Reading Assistant Plus

Guided Reading Using Speech Recognition Software

The National Reading Panel rates reading aloud as one of the most effective ways to improve reading.  This is especially true when combined with immediate feedback from a teacher or tutor.

Our guided reading software, Reading Assistant Plus, does just that, and without judgement!

Students read text on a screen, Reading Assistant Plus uses speech recognition technology to provide real-time feedback, correcting only when needed and then asking comprehension questions.  A passage can be read up to three times, each time scored for speed and accuracy.  By the third time students experience what reading fluency feels like.

Gemm Learning inserts  Reading Assistant software into your child’s protocol on a case-by-case basis.

The Many Reasons Parents Love Reading Assistant At Home

• An always-available listener.  Your child can practice reading even when you are not there or when you are in the room but not able to pay full attention.
• Reading cop! The only way to complete a text in Reading Assistant Plus is to read it, there’s no more doubt about how much reading was done!
• No judgement, no baggage. Reading out loud can be a special time for parent and child, but it can also be trying. Reading Assistant Plus is a good compromise.
• Corrections are consistent. We will set an error tolerance for your child, Reading Assistant Plus will then be consistent and accurate in what is asks to be re-read, unlike parents who can be more random (and frustrating to young ones)!

How Reading Assistant Plus Works

Wearing a headset with a microphone, children read out loud from stories on a computer or iPad.

If a word is read incorrectly, the software stops and corrects the student, acting as a patient listener, allowing struggling readers to get reading practice without being judged or feeling self-conscious of their reading.

There’s vocabulary help along the way and a comprehension quiz at the end.

Why Reading Assistant Plus?

• Read “just right” material — libraries are leveled meaning they are set to be in the reader’s sweet spot – challenging without defeating, and not so as easy to be boring
• The research shows gains in vocabulary, fluency and comprehension
• Students like it because it’s on an iPad – whatever gets them reading!

Managing Your Child’s Library

Reading content, which aligns to Common Core State Standards, is available for grades K-12, fiction and non fiction:

• 350+ reading selections tied to a number of state and national content standards
• Gemm Learning can customize a correction level for your child. It is important for confidence building of struggling readers for instance, not to be corrected on every minor error or delay
• Gemm Learning will adjust the reading difficulty and correction tolerance as skills improve
• A variety of genres supporting elementary to high school curriculum, including both literature and informational text at all reading levels

Reading Assistant Plus makes it possible for Gemm Learning to listen to actual student recordings and see words correct per minute (WCPM) fluency scores, vocabulary and comprehension reports, and other metrics. We use these results to regularly tweak software settings to individualize the student experience.

Reading Assistant Plus Step By Step

Students listen to a model fluent reading of the passage, preview vocabulary, and then record themselves reading the passage out loud. The software designer, Scientific Learning, uses the tag line “Never miss another teachable moment.”  This means that pronunciation errors and skipped words are picked up in real time and non-judgmentally corrected.

After reading, students review problematic words they did not understand, and playback their reading. The student then reads out loud a second time, and a third time if the reading fluency goal is not met.

Each Reading Assistant passage ends with a quiz to assess comprehension.
See a demo