Reading sits at the heart of all learning, and in a world that continues to evolve, supporting students to become confident, adaptable readers is more vital than ever. With this in mind, a group of Apple Professional Learning Specialists (APLS) came together to explore evidence-informed reading practices and consider how Apple technology could be used to amplify engagement, creativity and skill development.
That collaboaration led to the creation of ‘30 Evidence Informed Reading Activities’—a flexible collection of reading tasks and Keynote templates designed to reimagine how upper primary and lower secondary students interact with text. Whether developing scientific vocabulary, analysing characters in a novel, or unpacking perspectives in social sciences, these activities are intentionally cross-curricular and ready to personalise.
Every task is paired with a Keynote template featuring clear instructions, visual scaffolds and space for student voice. Interwoven through the tasks are invitations for creative expression of ideas and understandings through iPad and Mac. Multimodal options—including audio and visual supports—ensure learning is inclusive and accessible for all learners.
Teachers can use the activities for whole-class learning, small groups or targeted support. With simple deployment through AirDrop, Classroom or Classwork, the resource helps make literacy teaching both engaging and time-efficient.
Example Lesson Idea: Text Soundtracks using GarageBand
Comprehension
By composing a soundtrack that reflects a text’s emotional landscape, students actively analyse mood, theme and character experience. This creative task deepens comprehension and enables students to interpret, evaluate and make meaning from increasingly complex texts.
Learning Objectives
By using the Text Soundtracks using GarageBand template, students will be able to:
- analyse text and record ideas about the key themes, mood and emotion in a chosen text.
- use GarageBand to creative a musical soundtrack that conveys their ideas and reflects author intent
- produce a visual representation of their soundtrack in the form of an album cover, encouraging multimodal expression of ideas.
Getting Started with GarageBand Soundtracks: A short demonstration
https://youtu.be/Pua9LO-N2lsAdditional support
Everyone Can Create Projects - Create your First Song
Keen to get started with one of the activities?
We’ve provided the three activity templates in Chantelle's forum post, along with another template in this post. If you'd like to explore all our activities, follow us on Linked In and be the first to find out more, including PLD opportunities coming soon in 2026 to support teachers who are keen to use our resource with their students!
We'd love to hear your thoughts on our resources or how you use Apple technology to enhance reading instruction in your classroom. Please add to the comments.
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