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Classroom Strategies
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 out loud 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.
Notes
Observe students as they are listening and reading to ensure that they're able to follow along accurately. If limited tape recorders are available, rotate students through using a timer or as one of your stations during center time.
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 website 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.
When I used this strategy, my struggling readers really enjoyed following along with the tape. I was surprised at first, because these were the kids that tended to goof off at any opportunity! They really enjoyed being sort of in-control of the situation, and able to work at their own pace.
Our reading text had an audio recording of each story (CD format), so it was really easy to get going quickly with this strategy. All of my students were familiar with how to work a CD player, so they could easily adjust the controls, or get back to the right recording if they hit a wrong button. (I would put the CD on repeat for that particular track)
We started in small groups to get them used to the routine. After a few sessions, they were working with this strategy at a station in the back of the room. I worked with each reader for at least one page of the text to make sure they were still on track.
Really, they loved doing this and it really worked well for them. As is the key when introducing anything new, make sure you manage the students well at first, and they are aware of the rules and consequences.
Posted by: Bridget | December 08, 2009 04:30 PMTumblebooks is a library of online storybooks that read aloud and highlight text for students. It works perfectly for this strategy! Tumblebooks can often be accessed through a library website for free.
Posted by: Amanda | April 22, 2010 10:37 AMScobre Press offers their books on MP3 players that contain audio for high and low levels for each book. I use these in my classroom and they work great!
Posted by: Michelle | September 24, 2010 10:25 PMOur library has been using Playaways for years. Most of the kids love them, but the struggling readers REALLY love them. The great thing about them is that there are thousands of titles to choose from.
Posted by: Mike | December 08, 2010 01:53 PMI read out loud to myself. I tape-record my reading of an assigned reading material, and I play it back and listen while following along with eyes through each word, sentence and ultimately the entire length of the assignment. I find that I grasp the key points faster and I can explain it better when required to do so.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 03, 2013 03:10 AM
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