WordBuild Online: A Reading Comprehension Curriculum

Being part of the Homeschool Review Crew, my daughter and I had the privilege to use WordBuild Online from Dynamic Literacy, LLC.

WordBuild Online is an online curriculum that aims to improve reading comprehension, by teaching kids the meanings of prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Short video lessons, lesson activities and games introduce and then reinforce learning in a fun and engaging way.

WordBuild Online has three different levels.
Foundations Level 1 is for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders
Foundations Level 2 is for 5th graders
Elements Level 1 is for 6th grade and higher

In order to begin in Foundations Level 1, WordBuild Online recommends that the student has mastered phonics and can read a page of sight words.

The Scope & Sequence is below for the Foundations Levels.

A lesson a day is suggested to complete a level during one school year, but WordBuild Online discourages doing more than fifteen minutes of lessons at a time.

Parents and students have lifetime access to their accounts, and the level purchased for a student also does not have a time limit. The only time another purchase is required, is if your student is finished a level and it is time for them to continue in the curriculum.

After making the parent and student account, there is an introductory video to watch. It was very informative, and I’m glad they had it.

I’ve often wondered why the spelling of some of our words are so difficult, and now I know that our words weren’t spelled the way they are because of the way they are sounded out (obviously!), but because of the meaning of each section of the word.

Below are just a few screenshots from the video.

Activity games begin after the video. A timer starts counting down from fifteen minutes. This isn’t to cause the child stress, but it’s there just so they don’t do too much in one day. WordBuild Online wants to give plenty of time for the child to absorb the lesson and understand it.

My daughter started out with the Elements level. Most of the beginning activities were the same structure.

• Read the paragraph to get reminded of the meaning of the suffix or prefix being taught.
• Click on the suffix at the end of the paragraph
• Click on the root word box so that the suffix gets added to it
• Read the definition of the root word that is provided
• In the sentence box type in your own definition of the root word with the suffix

This pattern was continued for a while and then additional suffixes and prefixes were added.

At the end of the unit were different types of assessment games. Some of them were hard, but they give the option to finish early, even if you’re not. With the assessments they do show the correct answers if you need them.

My daughter enjoyed the assessment games better than the “type in the definition” questions. I’ve included screenshots of the different games.

I thought Abby did well. For Elements 1 she started in the novice group and then was moved to the mastery section. WordBuild Online says they can adjust things depending on the student’s performance, but I’m not sure if WordBuild Online adjusted anything for her or not.

According to the Scope & Sequence, she didn’t move very far down the list. There is a TON of word parts to learn! The screenshot of the Scope & Sequence is below. This is for the Elements Levels.

WordBuild Online keeps parents very well informed. You get an email every time a lesson is completed, and you can always see a progress report from the parent dashboard. Below is a picture of part of Abby’s progress report.

Final Thoughts about WordBuild Online

I would recommend WordBuild Online for any child that needs interactive and engaging lessons to help with reading comprehension.

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