Fuel Education Expands Reading Literacy Platform for Schools and Districts

The online literacy platform from Fuel Education^® (FuelEd^®), Big Universe®, just got much bigger. The platform has added more than 2,000 new titles in both non-fiction and fiction since October 2017. It now offers more than 13,000 high-quality, leveled eBooks to help schools boost their balanced literacy program for students in grades K-12 to improve reading skills.

The expansion also comes amid news that the United States is falling behind in international rankings based on an assessment of fourth grade students' reading skills. According to a recent news report, the United States' world ranking fell from fifth to 13^th over a five year period.

"Research shows third grade is a pivotal point for acquiring reading skills, and non-fiction titles for elementary schools are always in high demand," said Sean P. Ryan, General Manager of Fuel Education. "We have added thousands of new, high-interest titles to our Big Universe library to help our school and district partners meet both of these needs as they work with students to improve early grade reading proficiency."

Big Universe provides schools with an affordable, comprehensive literacy solution featuring a readymade library of thousands of leveled eBooks from well-known publishers. The platform supports balanced literacy programs with integrated tools such as embedded assessments, a student recommendation engine, analytics to demonstrate reading growth, and engaging reading practice opportunities. Of the eBooks in Big Universe's expanded library, most are designed for the third-grade reading level.

The expansion of Big Universe's portfolio includes popular publishers such as The Child's World, The Creative Company, and Jump Library. Big Universe's expanded portfolio includes high-quality eBooks such as:

• How To Read Scratch Computer Code, from The Child's World
  This book introduces the basic elements of Scratch computer code, such as scripts and blocks. With support from the book, readers will learn how to create their own games and projects such as labeled diagrams, a quiz and answer key, a phonetic glossary as well as sources for further research and more. It can also be used as a resource for those participating in an Hour of Code event.

• Taste The Clouds, from The Creative Company
  Focused on younger readers, this book asks questions and uses illustrations that challenge readers to use their imagination to think about their senses and the world around them in new ways. For instance, it asks whether they can hear colors, see music, or touch a rainbow.

• Super Chameleons, from Jump Library
  This title from the Nature's Superheroes series introduces young readers to important biological concepts with full color photography, as well as extension activities via age-appropriate safe-search websites. Each title in the series also includes reading tips to help teachers and parents engage with their young readers.

Today Big Universe is used in more than 900 schools where it is available to more than 700,000 students and 50,000 teachers to augment classroom activities.

According to a study conducted by independent research firm SEG Measurement, fourth grade students who used Big Universe over a six month period showed greater improvement in reading skills than comparable students who did not use the platform.

Click here to read about how the Wake County Public School System in North Carolina uses Big Universe.

About Fuel Education

Fuel Education^® partners with school districts to fuel personalized learning and transform the education experience inside and outside the classroom. The company provides innovative solutions for pre-K through 12th grade that empower districts to implement successful online and blended learning programs. Its open, easy-to-use Personalized Learning Platform, PEAK™, enables teachers to customize courses using their own content, FuelEd courses and titles, third-party content, and open educational resources. Fuel Education serves more than 2,000 school districts, offering one of the industry's largest catalogs of K-12 digital curriculum, certified instruction, professional development, and educational services. To learn more, visit fueleducation.com and Twitter.

©2018 Fuel Education LLC. All rights reserved. Fuel Education, FuelEd, and Big Universe are trademarks of Fuel Education LLC or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE: BUSINESS WIRE. ©2017 Business Wire

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