What Is Read Along in Google Classroom?

Let’s start with a quick refresher. Read Along is a Google tool that can be added to Google Classroom to help students build independent reading skills.

So far, so good, right?

It comes with access to a library of 800+ books, including:

• 📘 Heggerty books
• 📙 ReadWorks content
• 📗 Titles with Spanish language support
• 📕 And more!

Teachers assign a text, and Read Along gives them insight into the student’s:

• Reading accuracy
• Speed
• Comprehension

It’s been a solid tool—especially for early readers, multilingual learners, and students who just need a little more practice.

 

What’s the Big Update?

Here’s the headline: Educators can now upload their own content into Read Along.

This might sound like a small change, but trust me—it’s huge.

Before, you had to stick to what was already in the Read Along library. Now? You can bring your own resources to the party.

That means you can use:

• 📘 Content that aligns more directly with your curriculum
• 📰 Culturally relevant material
• 💬 Texts based on student interests
• 🗺️ Stories that tie into your local community or history

And once it’s uploaded, you still get all the same AI-powered reading feedback. That includes word-by-word reading analysis and comprehension tracking—only now, it’s for your material.

 

Why This Matters for Classrooms

This update hits on three big wins for educators and students:

1. Flexibility

Let’s be real—800 books is great, but it’s not everything. This update lets you bring in texts that meet your classroom’s specific needs. No more trying to make the preset library fit your goals.

2. Representation

Want to give your students stories that reflect their culture, their families, or their community? Now you can. And they’ll still get high-quality reading practice while doing it.

3. Curriculum Fit

Have a unit on local government or a science topic your students are exploring? Upload related texts, and use Read Along to practice fluency and hit your standards.

 

Quick Heads-Up: Not Everyone Has Access

Here’s the catch—and it’s a familiar one for Google Workspace tools.

This new upload feature is only available to districts with:

• Education Plus
• Teaching and Learning Upgrade

If you’re not sure which one your district has, here’s a shortcut:

If you don’t see the Read Along feature as an attachment option for an assignment in your Google Classroom… your school probably doesn’t have the right upgrade.

No need to submit a support ticket—just check if it’s there. That’ll give you your answer.

 

So, What Would You Upload?

If you’ve got access to the new Read Along upload feature, I’d love to know what kind of content you’d use.

• A student-created story about your town?
• A local news article rewritten for elementary readers?
• A science passage about your region’s ecosystem?

Whatever it is, you can now assign it in Read Along, and still get the data you need to support your readers.

 

TL;DR – Why You Should Care About This Update

Let’s break it down:

✅ What’s New:

Upload your own texts into Read Along

💡 Why It’s Awesome:

Connect the reading to your content or your learners

Join the Conversation

Using Read Along? Just trying it out? I want to hear from you.

Let us know how you’re using it—and what kind of content you’re uploading.

Because yes, the library is cool.

But your content? That’s where the magic happens. ✨

Want the TL;DR version? Watch the quick video here 👇