Welcome to Zinc Learning Labs! We’re here to help you equip your students with essential reading skills. Our platform provides activities that are easy to assign, highly interactive, and automatically leveled for students. The majority of Zinc activities are graded by the system, and you can track student success in our comprehensive reports. In a few short minutes, you’ll create assignments to strengthen your students’ reading skills and encourage a life-long love of reading.

Students who complete Zinc’s Ignition program should see reading gains stay with them throughout the school year. Our testing shows 42% of students who started off reading on grade level went up at least one Zinc reading level. Ignition was even more impactful for students who started off reading below grade level — they went up at least one reading level in just a few weeks.

This article is designed to help educators get the most out of Zinc. If you’re looking at how to sign in, set up your classes, or get started, we’ve got you covered. If you’re looking for something specific, please use the table of contents to the right to quickly access any information you need.

If you don’t find your answer, Zinc Support is available to help. Click the blue speech balloon in the bottom right of Zinc or use the contact form.

The way your school accesses Zinc determine how you sign into Zinc. Below, you will find directions for Clever, Google Classroom, Classlink, Direct, and SpringBoard users. Teachers utilizing Zinc for home use will most likely be direct users. If you're unsure which method to use, please contact an administrator, IT department, or Zinc Support.

If you try to log into Zinc and see an error message that says "You have to confirm your email before continuing," then you need to check your email for a message from Zinc. Follow the link in that email to confirm your email address.

If you are unable to find the confirmation email from Zinc Learning Labs, please check your spam folder. If you need the email to be resent, please type your email or username and password into the Sign in to Zinc Learning Labs page. You will see the error message followed by "Click here to re-send your verification email." Click "here" to have the email sent again.
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If you go through this process but are unable to verify your email, please contact Zinc Support.

If you access Zinc through Clever, Google, or ClassLink, click the correct button on the sign in page and follow the instructions. You may need to grant Zinc the necessary permissions to continue. The first time you reach your Zinc homepage, you may need to click the "Register" button to begin.

For more information about signing in and managing your classes, including helpful videos, please click these links for Clever users, Google Classroom Users, and ClassLink users.

If you access Zinc directly, go to the sign in page and log in using your email and password. If you haven't created a Zinc account (or had one created for you), you'll need to Register for Zinc.

If your school uses Clever, Google, ClassLink, or SpringBoard to access Zinc, you will not need to register using this method. Please go to the Sign in for Clever, Google, and ClassLink Users section or continue to the Sign in for SpringBoard Users section and follow those instructions.

Direct users: Please make sure you have your School Code before registering. You'll receive your school code from your administration or directly from Zinc.

For direct users who haven't had an account created for them, you'll need to click on the "Register" link before you log into Zinc for the first time. Here's a direct link to the registration page. Click on the dropdown menu under "Role" and select "Teacher." Fill in your personal information and create an account. When asked for your email, please provide your teacher email address. You will also enter your School Code.

Below is a sample of the registration form. If a space on the form is marked with an asterisk (*), that space must be filled in.

Once you've filled in all the required information, click the green "Register" button. If you filled in an email address, you'll need to check your email for a message from Zinc Learning Labs. If you don't see it, please check your Spam. The email will include a confirmation link that you must click before you can start using Zinc.

For information about setting up classes for direct users, please click here.

If you see a page that says you are now leaving SpringBoard, click "Continue." To avoid seeing this message every time, click the box next to "Do not show this message again."

This will take you to Zinc!

In order to interact with students in Zinc, they must be part of a class. Educators must be the teacher for a class or have administrative access in order to give students assignments or view reports.

Has a new transfer student joined your class? Please see below for details about setting up new students in Zinc.

The way you create or update your Zinc classes depends on the way you access Zinc. Direct users will make roster changes inside Zinc. SpringBoard, Clever, Google Classroom, and ClassLink users must make roster changes on those platforms. For more information, please see below and click the link that describes the way you and your students access Zinc. These articles explain how to update your classes, refresh your rosters, archive old classes, and more.

To interact with your list of classes and students inside Zinc, click "View Classes & Reports" in the top menu and then click "Classes and Students." On this page, you will see a list of all your active classes. You can click on the Students tab to see a list of students or to search for a specific student.

Clicking on a class will bring up a list of the students in that class. Clicking on a student's name will bring up their Individual Performance Report.

On the "Classes and Students" page, you have the option to nickname or star a class. To nickname a class, click "add nickname" and type in the nickname of your choice. You can also click the star to the left of a class to make it easier to find in the list. A star can be removed by clicking it again.

For a printable, in-depth guide on using Zinc in your classroom throughout the year, please click here!

We recommend teachers start by assigning Ignition to their students, preferably at the beginning of the fall semester. Ignition introduces interactive activities and important reading skills, and it's designed to be completed over a two-week period. Plan to spend about 120 total minutes of class time on Ignition.
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The program begins with a Zinc Level Placement, a short assessment that allows the system to provide appropriate, challenging content for each individual student. To learn more about Ignition and receive step-by-step instructions for making an Ignition assignment, please click here.

To get the most out of Ignition with your students, we recommend 15 minute sessions, 4 to 5 times a week, for 2 weeks. The program includes a pause between the first and second week. Students who complete either week early will have the option to complete Power-Up Activities to keep them challenged and engaged.

If you would like to cover Ignition skills in classroom instruction, we offer lesson plans in the form of editable slideshows. You can incorporate these lessons however you like. For more about free teacher resources, please see below.

The recommended follow-up for Ignition is Zinc Lift Off. In this four-week program, students choose their own content from the topics that grab their attention. This auto-leveled content includes a customizable workload of articles with quizzes, vocabulary games, and Close Reading Experiences (CREs). It only takes a few minutes to provide a month of tailored content, and you can reassign Lift Off as often as you’d like! To explore Lift Off, please click here.

Once spring rolls around, we recommend assigning Ignition again to give students another push toward reading growth before testing starts. Test Prep skills are embedded into the Ignition experience, but we’ve also created some great teacher resources to support your test prep efforts.

Test Prep Mini-Lessons

In Zinc, students work to develop and strengthen essential reading habits. Successful reading comprehension boils down to two active skills that we call Zinc-ing and Tracking. Let’s take a look at these two skills and their sub-skills below.

Zinc-ing means turning words and phrases into images, experiences, and meanings in our minds.

People who enjoy reading often do this naturally, but everyone benefits from practicing and deepening these habits. Students who don’t like reading or have struggled with it in the past often respond to the simple idea of Zinc-ing. It’s a fresh concept that they might just be open to trying.

Zinc-ing has two sub-skills: Use Your Senses and Make It Real.

In Zinc activities that encourage the Use Your Senses skill, students are asked to find words they can easily imagine and “experience” these words in their head. This process gives every reader a place to start in a challenging passage. They should use all their senses to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell the sensory details in the text.

Great writing expands the reader’s experience with key images. More advanced readers will work with key images, picturing them and noticing the thoughts and feelings they conjure. To appreciate and enjoy advanced texts, readers must embrace the importance of these key images.

Would you like to introduce your students to Use Your Senses? Click here for a free, editable slideshow lesson.

Many abstract words do not make images in our minds. It's easy to overlook those words and miss critical information. When Zinc encourages students to Make It Real, they take abstract terms and apply their own relevant example.

For example, when Shakespeare says, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," we ask a student to actually think of another name for the flower. Would the rose’s smell change if we called it “Steven"? With Zinc, students take these difficult concepts and apply their own examples to “make it real.”

Would you like to introduce your students to Make It Real? Click here for a free, editable slideshow lesson.

In Zinc, “tracking” is following the path created by the writer. Our activities help students use the clues and road signs in the text to arrive at the writer’s intended destination.

Everyone has gotten lost in a passage at some point in their reading journey. With Zinc, students learn what to look for so they can get back on the right path. Whether a reader is struggling with a single sentence or a longer text, the tracking skill will show them the route to success.

Tracking has two sub-skills: Pronouns and Navigators.

In these Zinc activities, we ask students to track pronouns back to their antecedents in order to follow what’s going on in the text. Basic pronouns like, “she,” “he,” or “they,” are covered, as well as pronouns like “it” or “this” or “that” that often get overlooked. We also dig deeper in challenging texts, looking at phrases that represent other stated ideas.

Zinc helps students link these pronouns. This skill opens up difficult texts, and helps students track what the author wants to tell them.

Would you like to introduce your students to Pronouns? Click here for a free, editable slideshow lesson.

In a text, writers give signals to guide readers through layers of meaning. Navigators come in the form of punctuation, navigator or transition words, and asides. For example, "however" is a signal to expect a contrasting layer of information, whereas a comma or a colon may signal us to expect an explanation.

Zinc activities draw attention to these road signs and help students understand how to follow them. Through these exercises, students learn how to navigate difficult passages. Understanding navigators help students better comprehend the tone, structure, and other details of a text.

Would you like to introduce your students to Navigators? Click here for a free editable slideshow lesson.

Making predictions is an important part of Zinc-ing. Zinc requires student to make their own predictions before answering a multiple choice question. We ask students to take this extra step to discourage fast guessing and encourage critical thinking. This leads to positive outcomes for students both inside and outside Zinc.

Completing a prediction in Zinc is simple. First, students read the question and consider what the answer will be. If necessary, they can always review the text.

Students then click on the text box and type a few words about what they think the answer will be. The system doesn’t require a detailed response or a complete sentence.

Once the student makes their prediction, they click the "Submit and Unlock Answer Choices" button. The possible answers will then appear, and the student can compare those answers to their prediction. Do any of them match? Is there a stronger answer? Again, students can go back and check the text before submitting their answer.

We make it clear that students don't have to be right on their predictions, and they can always change their mind once the answer choices appear. Our goal is for students to thoughtfully consider their answers inside and outside Zinc. This skill proves especially valuable in test-taking environments.

When you first log into Zinc, you'll see your homepage or Zinc Dashboard. The top of the page is your menu with three main choices: “Home” will bring you back to your homepage Dashboard, “Assign Activities” shows you the Zinc features you can assign to students. You'll also see My Recent Assignments, which is where you will see assignments you give your classes and access their reports.

Your students have their own Zinc Dashboard and menu, which is fully explained in their How to Use Zinc for Students guide.

The menu at the top of your Zinc homepage helps your to quickly reach what you need. Clicking "Assign Activities" will bring up a full list of Zinc activities that you can assign to your classes.

Under “View Classes & Reports,” you can manage students or classes, view assigned activities, explore reports, look at the leaderboard, visit your bookmarks, or check out free teacher resources. (Note for Direct users: You will have an additional menu option to Manage/Upload Classes.)

In the top right-hand corner, you'll see a question mark (?) that will bring you to this help page. There's also a bell that shows notifications. The circle with your initials or a profile picture will take you to your profile page. Clicking the leaf in the top left-hand corner will always bring you back to your Dashboard. Clicking the blue circle in the bottom-right corner of the web page will contact Zinc Support.

On your homepage, you'll find a section called My Recent Assignments." Clicking "View more assignments" or "View more classes" will take you to your Classes and Students page. Clicking on "View Report" for any of these class assignments will take you to its full Assignment Progress Report.

When you click “Assign Activities” in the top Zinc menu, you are greeted with a list of Zinc features you can share with your students. Each of these activities can be assigned to entire classes, groups of students, or individual students.

Each activity offers different options. Below are summaries of each activity and a link to their feature help article. If you’re currently logged into Zinc, you can also click “Assign Now” to go right to the activity’s assignment page.

You can preview every Zinc activity as if you were a student. Just click the “Try this as a student” link under each activity in the Zinc menu. Activities requiring a Zinc Level will allow you to quickly experience a Level Placement and set the Level of your choice. If you’d like to read more about the options for each preview, you can click on the activity below to reach their feature help article.

Teachers often ask how to grade Zinc activities or how to include Zinc in their grade book. This is easy to do, and it's a convenient way to give students more chances to succeed. Please remember that Zinc provides content to students at their determined reading level, so students may experience different challenges. Zinc provides guidance whether students get an answer right or wrong, and students benefit from every activity they complete in Zinc.

For Ignition, Lift Off, and any other Zinc activities that go into the grade book, we recommend using a rubric or some other holistic grading tool. One method would be giving a completion score for required activities finished on time and add bonus points or additional completion grades for students who finish additional activities inside Zinc.

For example, if a student completes Ignition by the date you've set, they might receive two scores of 100 in the grade book, one for each week of Ignition. If they finish Ignition after the set date, you could deduct 10 points for each day. Once Ignition is completed, Students may choose additional Power-Up activities, and you could reward them with 5 bonus points for each completed activity.

If you’d like to cancel an assignment for individual students or a whole class, go to your Zinc homepage. Under My Recent Assignments, click the "View Report" link for the assignment you wish to cancel. (If the assignments isn't under a class, click "View more assignments," and you'll be taken to your Classes and Students page with a full list of past assignments with the same "View Report" links.)

Below is an example of your Zinc Homepage, showing a list of activities and their "View Report" links.

Once you've clicked "View Report," you'll be taken to that assignment's Activity Progress Report. Every activity has its own Activity Progress Report, so make sure you're on the correct report for the correct class. Below is an example of the Activity Progress Report for a vocabulary assignment.

Once on the correct Activity Progress Report, click the "Cancel Activities" button. This takes you to the cancelation page, where you can select individual students or click the checkbox in the top row of the table to select all students in the class.

Once you've made your selection, click "Cancel Selected," and the assignment will no longer be visible on those students' Zinc homepages.

Please note, Level Placements may not be canceled. Do not worry, because Zinc treats all Level Placements the same, and students may only receive one Level Placement at a time. Students are limited to taking 3 to 4 Level Placements each school year.

Zinc is an excellent resource for bringing new or transfer students up to speed in your classroom.

If you are a direct user, you have several methods for adding new students to you Zinc class. Please view the details here. If you require additional student licenses, please contact your administration, IT department, or Zinc Support.

If you access Zinc through Clever, Google Classroom, ClassLink, or SpringBoard, then your Zinc classes depend on those rosters. You can start by making sure the new student is present in your Zinc class. Click "View Classes & Reports" in the top menu and then click "Classes and Students." Here's a direct link to the Classes and Students page. From here, you can click on the new student's class. You can also click the student tab and search for them using the search bar. If the student is not present in Zinc, please confirm that they are present in your rosters.

It's important to note that new students do not automatically receive a class's current or past assignments. Please assign new student any relevant activities. If you'd like to track their progress with the entire class, the Comprehensive Class Report allows you to view all the assignments for a class in one place.

It's possible that a student already has an active assignment from a previous teacher, and you are unable to give them a duplicate of the assignment. In this case, please encourage the student to complete the previous assignment.

This is especially common with Ignition and Level Placements, as these assignments take longer to expire. Please don't worry, because these assignments work the same regardless of who assigns them. You can view easily view the most recent assignments for every student in a class, including Ignition and Level Placements, with the Activity Progress Report.

If you would like to use Zinc consistently in your class to promote reading growth, we strongly recommend assigning Ignition and then Lift Off to your students. These are the most effective way to consistently use Zinc in your classroom.

However, Zinc is also an excellent way for students to make the best use of their time between other classroom activities. Students can freely choose and complete Zinc articles and quizzes, vocabulary games, and Close Reading Experiences (CREs) on their own. Students can reach these features by clicking “Explore Activities” in the top menu of the dashboard on their Zinc homepage.

Zinc offers all the reports you need to track student success and reading growth. There are two primary ways to access reports, from your Zinc homepage and your Reports page. (Click here for a full explanation of Zinc's Teacher Reports feature.)

Your Zinc homepage will show a "View Report" link for every recent assignment. This link will take you to the Activity Progress Report for that class assignment. If you click "View more assignments" or "View more classes," you'll be taken to your Classes and Students page, where you can view all assignments for a particular class.

To reach the Reports page, click “View Classes & Reports” in the top menu on your Zinc homepage and then click “Reports.”

Here you can view reports covering individual students, entire classes, specific skills, and much more. For more details about Zinc's teacher Reports, please click here.

When students complete activities like an article quiz or vocabulary game, they earn points! There is an overall leaderboard for your school, as well as leaderboards for each class. Teachers may view the leaderboard by clicking “View Classes & Reports” in the top menu and then clicking “Leaderboard.” Here's a direct link to the Leaderboard.

You can sort the Leaderboard in several ways. Use the dropdown menus to select an entire school or a specific class. You may also sort by name, total points, assignment points, words learned, articles read, and all time points. “Total points” refers to all points earned in the school year, while “All Time Points” are all the points a student has earned in Zinc. “Assignment Points” refers specifically to points earned by completing assignments given to the student by a teacher.

Students may find the leaderboard by clicking "Leaderboard & Reports" in the top menu and then clicking "Leaderboard."

Please note, not all districts or campuses have the leaderboard active. If your school has decided to opt out of the leaderboard, your students will not see the Leaderboard or anything associated with it. The points they earn will still be visible on their Zinc profile page.

Ignition and Lift Off also allow students to earn points and badges. These points are separate from Leaderboard points earned from article quizzes and vocabulary games. Article quizzes and vocabulary completed through Lift Off will still contribute to the Leaderboard.

You can bookmark Zinc articles, Close Reading Experiences, and vocabulary sets that you want to assign later. Your bookmarks can be found by clicking “View Classes & Reports” in the top menu and then clicking “Bookmarks.” On the Bookmarks page, you can click on tabs for the different types of assignments. Here's a direct link to your Bookmark page.

To create a bookmark, click on the bookmark or flag-shaped icon near the title of each assignment selection. The unselected bookmark icon will be outlined in yellow. Once you click on the bookmark, it will turn yellow. You may now find it in your list of bookmarks.
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Free resources for classroom instruction can be found by clicking “View Classes & Reports” in the top menu and then clicking “Teacher Resources.” The teachers resource page includes links to Zinc lesson plans and classroom activities, instructional videos about Zinc-ing and tracking reading skills, and professional learning opportunities.

Here’s a direct link to use and share: https://www.zinclearninglabs.com/zinc-users-teacher-resources-page

Zinc promotes reading skills that meet standard curriculum requirements. The tables below show how Zinc applies to Common Core, Florida, South Carolina, and Texas standards, plus the ACT and Digital SAT.

The table below shows how Zinc-ing and Tracking align with Common Core, Texas, and Florida state standards.

Use the table below to map Zinc Skills to SCCCR.

Use the table below to map Zinc Skills to the Digital SAT.

Use the table below to map Zinc Skills to the Digital SAT.

If you click on the circle in the top right corner of your Zinc Dashboard (the circle shows your initials by default), you can click "Profile" to access your profile page in Zinc. Click here for a direct link to your profile page. Below, you'll see an example profile with the details blurred out.

Here you can make changes, including your nickname in Zinc and profile picture. To change your nickname, type a new name in the "Nickname" box. To change your profile picture, click "Change photo." The file must be a jpg, jpeg, gif, or png. You'll need to select which part of the image you want to appear as your profile by dragging the circle and resizing it as you like. After you're finished with your nickname or profile picture, click "Save Settings." If you don't save, your changes will be lost.

Using the same method, students can also access their own profile to make these changes. A student’s profile also contains their personal Student Performance Report. If a student would like to see their own Zinc Level or other information, please direct them to their profile page.

If you ever need to access a student's account, you may do so using Impersonate. Note: Be careful! Any actions you take in the account will be real. Please avoid any unintentional changes.

To Impersonate a student account:

While you are Impersonating a student's account, you will see a yellow banner at the top of the screen with their name. When you're finished, click "Stop Impersonation" in the banner. This will return you to your own account.

To provide current, real-world texts, many Zinc articles are located on from vetted websites. You may have issues with your school, district, or home network blocking these sites with an internet filter.

We offer an up-to-date guide and whitelist, so your students can get the most out of Zinc. Please follow the guide at this link or forward it to your IT department: https://help.zinclearninglabs.com/en/articles/2208938-whitelisting-zinc-articles-and-domains