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Tape Assisted Reading
Tape assisted reading is an individual or group reading activity where students read along in their books as they hear a fluent reader read the book on an audiotape. As confidence and reading skills develop, students read the same passage or text without the assistance of the tape.
Why use taped assisted reading?
- It helps to build fluency skills including proper phrasing and expression.
- It helps students improve sight word recognition.
- It helps build comprehension.
- It allows students to hear the tone and pace of a skillful reader.
- It's a flexible strategy that can be used across content areas.
| When to use: | Before reading | During reading | After reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| How to use: | Individually | With small groups | Whole class setting |
How to use tape assisted reading
- Choose a reading passage and audio recording of the reading that is slightly above students' independent reading levels.
- Ask students to listen to the tape or (downloaded audio) while following along on the paper copy of the passage.
- Have students read along out loud with the audio recording.
- Ask students to read the passage without the audio.
- Have students read and re-read along with the audio until they feel comfortable reading the text unassisted.
Examples
Language Arts
The following website gives teachers and parents several links to various audio songs, poems, nursery rhymes, and stories which can be downloaded.
Teachers can use this web site to download MP3 audio versions of various chapters from Alice in Wonderland.
This website contains several audio-books teachers may wish to download for this activity.
Children's books to use with this strategy
Green Eggs & Ham and other Servings of Dr. Seuss
Audio book/easy reader
An entire collection of Seuss' controlled vocabulary books including Fox in Socks and 9 others.
Magic Tree House: Books 1-4 (Dinosaurs Before Dark; The Knight At Dawn; Mummies in the Morning; Pirates Past Noon)
Audio book/easy fiction
While probably best enjoyed as audio books, these unabridged readings are ideal for both boys and girls. The books combine a bit of information and an easy fantasy for satisfying stories.
Owl Babies: Storybook Animations
Read along/view & listen
The DVD that accompanies the book has both a cued audio and an un-cued audio for use as a read along with limited animation.
We're Going on a Bear Hunt with CD
Read along
A participatory game is just right to read (and play) as an individual or in a group. Book is accompanied by a lively reading on the CD.
Differentiated instruction
for second language learners, students of varying reading skill, and for younger learners
- Students needing more support can be asked to listen to the tape and read along with it, reading just a little slower so that they are "echoing" the taped reading.
- Students who are more skilled readers can try to stay one or two syllables ahead so that the tape is an "echo".
- Teachers may wish to have students use the computer to listen to online-audio readings or MP3 readings for this activity.
See the research that supports this strategy
Armbruster,B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2001). Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read. Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA). http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first1fluency.html
Texas Reading Initiative. (2007). Fluency: Instructional Guidelines and Student Activities.
Comments
How are you ensuring that student s read along with the tape? If there are limited tape recorders, how do you organize the rotation of students?
Posted by: April | November 15, 2009 04:18 PM