive and -sive; and Unit 61 addresses suffixes -able and -ible. In the “Split” activity for Units 58–67 (the units focused on morphological word parts), students are expected to accurately divide multisyllabic words of up to six syllables to practice decoding grade-level content-area vocabulary such as intercontinental, nonconformist, circumference, circumlocution, and contemplative.

This sequence is reinforced through educator support materials that extend instruction for each targeted syllable pattern. For example, the Support Sheet for the lesson “Phonics 5.60: Suffix -tive/-sive” provides structured activities that reinforce the targeted multisyllabic pattern through Coach and Chant Cards, a multisyllabic-word Bingo activity, a “Word Hunt” activity that requires students to identify base words and suffixes, and educator-led decoding and encoding checks. These activities provide systematic practice with the targeted syllable pattern after it is introduced, supporting the progression from explicit instruction to application.

Evaluation for 4.C.3b
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction in decoding and encoding one-syllable and multisyllabic words in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides explicit, scaffolded instruction in decoding and encoding both one‑syllable and multisyllabic words, with content aligned to grade‑level TEKS when relevant to the program’s goals of adaptive mastery and targeted remediation. For example, in Unit 64, titled “Suffix -tive/-sive,” the materials guide students to analyze multisyllabic words containing the suffixes -tive and -sive. Students complete this analysis by learning applicable rules with illustrative examples; comparing and expanding word sets; identifying exceptions; and practicing through activities such as matching, editing, joining, splitting, and spelling to build accuracy and understanding. Specific practice activities reinforce discrete skills. “Order” and “Spell” activities strengthen encoding of a specific syllable pattern and correct orthography; “Split” focuses on correctly dividing multisyllabic words; and “Order” supports both decoding and accurate spelling of multisyllabic words with targeted vowel patterns.

“Coach Content” provides systematic, explicit instruction in syllable types and syllable division. For example, in Unit 70, titled “Chameleon Prefixes 1,” the Phonics Scope and Sequence presents rule-based instruction, comparative analysis of similar patterns, and application tasks that require students to edit, split, order, and spell words with precision. “Order” and “Spell” activities target encoding of a specific syllable type; the “Split” activity provides focused practice dividing multisyllabic words at appropriate breakpoints, and the “Edit” activity reinforces both decoding and accurate spelling of multisyllabic example words that illustrate a targeted vowel pattern. Vocabulary in this unit is advanced and content-specific, including words such as election, irrigated, ejected, addition, affirmation, and corrosion.

Evaluation for 4.C.3c
Materials include cumulative student practice in decoding and encoding one-syllable and multisyllabic words in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose, both in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text, to develop automaticity.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides cumulative practice in decoding and encoding one-syllable and multisyllabic words, aligned with grade-level TEKS when applicable, to support adaptive mastery and targeted remediation in both isolated and decodable connected texts. For example, the SLP-led lesson on the suffixes -able and -ible guides students to learn rules with examples, compare and expand word sets, identify exceptions, and apply skills through activities such as matching, editing, ordering, splitting, and spelling. “Edit” and “Order” activities target decoding, the “Spell” activity reinforces encoding, and the “Split” activity supports accurate syllable division. Example words include comfortable, decodable, and incredible.

The program also includes a decodable Digital Library that reinforces cumulative decoding practice through connected texts. Students apply previously taught phonics skills to read one-syllable and multisyllabic words in context. For example, the decodable text A Stuck Tank reinforces the digraph ck in one-syllable words, while A Sand Starfish provides multisyllabic reading practice and reinforces previously taught vocabulary such as backpack, supporting repeated application of decoding skills to build automaticity.

Evaluation for 4.C.3d
Student practice includes only syllable types and syllable division principles that have been explicitly taught.

In MindPlay Reading Studio, students practice only the syllable types and division rules explicitly taught. For example, after direct instruction on the suffixes -ous, -tious, and -cious, students complete an “Order” activity that prompts them to apply what they learned. This approach keeps practice focused on previously taught skills and reinforces mastery through targeted review. Word lists for these activities (e.g., repetition, prosperous, and superstitious) include only words that illustrate the taught syllable types.

On the Support Sheet for the lesson “Phonics 5.61: Suffix -able/-ible,” students receive extra decoding and encoding practice to reinforce SLD-led instruction and activities from the adaptive MindPlay Reading Studio program. This Support Sheet provides targeted practice after a specific pattern is explicitly taught and uses the same word list as the “Split” activity in the “Coach Content” tab. Activities include Coach and Chant Cards, Bingo for decoding practice, and a “Word Hunt.” By combining oral language work with decoding and encoding tasks, the Support Sheet helps students develop automaticity with these morphological patterns while keeping practice focused on syllable types and division principles already taught.

Evaluation for 4.D.3a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing morphemes in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides a systematic sequence for introducing morphemes, aligned with grade-level TEKS and consistent with the program’s stated purpose of adaptive mastery and targeted remediation. For example, the curriculum embeds advanced morphological structures directly within Phonics instruction to support students as they learn to decode complex texts. Students apply their knowledge of root words and suffixes such as -tion, -ed, and -tive to decode three-syllable words. These skills are systematically expanded through the Phonics Scope and Sequence, where students are introduced to and apply advanced morphemes, including “chameleon prefixes” and the suffixes -able and -ible, to read multisyllabic words in context.

The grade 5 section of the “TEKS Alignment” document designates a Greek roots unit to support spelling multisyllabic words with multiple sound–spelling patterns. This section presents a systematic sequence for introducing morphemes. The highest level, Level 4, focuses entirely on advanced morphemes such as Greek roots, “chameleon prefixes,” and suffixes -tive, -sive, -tion, -sion, -able, -ible, -ous, -tious, -cious, -tial, -cial, -ure, and -al.

Evaluation for 4.D.3b
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction on morphological skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides explicit instruction in morphological skills. For example, the Support Sheet for the lesson “Phonics 5.60: Suffix -tive/-sive” guides educators through activities that build sound awareness, reinforce the alphabetic principle and letter–sound correspondence, and provide focused spelling practice for targeted syllable patterns. Support materials such as Coach and Chant Cards offer straightforward, scripted instruction in morphology. In an example from a Coach card, the Reading Coach says, “I say the suffix -tive as /tiv/ and -sive as /siv/ at the end of multisyllabic words. When I divide a word into syllables, I never split -tive or -sive. Look: /com/ /pet/ /i/ /tiv/ — competitive. When I see the letter i before -tive, I use the short vowel sound. Look: /ad/ /di/ /tiv/ — additive.”

The Affixes Support Sheet shifts students from noticing that a word was changed to actively using the affix itself to unlock meaning. The materials include explicit instruction on the four focus affixes—mis- (incorrect or bad), sub- (beneath or lower), -ment (an action or outcome), and -ity/-ty (a condition or quality). Each affix is paired with a familiar example word such as mistake, submarine, enjoyment, or activity. This guidance approach cultivates the practice of viewing affixes as units of meaning rather than just spelling parts; when students spot an affix, they gain a reliable way into any new word that contains it.

Evaluation for 4.D.3c
Materials include cumulative student practice of morphological skills in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose, both in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in connected text, to develop automaticity.

MindPlay Reading Studio offers cumulative student practice in morphological skills. For example, SLP-led instruction on Greek roots guides students to learn rules with examples, compare and expand roots, spot exceptions, and apply their learning through activities such as matching, editing, joining, splitting, and spelling to strengthen understanding and accuracy. “Edit,” “Order,” and “Join” activities help students decode patterns, while the “Spell” activity reinforces encoding target suffixes. Example words include acronym, anatomy, chrome, metaphor, phone, scholastic, and physical. Multisyllabic Greek-root words and complex spellings help students build automaticity with content-area vocabulary that features advanced syllable division and morphological elements.

The program offers an extensive, decodable Digital Library for educators and students. A book titled Exploring Phobias: A Journey into Fear supports the “Greek Roots” unit with focused spelling practice on ch, ph, pn, ps, rh, and y. Example words from the decodable text include phobias, stomachs, typhoon, emphasizing, symptoms, myths, rhinoceros, psycho, and style.

Evaluation for 4.D.3d
Student practice includes only morphemes that have been explicitly taught.

MindPlay Reading Studio practice uses only morphemes students were explicitly taught. For example, the Support Sheet for the lesson “Phonics 5.58: Greek Roots” provides extra decoding and encoding support to reinforce SLD-led lessons and adaptive MindPlay Reading Studio activities. This Support Sheet offers additional practice after the pattern is directly taught. The words on the Support Sheet match those used in the “Spell” activity on the “Coach Content” tab. Activities include Coach and Chant Cards, decoding Bingo, and a “Word Hunt.” Together, oral language support and decoding and encoding exercises help students develop automaticity with morphological patterns. The “Reading and Spelling” assessment monitors progress on morphemes both in isolation and within whole words.

The materials reinforce syllabic division patterns and morphological structure on the Support Sheet for the lesson “Phonics 5.58: Greek Roots.” The Support Sheet includes a “Word Hunt” activity in which students locate words in connected texts and use a T-chart to separate roots from suffixes. The activity also shows that MindPlay Reading Studio practice uses only morphemes explicitly taught.

Evaluation for 6.1a
Materials include modeling of fluent reading (including rate, accuracy, and prosody).

MindPlay Reading Studio supports the development of reading fluency through grade 5-level texts that align with the program’s stated purpose of adaptive mastery and targeted remediation. For example, in the vocabulary lessons “New to America” and “History in the Making,” students listen to stories read aloud, which allows them to hear fluent reading in context. The recorded reading models appropriate rate, accuracy, and prosody, allowing students to hear fluent reading before independently engaging with the texts.

Educators use the “Oral Reading Fluency” routine to show that an appropriate reading rate is about pacing—not just speed—and that pacing supports comprehension and expression in grade-level texts. During the “Oral Reading Fluency” routine, educators model appropriate pacing, expression, and phrasing before students read independently. In the Quick Feedback discussion, educators reinforce how an appropriate rate supports comprehension and expression. This explanation shows how MindPlay Reading Studio supports reading fluency development with grade 5 texts through adaptive mastery and targeted remediation.

Evaluation for 6.1b
Materials include opportunities for students to practice reading fluency with word lists, phrases/sentences, and connected texts.

MindPlay Reading Studio offers students opportunities to practice reading fluency using word lists, phrases, sentences, and connected texts. Students read a grade-level passage aloud, use a self-assessment checklist to record which accuracy tools they used (e.g., rereading a sentence or chunking a long word), and set a specific accuracy goal for their next reading. By tracking Words Correct Per Minute (WCPM) alongside accuracy on a progress chart over time, grade 5 students demonstrate steady growth in fluency and improved ability to self-monitor and correct errors.

The Reading Coach’s Pause-Assisted Fluency Practice provides targeted fluency practice by chunking passages at natural pause points. Sentences are broken at typical stopping points—at periods, commas, or around prepositional phrases—so students can process the text in meaningful units. This deliberate pacing helps students internalize and comprehend what they read. After reading a story, students are asked to retell it in their own words. This process gives students opportunities to practice reading fluency with word lists, sentences, and connected texts.

The materials include an “Oral Reading Fluency” lesson that gives students opportunities to read grade‑level passages aloud. After a Quick Feedback discussion that highlights errors such as mispronounced words or missing punctuation, students correct them before the second reading. Then, grade 5 students complete an accuracy reflection in the self‑assessment and compare their perceptions with their recorded WCPM data, showing growth in word‑level precision. This work provides practice with word lists, phrases, and sentences, as well as connected texts to build overall fluency.

Evaluation for 6.1c
Materials include opportunities for students to practice reading fluency with a variety of grade-level texts as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio offers students opportunities to practice reading fluency with grade-level texts that support the program’s goals of adaptive mastery and targeted remediation. With educator guidance, Lexile filters, and interest searches, students can explore a library of more than 10,000 books and choose texts that match both their reading level and personal interests. Through the Digital Library, students encounter informational texts such as Oops! It’s Penicillin!; fictional texts such as Tough Tina; persuasive texts; poetry; and literary nonfiction, including books about Chadwick Boseman.

The materials include opportunities for students to practice reading fluency with a variety of grade 5-level texts. In the student-led portion of the program, students encounter informational texts such as 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Bird Adaptations; fictional and persuasive texts such as Should Animals Live in Zoos?; poetry; and literary nonfiction, including books about Taylor Swift, through the Digital Library. These texts are relevant to current student topics of interest. The Library contains a wide variety of decodable texts, and students can choose to read them silently or use the read-aloud feature.

Evaluation for 6.1d
Materials include a variety of texts at different levels of complexity.

MindPlay Reading Studio offers texts that increase in complexity across its components. In the comprehension sequence, texts progress steadily from One Nation, Many Cultures in Lesson 15 to Triumphs in Lesson 73. Likewise, educator-led materials vary in difficulty. Fluency Practice 2.0 begins with simple sentences about ducks and advances incrementally to Fluency Practice 7.8, which features a multi-page excerpt from L. Hemingway’s 1958 Reader’s Digest piece, “The Spider, Nature’s Engineer Extraordinary”—a complex passage that includes sentences with dependent clauses and subordinating conjunctions.

The materials offer a range of texts at varying levels of complexity to support a cohesive learning progression. For example, the decodable Digital Library includes eight titles that target prefixes and vary in difficulty to align with the MindPlay Reading Studio curriculum’s Scope and Sequence. Gold Prospects is a narrative nonfiction book that focuses on the prefixes pro-, post-, and pre-. It mixes simple and complex sentences and includes short dialogue, while challenging students with two- to four-syllable focus words that contain the targeted prefixes. Exploring Phobias: A Journey into Fear is an informational text that surveys many phobias to reinforce Greek root words. This text increases text complexity through domain-specific vocabulary and multisyllabic Greek-root words while maintaining an organized structure.

Evaluation for 6.1e
Materials include guidance for educators to provide feedback to students on reading fluency (including rate, accuracy, and prosody).

MindPlay Reading Studio guides educators in providing specific feedback to improve students’ reading fluency. During oral reading, educators prompt students to address mispronounced words, missed punctuation, and opportunities to add expression. They offer positive reinforcement focused on concrete fluency elements (e.g., praising a student when a sentence sounds smoother). Finally, educators help students connect their self-assessments to program data by providing concrete feedback on accuracy and WCPM.

The Teacher Expert Sheet for Lesson 16 provides educators with guidance on delivering feedback to improve students’ reading fluency. It recommends prompting students to take brief breaths at natural pause points, such as large spaces and punctuation marks, and to reread words that were not read accurately. Educators are also directed to provide corrective feedback on phrasing and expression as students reread a specific passage.

Evaluation for 8.1a
[English reading language arts] Materials include opportunities for students to read high-quality, grade-level, complex texts as appropriate for the program's stated purpose, in a variety of text types (e.g., literary, informational). [Spanish reading language arts] Materials include opportunities for students to read high-quality, grade-level, complex authentic or transadapted Spanish texts as appropriate for the program's stated purpose, in a variety of text types (e.g., literary, informational).

MindPlay Reading Studio’s Digital Library offers an extensive, grade-appropriate collection of texts across multiple skill levels. Its navigation and filtering help educators and students quickly find texts that match both student interests and instructional levels. For example, the “I Want to Know” series provides high-interest, high-quality, grade-level nonfiction for grade 5 readers on diverse topics. Titles such as Are Ghosts Real? and Are Monsters Real? spark curiosity, while historically focused texts such as Was King Arthur Real? and Was Count Dracula Real? support classroom study of the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages. All of these titles meet publishable standards and can be used to develop students’ background knowledge and build schema for related units.

The Digital Library offers grade 5-level complex texts with varied text features (e.g., text boxes, bulleted lists, illustrations, and diagrams). Science and Social Studies selections use discipline-specific terms and complex sentences. Example texts include Deep Sea Creatures (an informational text with photographs and captions, diagrams, a descriptive structure, and Greek-derived and domain vocabulary) and What Happens to Your Body When You Swim (an argumentative text with a cause-and-effect structure, complex sentences, and low-frequency and domain vocabulary). These texts are appropriate for the program’s adaptive mastery and targeted remediation purposes.

Evaluation for 8.1b
Materials include a variety of high-quality texts at different levels of complexity.

MindPlay Reading Studio’s Personalized Library offers a wide range of high-quality texts at multiple levels of complexity. This Lexile-driven digital reading environment personalizes content for each student based on their performance and usage. It supports practice of foundational skills such as decoding, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension within authentic reading contexts. Educators can monitor students’ reading in real time with the Currently Reading widget and adjust text complexity or provide targeted guidance as needed. Library content is sourced from reputable publishers, including Discovery Education, Enslow Publishing, PowerKids Press, and Project Gutenberg.

The program includes a range of high-quality texts at varying levels of complexity. For example, the “Wildlife” series offers multiple texts on similar topics across a spectrum of Lexile levels, allowing students with varying reading abilities to explore and learn about wildlife. This Book Scratches! is a nonfiction title in the “Wildlife” series with a Lexile measure of 907. The book features photographs, captions, and a glossary. Its advanced vocabulary, sophisticated concepts, and discipline-specific text features make it a highly complex informational science text appropriate for grade 5 readers.

Evaluation for 8.1c
Texts include content that is relevant, engaging, and authentically reflects students' diverse backgrounds and experiences.

The Digital Library includes a set of authentic, high-interest nonfiction texts that support cross-curricular learning. Titles such as How Invasive Species Take Over (Top Secret Life of Plants) and Oops! It’s Penicillin! pair engaging narratives with clear illustrations and diagrams. These texts are intentionally aligned with curricular topics. For example, the “A Look at Lifecycles” series supports science standards while strengthening literacy and conceptual understanding. By combining authentic reading with subject-area content, the Library reinforces classroom instruction and fosters meaningful connections across disciplines.

The Digital Library offers personalized access to a wide range of authentic, engaging texts. Each title is tagged with a Lexile level and grade range, making it easy for educators and students to find books that match reading levels and interests. The Library also includes Spanish-language books. For example, Bernardo de Gálvez, from the “Nuestras Voces: Personajes Hispanos y Latinos de la Historia Estadounidense” series, tells the story of Bernardo de Gálvez, a Spanish general who fought in and led efforts during the American Revolutionary War. Another example is Sylvia Mendez: Civil Rights Hero, from the “Our Voices: Spanish and Latino Figures of American History” series. This biography chronicles the life of Sylvia Mendez, who helped desegregate California schools in the 1940s.

Evaluation for 8.2a
Materials activate or supply background knowledge.

MindPlay Reading Studio does not activate or supply background knowledge. It includes isolated, educator-led lessons such as “Making Connections” and “Making Predictions,” along with a “Questioning to Deepen Understanding” prereading routine that uses titles, headings, and illustrations to prompt questions and connect to prior knowledge. However, these supports are not consistently integrated into students’ work. Students are not routinely prompted to activate relevant prior knowledge or given background information before engaging with texts.

Support Sheets for the “Questioning to Build Understanding” routine prompt students to ask questions before, during, and after reading. Students record predictions and questions on green sticky notes before reading, identify clues and clarifications on yellow sticky notes during reading, and generate “wonder” and “what if” questions after reading. Although this lesson provides one example of activating prior knowledge, the instructional materials do not integrate similar opportunities throughout. As a result, the materials do not give students opportunities to activate or build background knowledge before engaging with texts.

Evaluation for 8.2b
Materials include pre-teaching of unfamiliar vocabulary in texts.

MindPlay Reading Studio identifies vocabulary within lessons but does not provide systematic support for preteaching vocabulary before reading. Some lessons suggest that educators preteach unfamiliar words. However, the materials lack dedicated vocabulary routines, instructional guidance, or resources to support this practice. Vocabulary words may appear in lesson margins, at the end of decodable texts, or in nonfiction glossaries, but the materials do not introduce or explicitly teach these words before students read the texts. Similarly, Digital Library books do not include preteaching of vocabulary before reading.

All vocabulary lessons include the same set of activities. The Vocabulary “Coach Content” “Story” activity highlights targeted vocabulary words after a story is narrated. The “Definitions Review” activity provides instruction on these targeted words, but students practice only identifying their meanings, both in isolation and after reading the connected texts.

Evaluation for 8.2c
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction on using contextual analysis to determine the word meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary in texts in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides explicit instruction in contextual analysis to help students determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary within texts. Lessons align with grade-level TEKS, when appropriate, to support the program’s goals of adaptive mastery and targeted remediation. For example, the lesson “Using Context Clues to Figure Out Word Meaning” explicitly teaches five types of context clues—definition, example, synonym, antonym, and inference. This lesson includes scripted educator modeling and think-alouds that demonstrate how to identify context clues and use them to determine a word’s meaning. Educator guidance also includes differentiated instructional supports, such as using picture clues, highlighting clue words, providing answer choices, and extending instruction with multiple-meaning words and independent reading activities.

The materials provide additional explicit instruction in the lesson “Determining the Meaning of Multiple-Meaning Words.” Educators introduce a strategy for identifying a word’s appropriate meaning based on context, model how to analyze surrounding sentences, and guide students through shared examples before students practice independently. This lesson includes scripted educator guidance, guided examples, an exit ticket to check understanding, and differentiated instructional recommendations for both struggling and advanced learners.

Evaluation for 8.2d
Materials include opportunities for students to practice using contextual analysis to determine word meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary in texts in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides structured opportunities for students to use contextual analysis to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words, aligned with grade-level TEKS when appropriate to the program’s goals of adaptive mastery and targeted remediation. Following explicit instruction, students apply context-clue strategies during guided and independent practice that align with these goals. For example, in “Derive Meaning,” students read single- and multi-paragraph texts and answer vocabulary questions that require them to use context to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. As students progress through instructional levels, they encounter increasingly complex vocabulary and text while responding to prompts such as “Choose the word that fits best in the blank,” “What does the word ____ mean?” and “Choose the best meaning for the word ____ in this sentence.”

Students practice determining the meaning of multiple-meaning words by analyzing context beyond a single sentence. In “Determining the Meaning of Multiple-Meaning Words,” students identify the correct meaning of bolded words in sentences, explain which context clues support their reasoning, and complete independent practice and exit ticket activities that require them to justify their responses with evidence from the text.

Evaluation for 8.3a
Materials include systematic and explicit (direct) instruction on reading comprehension skills at multiple levels (i.e., literal, inferential, evaluative) in alignment with grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio delivers systematic, explicit instruction in reading comprehension across multiple levels, aligned with grade-level TEKS when appropriate to the program’s goals of adaptive mastery and targeted remediation. For example, the Support Sheet for the lesson “Questioning to Deepen Understanding” supports instruction by offering pre-reading prompts that range from curiosity-driven previewing to inference-based inquiry. These prompts guide educators to ask students to anticipate an author’s perspective and predict the types of evidence they expect to find before reading. Educators use the Support Sheet’s Scholar Stem Cards, which provide precise academic language to shift students from surface-level wondering to questions that probe authorial intent, anticipated evidence, and the broader context in which a text was produced (e.g., “What is the author’s perspective on this topic?” and “What evidence do I expect to find in this text?”). Lesson plans conclude with recommendations for providing students with a structured format to record and categorize their before-reading questions.

MindPlay Reading Studio provides systematic, explicit instruction in reading comprehension across multiple levels, aligned with grade-level TEKS and tailored to the program’s goals of adaptive mastery and targeted remediation. Each lesson—whether student-led or educator-led—begins with direct instruction in the targeted comprehension skill. For example, in a student-led lesson on main ideas, the Reading Coach defines and models the concept, then guides students through a worked example. Students then answer literal comprehension questions about the main ideas of different paragraphs. Throughout the program, the complexity of questioning gradually increases to include higher-order levels. When students make errors, the Reading Coach provides immediate, specific feedback to support corrective learning.

Evaluation for 8.3b
Materials include opportunities for students to practice reading comprehension skills at multiple levels (i.e., literal, inferential, evaluative) with a variety of grade-level texts in alignment with the grade-level TEKS as appropriate for the program's stated purpose.

MindPlay Reading Studio offers tiered, grade-level reading-comprehension practice aligned with grade-level TEKS for adaptive mastery and targeted remediation. The “Argumentative Text” Support Sheet guides students from literal to higher-order skills through a checkbox task distinguishing fact from opinion, a ranking task requiring inferential judgment to “rank the facts according to how strong an argument they make,” and a “Make It Stronger” revision task in which students improve a weak argument by adding stronger facts and clearer support. In the summative assessment, students compare two paragraphs and answer these questions: which has the stronger argument, why it is stronger, and how a specific fact supports that argument. The educator rubric requires the use of “facts and evidence, not just opinions,” reinforcing inferential and evaluative questioning grounded in literal comprehension.

The materials provide structured opportunities for students to practice reading comprehension with grade-level texts. For example, in the “Evaluate Author’s Assertions” activity, students read grade-appropriate passages and answer literal, inferential, and evaluative questions. Sample literal questions include “What did the author say that people didn’t believe when Columbus sailed?” and “What fact does the author use to support her assertion that tracking animals is difficult?” Sample inferential questions include “Why does the author state that the library is a great place to learn?” and “The author asserts that the internet has made things easier. How does she support this?” An example evaluative question is “The author asserts that people are happier now than 100 years ago. Do you agree?”