1. New Page Type: Add Two Images on One Page

You asked—we listened! Teachers and students can now add two images on a single book page. This new layout option allows for more creative expression, better visual storytelling, and enhanced comprehension—perfect for comparing ideas and showing sequences. Captions can be added to each of the images. Teachers can disable this option from the settings (Premium feature) 

2. Audio Feedback from Teachers

Students can now hear their teacher’s voice alongside written feedback. With our new audio feedback feature, teachers can give spoken encouragement, clarify instructions, or highlight areas for improvement—helping students feel more connected and supported. Available for all free and paid users. Just log in and start providing feedback.

3. Read-Aloud Speed Control

Every learner is different. That’s why we’ve added read-aloud speed control, so students can adjust the pace of the reading to suit their comfort level. Whether they need it slower to follow along or faster to review, it supports self-paced, inclusive learning. Students will see this option when reading or editing a book.   

These updates reflect our continued commitment to improving literacy instruction with a tool that is simple, meaningful, and science-based. Stay tuned—more exciting features are on the way!

Try the new features now at https://app.writereader.com/login/educator

WriteReader takes the guesswork out of differentiation, giving teachers a straightforward, effective tool for meeting each student’s needs without overwhelming them.

Here’s how WriteReader can support differentiation in your classrooms:

1. Helping Struggling Readers and Writers Improve

For students who struggle with reading and writing, building confidence and motivation is crucial. WriteReader allows these students to engage in literacy activities without feeling overwhelmed.

• Boost Confidence: Students can create their own books using both text and images, allowing them to express ideas even if their writing skills are still developing.

• Phonics and Vocabulary Support: WriteReader’s structure supports phonics (key letter names and sounds), vocabulary acquisition, and comprehension skills, giving struggling readers a solid foundation for literacy growth.

• Teacher Scaffolding: Teachers can add adult writing alongside the student’s text, providing guidance and scaffolding that helps students learn the correct structure and spelling without limiting their creativity.

With these supports, WriteReader empowers struggling learners to take meaningful steps toward literacy, building both their skills and their confidence in a fun, creative way.

2. Enhancing Performance for Advanced Students

For students who are already performing well, WriteReader provides opportunities for further growth and enrichment.

• Creative Expression: WriteReader gives advanced students the space to push their writing skills further by creating longer, more complex stories and using a broader vocabulary.

• Incorporating Research and Critical Thinking: These students can use WriteReader to develop research projects, personal narratives, or even create informative texts. The platform’s flexibility allows for differentiated tasks that challenge advanced learners.
• Teacher Feedback and Revisions: WriteReader’s built-in teacher tools enable timely, personalized feedback, encouraging students to refine their work and reach new levels of writing mastery.

By offering an open-ended platform, WriteReader allows high-performing students to continue growing and developing their literacy skills at a deeper level.

3. Supporting Students with Dyslexia

Students with dyslexia often face unique challenges in reading and writing, but they also have the potential to thrive when given the right tools and support.

• Multisensory Learning: WriteReader allows students with dyslexia to use both images and text, catering to their learning strengths. They can convey ideas through pictures while continuing to develop their reading and writing skills.
• Speech and Voice Technology: With WriteReader’s integration of audio recording, speech-to-text, and text-to-speech features students can get support to make the learning process more accessible and engaging.

These features make WriteReader an inclusive tool, helping students with dyslexia engage with the same content as their peers while receiving the support they need.

4. Simplifying Differentiation for Teachers

One of the biggest challenges in differentiated instruction is providing personalized learning opportunities for every student in the classroom. WriteReader simplifies this process, making it easier for teachers to cater to diverse needs.

• Adaptive Platform: WriteReader’s flexibility allows teachers to assign book templates at varying levels of complexity, meeting each student where they are in their literacy journey. Whether a student is working on basic sentence construction or crafting a detailed story, WriteReader adapts to all levels.
• Literacy Progress Monitoring: Teachers can track student progress and provide feedback, helping students improve as they work. This allows for quick adjustments in instruction and personalized support.

• Personalized Literacy Growth: Teachers can select key literacy features like speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and speech synthesis, and decide which students should have these features enabled, allowing for a fully personalized approach to literacy development.

Conclusion: WriteReader as a Key Differentiation Tool for Your School

By implementing WriteReader in your school, you’ll equip your teachers with a versatile resource that simplifies differentiation and drives student success. Plus, with its research-based approach and user-friendly design, it’s a tool that teachers will love using to inspire all students, no matter their ability.

Are you ready to see how WriteReader can transform your classrooms? Reach out to us today at info@writereader.com to learn more about integrating WriteReader into your school’s literacy program! 

Through this collaboration, WriteReader’s platform will support language preservation by enabling students and educators to create and share books in their native languages. By integrating these languages into everyday learning, we aim to empower young learners to embrace their cultural identity and ensure the survival of these languages for future generations.

As a part of the partnership we will create an image bank in WriteReader that is based on the cultural heritage of Native Americans and this image bank will be accessible to all WriteReader students in the US. 

WriteReader provides our students with a powerful tool to create stories in their own languages, helping them strengthen their identity and connection to their heritage.

Said Velma Prettyontop-Whitemanrunshim, Ed.D., Cultural Education Coordinator at St. Labre Schools and continues:

By using this platform, we are ensuring that our Native languages are not only preserved but actively used and celebrated by the next generation.

Together, WriteReader and St. Labre are committed to making language learning accessible and preserving the voices of Indigenous communities for generations to come.

Stay tuned for more updates as we work together to make a meaningful impact!

Learn more about St. Labre Indian School: https://www.stlabre.org/

Writing Insights is a result of six years of collaborative research with educational and data scientists. We are so excited to launch this tool for you!

Key benefits

Time-saving assessment:
Analyze and visualize students’ writing over time, reducing time spent on manual assessments.

Personalized literacy support:
Identify strengths and challenges for all learners, from struggling writers to high achievers.

Encourage student creativity:
Students write and publish their own books while teachers get actionable data and a growth timeline to target literacy support.

Join thousands of educators who use WriteReader to engage all students!

Rowan-Salisbury School District has rolled out WriteReader for 600+ teachers, benefiting 18,000 elementary students. 

Start using Writing Insights today and unlock your students’ potential. Request a free trial or online demo: Contact info@writereader.com

Award-winning & research-backed learning tool

Writing Insights is an add-on to WriteReader, a science-based literacy tool, recognized by New Schools, MITSolve, UNICEF and supported by the Gates Foundation for its innovative approach to reading and writing instruction. 

Explore below how WriteReader supports UDL based on 8 examples to inspire teachers in kindergarten-5th grades.

Engaging All Learners Through Personalization

One of UDL’s core tenets is offering multiple means of engagement, allowing students to connect with learning in ways that resonate with their interests and motivations. WriteReader fosters engagement by letting students create content based on their own lives, interests, and ideas.

Example 1: Personal Story Projects

Encourage students to create a book about a topic they’re passionate about, such as their favorite animal, a memorable family trip, or their dream career. For younger students, they might illustrate a “Day in My Life.” Personalizing content ensures learners feel a sense of ownership and relevance, which boosts motivation and engagement.

WriteReader contains template books and image bank categories to inspire and support the students in their writing process.

Example 2: Collaborative Storytelling

Pair students together to co-author a book. One student might write while the other illustrates, or they can take turns writing alternate pages. This collaboration fosters social engagement and enables peer learning—a cornerstone of inclusive teaching.

Representing Content in Multiple Ways

The UDL framework emphasizes presenting information in diverse formats to accommodate different learning styles. WriteReader provides a multimodal platform where students can combine text, images, and audio to express their ideas.

Example 3: Visual Supports for Comprehension

In WriteReader the students have four different ways to find and upload pictures to accompany their text, offering visual context to enhance comprehension. For instance, if they’re writing about the body, they can:  

• use images from the image bank containing +40 carefully selected categories with 16-40 rights-free images each
• make a safe search among 2 million rights-free images from Pixabay 
• use the device’s camera feature to take pictures of the surroundings, a self-made drawing, or anything else
• download any image on the device or images from a shared online folder

All options reinforce visual support for the learning subject and context to enhance comprehension.

Example 4: Audio Narration for Accessibility

WriteReader allows students to record audio narrations of their books. This feature is particularly beneficial for students with reading difficulties or English language learners, as it provides an auditory element that supports comprehension and pronunciation practice.

Supporting Varied Levels of Literacy Development

WriteReader is uniquely suited for classrooms with diverse literacy levels, as it includes features to scaffold learning for students at different stages of development.

Example 5: Educator Text Model

Teachers can use the “educator text field” in one of the page types to model proper grammar, vocabulary, or sentence structure on each page. This support allows emerging writers to see correct examples while still encouraging them to try writing independently.

Example 6: Differentiated Tasks

Assign tasks based on individual student needs. For example, advanced writers might create a detailed narrative, while beginning writers focus on labeling images or writing simple sentences. Check out WriteReader’s Template library with +50 templates created to scaffold and differentiate students’ writing.

Fostering a Growth Mindset Through Publishing

Publishing books on WriteReader gives students a tangible sense of accomplishment and reinforces a growth mindset by celebrating effort and improvement.

Example 7: Class Library

WriteReader automatically compiles student-created books into a digital class library, where students can read each other’s work, fostering a sense of community and pride. Highlight each student’s unique contributions, emphasizing that everyone’s voice matters.

Example 8: Family and Community Involvement

With WriteReader’s printing feature it’s easy to create small booklets to share hard copy books with parents or guardians, encouraging family members to engage with their child’s learning. 

The books can also be displayed and lent out from the school library or public library to make the students real and proud authors. Learn about WriteReader’s book fair concept here. 

These connections strengthen the home-school partnership and community engagement while at the same time boost students’ confidence in their abilities and motivation to create more books.

Scaffolding Literacy and Empower Students to Succeed

WriteReader is an excellent tool for supporting the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in grades K-5. By engaging students through personalized content, offering multiple means of representation and expression, and scaffolding literacy development, WriteReader empowers all learners to thrive. With its diverse features and flexibility, WriteReader helps educators create an inclusive and dynamic learning environment where every student can succeed. 

Start exploring WriteReader today at app.writereader.com to unlock your students’ creativity and potential!

What Is WriteReader?

WriteReader is an educational platform designed to empower young learners to become authors. With its user-friendly interface, students can create books by combining text and images, fostering creativity and literacy skills. Teachers can provide feedback directly within the platform, making it an ideal tool for guided learning.

Creating Book Reviews in WriteReader

Encourage students to choose and read books that interest them. You can introduce the idea of creating book reviews or recommendations by utilizing the lesson plan below. Give them opportunities to plan and reflect before they begin writing.

Click here to view the lesson plan.

Book Recommendation Template

Teachers may also consider providing this book template for students to use to guide their writing. This template can be found in the WriteReader Template Library and can be used as is, or teachers can edit and adapt for their own students. Templates help to ensure students have included all necessary elements into their stories.

After books are written, have students share their reviews with classmates to receive feedback. Teachers can also utilize the feedback feature in WriteReader to comment on students’ writing.

Create Book Awards

This 2nd grade class created book awards for their favorite books, which is an idea adapted from the Units of Study. Students brainstormed award categories such as:

• Best Character
• Most Exciting Adventure
• Funniest Story
• Prettiest Pictures

Students then utilized WriteReader to create a book and celebrate the story and award they chose. The title of the book is the award name, and images include drawings or pictures of the book and award. Students then explained why the book deserved that particular award. This is a fun and engaging way to have students share their favorite stories and why they love them! For extra fun, you can host a Book Awards Ceremony where students present their awards to the class.

Click here to read Ezekiel’s book.

Share Their Stories

The key to this project is sharing student stories and book recommendations with others. This provides not only the opportunity for students to write, but also to gain peer-reviewed recommendations for favorite books to read! 

Some ideas for sharing include:

• Creating a Reading Room of book recommendations to share with others
• Print books and display in classroom or school library
• Make books available at your local library for students from all over your town or city to enjoy and spark reading inspiration

Tips for Success

• Model the Process: Create your own review or award as an example.
• Differentiate Support: Offer sentence starters in the template book or graphic organizers for students who need extra help.
• Celebrate Creativity: Emphasize effort and imagination over perfection.
• Connect Home and School: Share the students’ creations with families to foster a home-school connection.

Click here to read Ms. Mathew’s students’ book recommendations

Using WriteReader to create book reviews and awards transforms literacy activities into interactive, creative, and rewarding experiences. It not only develops essential reading and writing skills but also instills a lifelong love for books and storytelling in your young learners.

What is WriteReader?

WriteReader is a web-application designed to encourage young learners to develop their literacy skills by creating stories, and publishing their work. It’s been widely used in classrooms to help children practice writing and reading, offering an interactive and enjoyable experience. The platform allows students to compose narratives, create books, and even record their voices to bring their stories to life.

How AI-Generated Images Are Used

AI powered image generation tools like Adobe Express and Magic Media within Canva give students the opportunity to generate images based on the characters, scenes, or objects they describe in their stories. Students need to more deeply think about the elements of their stories in order to create descriptive prompts that create relevant visuals to incorporate into their WriteReader stories.

For example, if a student writes a sentence like, “The dragon soared above the mountain with its wings spread wide,” they can utilize AI to generate an image of a dragon flying over a mountainous landscape, perfectly illustrating the scene. This dynamic addition enriches the student’s creative process by allowing them to visualize their ideas and seamlessly integrate these visuals into their written work.

How Teachers Can Use This Feature

For teachers, combining writing and AI-generated images offers new ways to support student learning. Here are some ways educators can take advantage of this feature:

Inspiring Writing Prompts: Teachers can use an AI image generation tool as a springboard for writing prompts. For instance, they can show students an AI-generated image of a fantastical creature or a dramatic landscape and ask students to write a story inspired by that image.

4th grade teacher Johanna Trout utilized image generation in Adobe Express to inspire her students to create imaginative images to write about. The images inspired creativity and topics that the students were excited to write about. Mrs. Trout was impressed by the amount of writing and their enthusiasm for writing about the images they generated.

Storytelling Exercises: Teachers can guide students through exercises that focus on enhancing their storytelling abilities. Having the AI generate visuals based on their written descriptions encourages students to be more precise with their language. They must describe scenes and characters in enough detail for the AI to produce an accurate image, which in turn helps improve their writing skills. By practicing conveying their ideas clearly, students become more adept writers, as evidenced by Charlie’s example below.

Peer Feedback: The AI-generated images can be used in peer review sessions. When students share their stories with one another, the visuals can help peers better understand each other’s work and offer more specific feedback.

Personalized Learning: The AI tool offers opportunities for differentiation in the classroom. Students at different reading and writing levels can benefit from tailored prompts and images that match their individual abilities and interests.

Blending AI and Writing Creativity

Integrating AI-generated images from tools like Adobe Express and Canva into WriteReader stories represents a breakthrough in how students approach writing. By combining their words with visuals, students gain a deeper understanding of narrative techniques while engaging more creatively with their work.

Whether it’s enhancing creativity, fostering engagement, or improving writing skills, the use of AI in this context offers a powerful tool for enhancing storytelling in the classroom. As technology continues to evolve, the possibilities for blending AI and education are limitless—empowering students to become better writers, more confident creators, and imaginative thinkers.

AI-generated image

Why create “My Year Ahead” books?

The new year is a time when we all reflect on what we’ve accomplished, learned, and hope to achieve in the future. For students, this can be a powerful exercise in cultivating self-awareness, resilience, and ambition. By creating “My Year Ahead” activity books, students can express their hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the coming year.

This activity not only encourages personal growth but also offers numerous educational benefits. It reinforces the importance of goal setting, improves literacy skills, and allows students to practice the art of storytelling—giving them a voice and a sense of ownership over their own narrative.

How does WriteReader help?

WriteReader is a digital tool designed to help young learners create their own books. By combining writing, illustration, and digital storytelling, WriteReader enables students to become authors and illustrators of their own work. Here’s how it works:

1. Easy-to-Use Interface: WriteReader’s intuitive platform allows students to create books by typing or dictating their stories, adding images or drawings, and recording their voices to narrate their work.

2. Personalization: Students can create a unique story that reflects their goals, dreams, and experiences.
3. Template to Provide Structure: Teachers can use this My Year Ahead template book as is or edit and adapt it for their own students to guide students’ writing. Note! You need to be logged in to add the template to your bookshelf.
4. Increased Engagement: WriteReader’s multimedia nature, where students can combine text and visuals, keeps them motivated and engaged in learning.

How to create “My Year Ahead” books with Writereader

Discuss the importance of setting goals and reflecting on personal growth. Have a conversation about the year that has passed: 

• What have they learned? 
• What challenges did they overcome? 

Then, introduce the idea of creating an activity book that focuses on the year ahead—where they can set personal goals, share their dreams, and reflect on how they want to grow.

Encourage students to brainstorm their ideas before they start writing:

• What are their goals for the new year? 
• What are they excited about? 
• What do they want to improve? 

These questions can serve as a guiding prompt. You can also ask them to include drawings or images that represent their dreams for the future.

Students can begin writing their stories in WriteReader. They can create books from scratch, or teachers can share this template to help guide their stories.

Once the books are complete, students can share them with their peers, teachers, and families. They can do this in various ways, such as printing the books, sharing them digitally, or presenting them in front of the class. Sharing their goals reinforces a sense of accountability and excitement about their aspirations.

Empowering purpose and direction for the year to come

Creating “My Year Ahead” activity books empowers students by encouraging self-reflection and goal-setting. WriteReader’s interactive features enhance the storytelling process, providing an engaging and meaningful way for students to set intentions for their personal and academic growth.

As educators, we are privileged to guide students through this process, helping them see that the power to shape their future lies within themselves. So, as we ring in the new year, let’s encourage our students to dream big, set goals, and, most importantly, share their stories with the world.

Tons of images and writing prompts

That’s why, at WriteReader, over the last ten years, we have developed over 50 image bank categories with carefully selected themes and over 1,000 associated images, which can support students’ early writing. We have created writing prompts for many of our image bank categories to help teachers inspire and set a framework for their students’ writing.

Since many of these images are inspired by the seasons, months, holidays, and events throughout the year, we’ve created an overview to help you find year-round inspiration for creative writing.

Seasons and months

WriteReader includes a “calendar image bank category” with illustrations for each of the seasons and the 12 months of the year, as well as writing prompts to accompany those images.

Below, we’ll walk you through a seasonal selection of image bank categories and writing prompts, offering an overview and ideas for planning writing activities throughout the year.

Winter

Our winter image bank category contains 24 photos of things to see and do in winter if you live in cold areas where snow falls. Click here to see the writing prompts we have created for this season.

In addition, we have several image bank categories that support holidays and events from December to the end of February and do not require a cold climate to celebrate.

Christmas – Hanukkah – New Year – Valentine’s Day

Click the links above to see the related writing prompts. 

Spring

The spring image bank category contains three subcategories: one with 18 images of signs of spring, one with a handful of images for five different life cycle sequences (chestnuts, sunflowers, chickens, frogs, and butterflies), and one with 16 bumble bee images. Click here to see the writing prompts we have created for the signs of spring.

In addition to the three categories above, we have created four categories related to springtime holidays and events. Click the links below to see the related writing prompts.

Ramadan – St. Patrick’s Day – Easter – Earth Day and Arbor Day

Note! Since Ramadan occurs approximately 14 days earlier each year and will be in the spring in 2026, we have placed it in the spring category for now.

Summer

The summer image bank category contains 20 photos showing activities you can do when the weather is warm. Several of them are related to travel, which many people do during the summer holidays. Click here to see the writing prompts related to the 20 summer photos.

Since the summer months have the fewest holidays and the three months when students go to school the least, we have only one sub-image bank category related to this time of year.

Back to school

Click the link above to see the related writing prompts. 

Fall

Our fall image bank category contains 20 photos of trees and leaves in beautiful fall colors, as well as images of crops being harvested in the fall and animals preparing for the coming of winter. Click here to read our 8 writing prompts related to these photos.

We have the following two related image bank categories for the fall season. By clicking on the links below, you can access 2 x 8 writing prompts about Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Halloween – Thanksgiving 

Note! We have two subcategories for Halloween – one with 20 scary illustrations and one with 16 pumpkin photos (pumpkin cultivation, Jack-o’-lantern creation, and pumpkin cooking).

Spark creativity through the seasons

Incorporating seasonal themes into writing activities is a powerful way to keep young writers engaged and inspired throughout the year. WriteReader’s wealth of image bank categories and writing prompts gives educators endless opportunities to spark creativity in students, whether they’re reflecting on the wonders of winter, celebrating the growth of spring, or exploring the colors of fall.

By aligning writing with the changing seasons and holidays, you can provide students with a dynamic, year-round framework for expression and learning. The variety of prompts ensures that there’s always something fresh to inspire their imaginations, making writing a continual joy and an exciting adventure every season.

The value of getting students’ progression data

Educators have expressed their enthusiasm for the Writing Insights module, noting its ability to capture and analyze students’ writing progression over time. As Mariel Gómez de la Torre aptly stated, “It’s wonderful to see how it allows both my students and me to track their progress, making their growth in writing more visible and impactful.” This data-rich approach enables teachers to identify areas where students excel and areas needing further support, ultimately guiding tailored interventions that foster individual growth and achievement.

Saving teachers time

Time is a precious resource for educators, and the Writing Insights tool is designed to streamline assessment processes. As kindergarten teacher Katie Gardner mentioned, the insights offer a comprehensive overview of students’ writing capabilities, allowing teachers to focus on providing targeted feedback rather than spending excessive time on assessments. This efficiency enables educators to dedicate more time to instruction and student engagement, ensuring that every moment in the classroom is used effectively.

Enhancing parent engagement

The ability to track and communicate student progress is not only beneficial for teachers but also for parents. The feedback indicates that WriteReader’s Writing Insights can facilitate meaningful conversations between educators and parents regarding their child’s writing journey. By sharing progression data, teachers can engage parents in discussions about their child’s strengths and areas for improvement, fostering a collaborative approach to education that enhances student motivation and success.

Building on 5 years of research

WriteReader’s Writing Insights feature is grounded in five years of research, where over 2,200 students were closely monitored for four years. This substantial research base ensures that the insights provided are not just theoretical but are backed by empirical evidence. Educators can trust that the data they receive is meaningful and relevant, supporting informed decisions that drive student success.

Safe and secure

In an age where data privacy is paramount, WriteReader prioritizes safety. The platform utilizes its own language model, ensuring that student data is not shared with third parties or external sources. This commitment to privacy gives educators peace of mind, allowing them to focus on teaching without concerns about the security of their students’ information.

Leverage writing insights

The feedback from educators highlights the transformative potential of WriteReader’s new Writing Insights feature. By providing valuable data on student progression, saving teachers time, enhancing parent engagement, and building on extensive research, WriteReader is empowering educators to support their students’ writing journeys effectively. With a strong commitment to safety and privacy, WriteReader is paving the way for a more data-informed and supportive educational environment. Educators are excited to continue leveraging these insights to enhance their teaching practices and celebrate their students’ achievements.

Interested in learning more about Writing Insights and WriteReader?  Schools and districts can reach out to info@writereader.com for a demo and trial of the Writing Insights.