With a busy schedule, how can you enhance oral fluency, reading and comprehension for all students anytime - in class or at home?

In a class, students with a range of abilities enjoy reading assistance tailored to that student’s level and hence can work independently in an engaging environment with Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) . This can be done whilst teachers plan their next lesson or can be done as a home reader to ensure flexible scheduling to fit your teaching day.

Every reader deserves a listener

Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) is the only reading aloud program that models the correct reading of a passage to students. Modelling correct reading is one of the principles of best practice for guided oral reading.

The voice recognition technology built into Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) then provides an impersonal, judgment-free listener dedicated to listening solely to each student read aloud.

Track reading progress with before and after recordings

The student’s reading progress is tracked. Their initial reading ability is recorded and can then be played back to them later, so they can personally witness their own progress.

How well would a one-on-one reading coaching program work for your students – even if they could just use this as a "home reader" and you could overview their progress from anywhere at any time.

Never miss a teachable moment

Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) is the only online reading aloud tool that uses speech recognition to support and correct students as they read aloud – never missing a teachable moment. No other e-book or program provides comparable support. With the help of a supportive listener, students build reading fluency and comprehension.

How Reading Assistant Plus (RA+)Works

• When a student has difficulty reading a word, Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) intervenes by pronouncing the word if the student does not self-correct. View a diagram of how Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) works.
  
  
• After completing a passage, questions measure literal and inferential comprehension. See sample comprehension questions.
  
  
• Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) uses the best practices of guided oral reading instruction, the gold standard for building fluency.

What Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) Does

Reading Assistant Plus (RA+):

• Builds better readers: students improve reading level 50% beyond expected gains.

• Saves you time: it automatically assesses and tracks words correct per minute (WCPM) and reading comprehension for teachers!

• Provides an unbiased listener to every student: even hard-to-engage students will practice reading aloud, always without judgment.

• Dramatically improves reading fluency, the critical bridge to comprehension.
  
  

What is Reading Fluency?

Fluent readers can read words in text accurately and effortlessly, and with appropriate expression. Reading fluency is the key to comprehension, according to literacy scholars, such as Dr Timothy Rasinsky, a recognised reading fluency expert.  

In his paper, Supportive Fluency Instruction: The Key to Reading Success, Dr Rasinsky details a three step process to develop fluency in students:

1. Good reading fluency is modelled for the student.
2. Students get reading assistance - they read aloud to a proficient reader who listens and gives feedback.
3. Students read a text several times with feedback until their fluency improves.

How does Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) support vocabulary?

• Audible syllabification
• A Glossary feature that removes the barrier of unfamiliar words by enabling readers to click on underlined words to hear the pronunciation and dictionary at the moment the word is encountered in a passage. This approach has been shown to be one of the best ways of anchoring new vocabulary words in a student’s memory.
• A Did You Know? feature that includes word background, Latin and Greek roots, other meanings or uses of words, cognates from Spanish and other languages, and fun facts to deepen vocabulary acquisition.
• Passages from both informational text and literature that expose students to a broad range of vocabulary words at every reading level.
• Picture representations for most words.
• Spanish word translations.

Easy to use at your School

Students put on a microphone headset, log on to a website, and start reading.

Step 1: Students listen to a modeled reading and are asked guided reading questions
to stimulate their thinking about the text.

Step 2: Students read the selection aloud and record themselves.

Step 3: A comprehension quiz checks for inferential and literal understanding.

How to Implement Reading Assistant Plus (RA+)

Implement Reading Assistant Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) in whatever instructional scenario fits your needs: for individual students, for small groups, or in a lab setting. Students get the full benefit of the program’s support and intervention, regardless of the setting.

• Have an individual student who is struggling or who has specific skill deficiencies work with Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) on a classroom computer or iPad while you provide instruction to the rest of the class. A student could also use Reading Assistant before or after school on a computer or iPad in the library or at home.
  
  
• Allow small groups of students to work with Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) on a rotating basis on classroom computers or iPads while you meet with individual students or monitor other classroom activities.
  
  
• Use for whole class instruction with an interactive whiteboard to introduce passages, modeled fluent reading and academic vocabulary.
  
  
• Have all students work with Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) at the same time in a computer lab. Everyone will benefit from the one-on-one individualised support of the program even though each student may be reading a different selection.

No matter how you implement the program, the recommended schedules are as follows:

• Grades K–3: a minimum of 20 minutes, 3 times per week
• Grades 4–5: a minimum of 30 minutes, 3 times per week
• Grades 5-12: a minimum of 40 minutes, 3 times per week

What do students read?

Selections from over 300 reading passages at a range of reading levels from grades 1-12.

Non-fiction and fictional texts across genres:

• Expository nonfiction
• Realistic and historical fiction
• Science fiction
• Poetry
• Folktale, myth, legend
• Biography
• Point-counterpoint
• Personal Narrative
• Etc.

Headset Requirements

Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) requires a headset and USB audio adapter, or a headset with an integrated USB connection.  An approved USB adapter or USB connection is needed to ensure the level of audio quality required by Reading Assistant.  See the recommended headsets.

Teacher Tools

Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) comes with a Teacher’s Guide, complete with lessons for each of the reading selections to reinforce vocabulary and other concepts in small groups or the whole class. See some sample lessons.

Reading Portfolio

Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) automatically saves student recordings to create a “reading portfolio” that tracks growth through the school year. You can email recordings to parents to show their child’s work!

Reading Assistant Reporting You Can Use

The MySciLEARN platform for Reading Assistant Plus (RA+) provides implementation and performance reporting at the school and student level to support and improve data-driven decision making. Graphical depictions show usage, performance, reading level trends, and student proficiency levels.

Classroom Results Report

Get automatic word count per minute (WCPM), reading and comprehension scores for all your students in this classroom results report.

Running Reports

These student reports act as running records, showing you which words each student struggled on, their WCPM, and other valuable info.

Comprehension Reports

Learn your students’ reading comprehension strengths/weaknesses with these comprehension reports: do students need help with literal recall or inference? Comparing and contrasting?

Monitoring large groups

See how well they’re progressing as a group, and who needs help in these school level reports.