Reading Assistant Homepage

Students accelerate their mastery when working with Reading Assistant for 30-60 minutes weekly.
 

How many minutes should students practice with Reading Assistant?

Ensure students read to Reading Assistant at least three sessions per week. We recommend that students read 2-4 stories each session (which can take 5- 15 min). Why? Research by Carnegie Mellon University shows that 30 minutes every week on Reading Assistant dramatically accelerates reading growth over the year. The key is small and frequent doses every week as opposed to fatiguing students with long periods on the program. Common times include: whole-group, stations/centers, pull-out intervention, & homework.

When should students use Reading Assistant?

The key is small and frequent doses every week as opposed to fatiguing students with long periods on the program. Common times include: whole-group, stations/centers, pull-out intervention, & homework. We recommend using Reading Assistant for guided reading practice ("we do"). The goal is to get students reading productively -- with the right level text with the right help at the right time.

What research supports this instructional model and Reading Assistant's functionality?

Reading Assistant is based on more than two decades of evidence-based research at the intersection of AI technology and voice recognition with the latest developments in Reading Science. Institutions that contributed to this research include Carnegie Mellon University, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and Johns Hopkins University, among several renowned professionals in the field of Reading Science.

Dr. Jan Hasbrouck underscores the importance of fluency practice in her research on early literacy. When a student reads with a Reading Assistant, the student is able to practice the skills the teacher has modeled with an ever-patient guide (Reading Assistant) providing scaffolded feedback throughout this guided practice.

Source: The Science of Reading: An Overview (by Dr. Jan Hasbrouck)
 

What if I want students to read every day?

If you want to have students read with Reading Assistant every day, we suggest about 1-3 stories per day. On average, stories take 4-7 minutes to complete; however, story lengths and student speeds will vary. Families, teachers, and students can monitor if two stories per day yield 30-60 minutes per week (our dosage recommendation) and adapt expectations accordingly.
 

Other considerations

As students complete stories, Reading Assistant will level the following stories presented to match performance. Students must read the entire story in order for the system to save and leveling to occur. Due to this, we recommend that teachers and students aim for a set number of stories (rather than the amount of time) each time a child logs in.

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