Episode 205 with Louise Baigelman

Our Purpose Story Shares is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization devoted to inspiring reading practice and improving literacy skills. Our library is full of Relevant Reads—books that are both compelling and approachable for struggling teen and young adult readers. The Story Shares digital writing tool enables writers, educators, and students to create and publish Relevant Reads. These books cover a range of age, interest, and reading levels, and are also enhanced with features to make reading more accessible and fun. By leveraging the combined powers of great books and interactive web design, our literacy hub brings together a community to engage and support readers who struggle. The Problem The millions of readers who complete elementary school reading below grade level are unable to read about the characters and plots written for their age group. The stories they can read are meant for a less mature audience. At best, they hide this by reading only in private. At worst (and most often) they simply give up reading altogether. Given the daily importance of reading in all aspects of life, lacking this crucial skill negatively impacts everything from academic performance to everyday communication. As many as 90 million teens and adults in America lack crucial literacy skills1 70% of middle and high school students require some form of reading remediation2 26% of 12th graders graduate reading below the basic level.3 The older they get, the harder it becomes to find content that is both relevant for their age and readable at their level. Thus, readers are not motivated or interested, and they often stop reading altogether. Our Solution We help generate and then distribute new stories aimed at older students who read below grade level, specifically ensuring that the content is interesting at their age, and readable at their level. To do so, we are building the Story Shares Hub to bring together authors, readers, and educators. For authors, the Hub provides a digital book builder to guide the creation of just-right content, and access to a large group of potential readers. For readers and educators, the Hub provides a library of newly created just-right content, distributed on a platform with built-in reading assists to make it even more approachable. https://www.storyshares.org https://www.facebook.com/StoryShareLiteracy/ https://twitter.com/storyshares

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