Release Notes 9.4.2024

Waterford.org will release an automatic software update on September 4, 2024. See the list below for details.

If you have any questions or feedback, visit the Help Center for more information.

Motivate Young Learners with Virtual Awards

Affects: All Waterford Programs

Starting in September 2024, Waterford’s new awards will foster a sense of accomplishment as learners meet their daily goals. Tablet users will need to update their app as this new feature is released.

Once a student meets their daily course goal, they'll be greeted with an Award screen featuring a random virtual Award. Each Award is divided into five parts, with learners earning one piece per day until they hit their target.

After five days of meeting the minimum session time, the full Award is unlocked and added to the child’s Award Board, which they can access anytime on their homepage. This replaces the Stop sign screen for the first daily course that learners complete.

By celebrating progress and providing a sense of pride and ownership, these virtual awards will keep children eager to continue their learning journey. Follow the links here and here to learn more about these new virtual awards.

Learners will see this update as it is rolled out starting in September. Tablet users will need to update their app first.

Track Student Course Completion with New Status

Affects: Waterford Reading Academy

Keep track of student progress with the new Completed Course status indicator. This new status is displayed in a distinctive green color on both the Overall and Summary Dashboards for SmartStart, Reading, and Math & Science courses.

With this indicator, you'll be informed when a learner has finished a course, allowing you to provide targeted support, introduce new challenges, and ensure each student continues to grow.

Rusty Says Hello with Updated App Icon!

Affects: Waterford Reading Academy

Waterford mascot Rusty is ready to help learners quickly identify and access our Waterford Reading Academy app across Google Play, Apple, Clever, and Classlink. The functionality of all Waterford apps remains the same. This is just a visual refresh.

Improved Tablet Functionality for 24 More Waterford Activities

Affects: All Waterford Programs

Waterford is continually optimizing digital activities to craft a better tablet experience for users. Updates to some activities include: a more modern, refreshed look and feel, enhanced audio updates, and new Spanish language support. Waterford strives to improve digital activities to encourage increased use and drive learner engagement.

Look for visual and/or audio updates to the following Waterford activities:

• Similarities and Differences in Letters
• Choose a Sound

Before

After

67 Updated Waterford Digital Books Ready to Read

Affects: All Waterford Programs

Waterford has been hard at work updating our entire library to provide an engaging digital reading experience for your students. With this comprehensive refresh, you can look forward to a steady stream of enhanced digital titles being rolled out over the coming months. 67 of these refreshed digital books will be available in September for families, educators, and students. You can view full title list here.

Each book now features a new title page with accompanying audio that sets the purpose and tone for the reading experience and aids reading comprehension. Learners can access a variety of supports to build word recognition, including:

• Word pronunciations
• Definitions, images, and related words for key vocabulary
• Inspector Detector think-alouds to engage critical thinking
• Rebus images, a feature that allows learners to toggle between visual and textual representations

Learners will also notice a brief instructional video at the start of each book starring the Waterford characters and guiding students on how to make the most of the interactive features.

This comprehensive refresh elevates the quality of the reading resources with an accessible, multi-sensory experience.

16 Fluent Reading Certificates to Celebrate Milestones

Affects: All Waterford Programs

Motivate learners with 16 new Fluent Reading certificates featuring Waterford characters! After achieving Fluent Reading milestones, students will unlock a video celebrating their effort. Celebrating efforts rather than only successes has been shown in research to promote a child’s intrinsic motivation to learn.

Progress Tracking Sheets Get a Visual Refresh

Affects: All Waterford Programs

Make daily sessions motivating for learners with updated tracking sheets featuring the Waterford characters! The newly redesigned progress sheets are now available in both English and Spanish, accessible to families and educators through the Resources & Activities tab.

10 Days

• English
• Spanish

20 Days

• English
• Spanish

Teach Mindset Skills with Refreshed Yoga Resources

Affects: All Waterford Programs

To meet inclusive excellence standards, the updated yoga activities feature a wide array of poses for learners of all abilities and backgrounds. They are available in both English and Spanish, accessible to families and educators through the Resources & Activities tab.

Poster

• English
• Spanish

Booklet

• English
• Spanish

Flash Cards

• English
• Spanish

2 New Resource Guides for Educators

Affects: Waterford Reading Academy

Navigate the variety of educational resources available with the new Types of Resources guide! It provides educators with a clear overview of Waterford's content library for quicker access to the materials needed for class instruction.

Plus, use the updated Waterford Readability and Beginning Readers and Decodable Books guides to learn to leverage Waterford's extensive library, including 12 new Decodable Books, as supplemental classroom resources.

Switch Between Caregiver and Child Profiles with Ease

Affects: Waterford Upstart

Effortlessly switch between child and caregiver profiles! The icon associated with the caregiver account will now appear where the logout button used to be. When users click this icon, they'll be presented with the option to either change users or log out entirely.

Previously, the only way for Waterford Upstart users to switch between their caregiver and child profiles was by clicking the browser's back button or logging out and back in.

New Resource: Number Sense Bingo

Affects: All Waterford Programs

Introducing new Number Sense Bingo resources, an engaging way to help learners build early counting and numeracy skills at home or in the classroom.

Families and educators can access these activities through the Resources & Activities tab of their Waterford account. They are available in English and Spanish.

Family Resource: Build Critical Thinking Skills at Home

Affects: Waterford Mentor, Waterford Upstart

Families can use the Build Critical Thinking Skills at Home resource to supplement home learning. With engaging and hands-on activities, this resource will help children build the problem-solving abilities they need to thrive at home and school. These resources are available in English and Spanish through the Resources & Activities tab.

Home Resource: Schedule Cards for Families

Affects: Waterford Mentor, Waterford Upstart

The new Schedule Cards for Families resource supports families as they build consistent learning routines at home. Written with the needs of parents and caregivers in mind, this tool makes it easy to incorporate research-proven early learning methods into daily routines.

12 New Decodable Books Available to Download

Affects: All Waterford Programs

Practice early reading and decoding skills with young learners! Families and educators can find 12 new decodable books as PDF downloads within Waterford’s Resources & Activities tab:

• The Dog
• Pop
• Go, Cam!
• Big Dog Dot
• I See You
• Rad Dad
• A Big Win
• The Map
• At Bat
• My Tam-Tam
• The Hot Pot
• A Kit for the Pit

The cast of characters is consistent across all decodable books. These decodable books are available in English and side-by-side English/Spanish.

Improved Animations for 3 Waterford Songs

Affects: Waterford Reading Academy, Waterford Upstart, Waterford Mentor

To meet inclusive excellence standards that allow children to see themselves in the curriculum and offer an enhanced illustration style, three Waterford songs have been re-animated:

• Bee Happy Addition
• Drop Magic e
• 14 Fish to Catch