Rockerbox Picks is a brand-new weekly content feature designed to make current affairs accessible to every pupil in an empowering and positive way.
Rockerbox Picks are published weekly at our three core reading levels (Silver, Gold, and Platinum) and focus on 3-5 UK news headlines from the previous week. They are here to engage your pupils in what’s happening around them, teach them the vocabulary to express themselves confidently in school and at home, and provide opportunities for you to teach news literacy.
Rockerbox Picks follow our core philosophy of reporting on interesting and positive information from the world around our readers. This then gives you the freedom to shape further discussions according to the needs of a group or class.
Readers at our lowest reading level, Copper, should listen to the weekly Rockerbox Picks independently and discuss them with an adult. Readers at our highest level, Diamond, will find the Platinum level article a quick and easy way to stay up-to-date and test their comprehension.
Rockerbox Picks are published every Friday morning and are perfect to set for weekend reading.
How It Works:
In addition to the 10-15 exciting and timely articles published at our five reading levels each week, from now on our content team will be picking 3-5 topics from the UK headlines to summarise in an end-of-week article at multiple reading levels.
Our content team summarises the headlines at our national curriculum-aligned levels and creates follow-up questions to ensure you are always able to track and report on engagement and understanding.
How to Find the Weekly Rockerbox Picks:
Check your account every Friday for the latest Rockerbox Picks or search “Rockerbox Picks” to see a back catalogue of articles.
You can find Rockerbox Picks as its own category so you can also switch them on and off for different pupils if required.
How to Use the Weekly Rockerbox Picks:
The simplest way to make the most of this new content feature is to assign Rockerbox Picks to your pupils for weekend reading. As always, the platforms will automatically differentiate the articles for each reader.
- Select “Send Stories to Class” from your Homepage
- Click to select all pupils and then this week’s Rockerbox Picks
- Name your activity “Rockerbox Picks: DATE” and send or schedule the activity for your pupils
- Automatically track pupil engagement and understanding on your teacher portal. Quickly see gaps in understanding with our Question Level Analysis tools
- Come together to discuss the reading. Use the related TOPICS TO DISCUSS to shape your conversation, review multiple choice questions that the group found tricky, or create a discussion that suits the needs of your class or group at the time.
- Track engagement and progress over time with the ability to filter for any time period. Download progress information at the click of a button.
If you have any questions about this new feature or suggestions on features you’d like to see in the future, please don’t hesitate to contact your school success manager. Our content team would love to hear from you.
Happy Rockerboxing!
