Five Ways to Use Epic Reading in Your Classroom

Epic is one of my favorite apps/websites for the K-5 classroom.  Not only do I love that it easy to use but also that it is one of few apps out there that are completely free for educators (for now anyway) and allow you to differentiate for your students according to their reading levels and interests by assigning book collections that you create.  If you aren't aware of Epic, take a look at my Featured Screencasts page for a brief overview and then head on over to Getepic.com to get started!

Here are five ways you can use Epic with your students:

• During your nonfiction unit of study.  Assign a general collection of nonfiction books or let students browse on their own.  Have them look for nonfiction features and create a tally chart for all the features they locate.  If you have shared devices, half of the class can use iPads/Chromebooks and half can read independently. Then switch!  Even less devices? Make it a station!  
• Also for nonfiction,  find out what topics students want to learn more about and create collections for them.  Assign the collections and you are giving them a great resource for their research!
• Use Epic as a listening center.  Students can explore the "Read to Me" or "Audiobook" sections or you can have them choose from a themed collection to match your reading unit of study!
• Read aloud!  Project Epic on your interactive board or just use an iPad to read aloud to your students or to model a specific skill or reading strategy.
• Use the Epic monthly calendars as part of your daily routine.  Epic puts out a new calendar every month full of activities you can do as a whole class during morning meeting or as activities when students are unpacking and getting ready for the day.  You'll find these calendars in your teacher dashboard on the left hand side.  Check out the calendar for March below and click here to grab a copy!