This post is in partnership with Read to Lead. All opinions are my own.
To say that this year has been a challenge is simply an understatement. Teachers around the world have been working so hard to make sure all students have meaningful learning opportunities. This fall, I’ve had several conversations with educators about what it looks like to help students gain independence during distance learning experiences.
In this blog post, I’m excited to share a unique online platform. It tackles this idea of elevating and supporting young leaders — and helping all students build leadership skills.
If you haven’t heard of Read to Lead, they have a game-based learning platform that helps students develop literacy, life, and career skills. Read to Lead supports educators and provides middle school students a chance to “be the boss” of a virtual workplace. Along the way, students can develop leadership skills while improving their literacy skills.
Let’s jump into Read to Lead and three ways to elevate young leaders this year!
Game-Based Learning and Reading Skills
Read to Lead is a supplemental resource for educators looking to boost engagement and help students develop literacy and leadership skills. You can find a breakdown of how to use their fantastic resources during in-person, fully remote, and hybrid learning experiences on this page. Students can participate in a whole-class lesson regardless of the delivery mode you choose. Then, students can play a game independently, both asynchronously or synchronously.
In addition to the gameplay built into the platform, there are also opportunities for small group and whole-class discussions. These discussions can occur remotely with a video call or on discussion boards if students are working on their own schedules. And of course you can lead discussions in a classroom, if students are all in the same physical space. I love this resource’s flexibility and how well suited it is for both traditional and distance learning environments.
Three Ways to Elevate Young Leaders
The core mission of Read to Lead is to help students build both literacy and leadership skills. They are a nonprofit organization and work to support students in high poverty environments. If you’re interested in supporting their mission and the teachers and students in their network, there are a few ways to get involved.
As you prepare for a season of giving, and today, Giving Tuesday, there are three ways you can elevate young leaders. If one of these options grabs your attention, I encourage you to share the links with your networks of educators and friends who want to empower young leaders, too.
Supporting Student Leaders
- Donate to reach the #RTLGivingTuesday2020 goal of $5,000 and keep Read to Lead 100% free for teachers and students! If you’re not in a position to donate this year, you can share this link on your own social media accounts.
- Write a message to middle school students to inspire them in their leadership journey. In just a few minutes, you can share a message of encouragement with a student developing their leadership skills. This option doesn’t cost a thing beyond a few moments of your time.
- In addition to the donation option I mentioned above, you can share the Giving Tuesday Fund on social media, and take moment to show gratitude for educators who inspire you. If you decide to share, include a shoutout to an educator leader in your life, and tag @rtlgames! Maybe this is someone you have a formal mentor/mentee relationship with. Perhaps it is someone who took on that role for you when you were a new teacher or when you took on a new position in your school community.
Choose one of the three ways above to elevate young leaders this year! You can donate, write a message, or share the fun to support students this giving season. And don’t forget to check out Read to Lead on their landing page.
