A few years ago I started a reading program to help grade one, two and three students with their reading fluency. I used a program called Audacity on the computer. This program worked but wasn't extremely intuitive and was stationary with the computer. With the advancements in technology this reading fluency program is now easier with the use of an iPad and any recording app. Through using the iPad it is easy to record anytime anywhere. My personal favourite app for reading fluency is Explain Everything. (I use Explain Everything all the time with students for a variety of tasks such as, procedural writing, story telling, science labs, social stories... really the list could go on and on.) I recently made this recommendation to some of my colleagues to start using Explain Everything for reading fluency. What can I say, they loved it!
So what does this reading fluency program look like and how does it work?
Students need a book or sight passage at their appropriate reading level and the iPad with Explain Everything. Students take the iPad to a cozy corner in their classroom or hall and take a picture of the text. They then start recording themselves reading. Once the students have finished their recording they then listen to their own voice while following the text. That's it! Simple isn't it?
So why is this so effective and how does it help fluency?
Often students are not aware of what they actually sound like when reading. They often stumble on words or slowdown to sound them out. By having them listen to their own recording it is like turning on a lightbulb. It is amazing to hear some of the students comments, my personal favourite was, "really I sound like that?". This is the beauty of it.
Once the students have listened to their own recordings I have them look for three places to make improvements. The students then have a few days to practice their text and we repeat the process. It is amazing to see how much they improve, but more importantly their awareness of what they sound like. The nice thing about Explain Everything is the audio is recorded with a timeline, so the student can actually see if their speed has also improved. These recordings can then be turned into finished projects and shared with parents via Youtube, email or Google drive.
So, that's it... a pretty easy yet extremely effective process to help with reading fluency.
So what does this reading fluency program look like and how does it work?
Students need a book or sight passage at their appropriate reading level and the iPad with Explain Everything. Students take the iPad to a cozy corner in their classroom or hall and take a picture of the text. They then start recording themselves reading. Once the students have finished their recording they then listen to their own voice while following the text. That's it! Simple isn't it?
So why is this so effective and how does it help fluency?
Often students are not aware of what they actually sound like when reading. They often stumble on words or slowdown to sound them out. By having them listen to their own recording it is like turning on a lightbulb. It is amazing to hear some of the students comments, my personal favourite was, "really I sound like that?". This is the beauty of it.
Once the students have listened to their own recordings I have them look for three places to make improvements. The students then have a few days to practice their text and we repeat the process. It is amazing to see how much they improve, but more importantly their awareness of what they sound like. The nice thing about Explain Everything is the audio is recorded with a timeline, so the student can actually see if their speed has also improved. These recordings can then be turned into finished projects and shared with parents via Youtube, email or Google drive.
So, that's it... a pretty easy yet extremely effective process to help with reading fluency.
