Thank you for your interest in ReadWriteThink. We have compiled a list of the questions most frequently posed to our staff. Just click on the questions below to read the related answers.  

If your question is not listed or you need further information, please contact us.

• How can I find lesson plans on ReadWriteThink?
  • You can sort ReadWriteThink lessons by grade band and date by clicking the column headings at the top of the Lesson Index. You can also use the Lesson Selector at the top of the Lesson Index to browse lessons by grade band or literacy engagement. Our Search Engine, available at the top right-hand corner of each page, is another way to find lessons on the site.
    
    
• I can’t open PDF handouts in the lesson’s Resources section. Can you help?
  • You are probably experiencing technical difficulties with the PDF links because you do not have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer. You can download it for free by clicking the “Get Acrobat Reader” button on our Site Tools page.
    
    If you’re having difficulties downloading or installing the Acrobat Reader plug-in, please visit the Acrobat Support Center.
    
    
• The interactive student tools won’t open on my computer. How can I fix this ?
  • You most likely need to download the most recent version of the Flash or Shockwave plug-in for your browser. These plug-ins are available for free and are safe to install on your computer.
    
    Visit our Site Tools page to learn which version of Flash and Shockwave you currently have on your computer. Then click on the buttons to download the latest versions.
    
    If you’re having difficulties downloading or installing the Flash or Shockwave plug-in, please visit the Acrobat Support Center.
    
    
• Why can’t my students save their work in your interactive tools?
  • Currently, students cannot save their work on any of our interactive tools. Issues of student privacy, passwords, server space, and cost have prevented us from offering this service.
    
    
• Can I link to the ReadWriteThink site?
  • We welcome links to ReadWriteThink.org from school, classroom, educational, and personal websites that are freely available to the public. You do not need to formally request permission for these links, but we ask that you abide by the terms below.

    1. Acknowledgement: Please acknowledge us as the provider of the resource (e.g., “See the ‘ABC Bookmaking Builds Vocabulary in the Content Areas’ lesson by Laurie Henry, provided by ReadWriteThink.org, a website developed by the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, and in partnership with the Verizon Foundation.”)
    
    2. Terms of Use: The resources on our site may only be linked to—not copied, reproduced, or modified in any way, nor placed within a frame.
    
    3. Cost: Since the organizations that sponsor ReadWriteThink.org feel strongly that all of our materials should be freely available to teachers, ReadWriteThink.org does not link to websites that require paid subscriptions, nor do we wish the managers of these websites to link to our materials. No one should have to pay a fee to access ReadWriteThink.org’s resources.
    
    4. Access/Review: Please contact us with the specific URL(s) where our information will reside so that we may review the context and confirm the purpose.

• Will you link to my website in your Web Resources Gallery?
  • ReadWriteThink is very selective of the sites chosen for the Web Resources Gallery. We do not link to any websites that contain numerous advertisements, require a subscription, or are not related to literacy education. If you believe that your website meets ReadWriteThink’s rigorous Web Resource Selection Criteria, please contact us with your URL.
    
    The link will be examined by our Web Resources Review Panel, which will determine whether the link will be included. All decisions are final.
    
    
• May I reprint ReadWriteThink materials?
  • ReadWriteThink materials may be reprinted for use in K–12 or higher education classrooms. Please feel free to photocopy the materials for student portfolios and to share with your colleagues.
    
    If you would like to include ReadWriteThink lessons in a curriculum guide, please bear in mind that all of our lessons link extensively to external Internet sites. We spend a considerable amount of time updating links as these external websites reorganize or remove content from the Internet. A hard copy reprint of a ReadWriteThink lesson would therefore be dated before long. Rather than reprint the entire lesson, we encourage you to print the title, author, overview, and URL of the lesson, along with a copyright line citing ReadWriteThink as the publisher. You need not seek permission to print the suggested items, but we would appreciate if you would contact us with your curriculum guide title and the districts in which it will be distributed.
    
    Authors of upcoming professional books who wish to reprint ReadWriteThink materials or include screenshots of our materials should contact us to request permission.
    
    
• May I adapt ReadWriteThink materials?
  • Classroom teachers and teacher educators may adapt ReadWriteThink lessons and associated lesson materials (e.g., rubrics and handouts) as needed to serve their students’ needs.
    
    ReadWriteThink’s interactive student materials are proprietary items and copyrighted by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. These tools are not available for sale or adaptation.
    
    
• How do I submit lessons to the site?
  • ReadWriteThink is run jointly by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. Both organizations are currently accepting lesson plan submissions. Please fill out our Join Us form so we can point you in the right direction.
    
    If you are a teacher educator, please contact us before assigning your students to submit lessons.