Enhancing Reading Fluency with Microsoft Reaching Coach

Students will:

•  Improve their reading fluency by practicing with AI-generated stories and personalized reading passages in Microsoft Reading Coach.

Vocabulary Words:

1. Fluency: Fluency is the ability to read text accurately, quickly, and with proper expression.

2. Pronunciation: Pronunciation is how you say a word.

3. Syllabification: Syllabification is when you divide a word into syllables.

4. Accuracy: Accuracy is how correct you are when reading the story.

5. Feedback: Feedback is information provided by the Reading Coach to help improve reading skills.

6. Progress Tracking: Progress Tracking is monitoring  and recording students’ reading improvements over time.

To prepare for this lesson:

• Please note that READING COACH is different from reading PROGRESS. In Reading Progress, students can submit their reading to Microsoft TEAMS for a grade. 
  
  
•  Reading Coach is for fluency practice. Students can show you their scores, but it was primarily created to help students develop confidence as readers.
  
  
• To complete this activity, students will need computers or tablets with internet access, Microsoft Reading Coach accounts for each student (This can be an SSO with your district), and headphones with microphones or a quiet place to read.  
  
  
• Decide how you want to run this lesson. A suggestion would be to have full-class instruction, followed by practice in small groups.
  
  
• Watch this video before you do the lesson https://youtu.be/jUwI0aDLhwI?si=gUdypWUL2pm5OjGf  or go to Getting started with Reading Coach - Microsoft Support.

See Accommodations Page and Charts on the 21things4student website in the Teacher Resources. 

Directions for this activity:

1. Give a brief introduction to the activity and the “why” behind the activity:  Briefly explain the importance of reading fluency and how it helps with overall comprehension.

2. Introduce Microsoft Reading Coach and its key features, including AI-generated stories, personalized practice, and real-time feedback. 

3. Demonstrate the tool:  

• Show students how to log in to Microsoft Reading Coach using their school credentials.
• Demonstrate how to select a reading passage and use the tool to practice reading aloud.
• Highlight features like pronunciation feedback, syllabification accuracy, and progress tracking.

4. Guided Practice:

• Have students log in to their accounts and select a reading passage.
• Circulate the room to assist students as they practice reading aloud using Reading Coach.
• Encourage students to focus on challenging words and use the feedback provided by the tool.

5. Allow students to continue practicing independently, selecting new passages or repeating previous ones to improve their fluency.

6. Remind students to pay attention to the feedback and work on their pronunciation and pacing.

7. Conclusion with the whole class:

• Gather students to discuss their experience with the tool
• Ask students to share any challenging words they encountered and how they addressed them.
• Celebrate progress and achievements, such as badges earned or improvements in reading fluency.

8. If you are a one-to-one district, one suggestion would be to assign students to practice reading with Microsoft Reading Coach at home for 15 minutes each day.

9. Encourage parents to support their child’s reading practice and track their progress.

Different options for assessing the students:

• This tool is primarily for students to practice independently. However, students could do a screen capture of their progress and share with the teacher, or have students keep a log of their story, accuracy, and words practiced. 
• Conduct periodic one-on-one reading assessments to measure improvements in fluency and accuracy.