The US has been facing a literacy problem for some time, especially compared to other countries. This is one reason why many parents want to do their best for their children and prepare them for an economy that keeps expanding beyond borders. The following are five technologies that could help your children read better.
Reading Assistant
One important way that students can learn to read a little better and pronounce words effectively is by reading out loud. You probably remember reading passages in your classroom and dreading being called out by your teacher. This practice helps children to be more confident in how they speak, and it gives them an opportunity to read better. This practice has been improved on through technology, which is something that your kids can benefit from.
There is a virtual reading assistant that will listen to your child read out loud, helping them as they go along. This program uses speech recognition technology that listens to your child read and will help them enhance language fluency, comprehension, and prosody, among other things. The tool is very helpful and can be used outside the classroom to help kids who are a little shy about practicing their reading in front of others.
Related: Understood.org
Comprehension Tools
Another tool that parents can introduce to their children is a comprehension tool. There are a number of these tools online that can be used to help your children understand what they are reading a little better. It’s no secret that some words can get complicated, making passages much harder to understand.
These tools know that and found a way to tap into this confusing aspect of language in order to simplify it. All students have to do is copy and paste passages that they find hard to understand into one of these programs. The program analyzes it, then simplifies parts of the passage that the algorithm thought would be hard to comprehend by replacing those words or phrases with simpler language.
Related: BookbotKids.com
Level Detection
The reading level of each student is different, and it is important that this is taken into account when a student is presented with reading material. The problem is that this can get a little hard, especially in a classroom filled with students who might be reading at different levels.
Thankfully, there is a tool to address this very issue: a reading level detection tool. The tool detects each child’s reading level and assigns varying but appropriate reading material to that child. The material is meant to enhance comprehension without confusing the reader. This is definitely a tool worth having at home and in the classroom.
Related: CU-Portland.edu
Immersion Reading
Understanding and remembering what you read can sometimes be hard. One thing that some educators have noticed is that immersion reading can sometimes make a world of difference, but this can be a little hard to accomplish at school. To help with this, there are some immersion reading tools out there that your children can benefit from.
The point of these tools is to read material out loud using professional actors along with special effects, which helps ignite the imagination. This can assist some students when it comes to not only paying attention to language but also being excited by it. These positive feelings can help continue to develop your children’s love for literature.
Related: EnglishTeacherMelanie.com
Interactive Reading
Some children need interactivity in order to remain engaged with the material. Interactive reading tools are meant to help kids with reading through material and also helping them find out if they truly understood the material by using comprehension questions afterward. Interactive reading tools aim to make reading more fun, which can motivate some students.
Related: TheMeasuredMom.com
Why It Matters
If you have a soon-to-be kindergarten, these technologies can help your child develop basic computer skills, introduce themselves to reading in a fun manner, and increase love for learning. This is especially a good introduction for kindergarteners who will be doing an online school or home school experience, as they will be getting used to learning independently.
Related: ConnectionsAcademy.com
You can download these tools for yourself to see if your child takes well to it or not. Remember that this is an example of one way to make reading more interactive; another example is to introduce your kids to a message board where other kids can discuss the events in the story with each other. Talk to the educators at your school to see what tools might help your children and track their progress better, too. Reading is one of the most important skills we have in life, one that is rapidly decreasing the United States, which means it going to be critical to make sure young people have access to tools to help it happen.
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