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7 Secrets
to Transform Your
Child’s Reading

Get Your FREE e-Report & Learn…

5 parenting practices that produce strong readers
Why some children should NOT read silently
A method for near-perfect comprehension
The importance of hearing fluent reading

Neuroscience & Your Child’s Reading

The 3 keys to your child’s fluency

What are “repeated readings”

Why weekly tutoring is weak

 

 

Ari Fertel

President & Founder

Reading Buddy Software

SECURE & CONFIDENTIAL. I will never share your information. Your privacy is important to me.

What is Repeated Reading?
(And why is it a must?)

Repeated reading means the child reads the same passage multiple times.

Decades of research indicates that if you want your child to improve fluency and comprehension, they should not be going from article to article or paging through a book. Instead, they should read a body of content at least 3 times in a row.

Why?

The more your child reads a body of text, the easier it is for them to decode the words and read the text accurately. Their familiarity with the text frees their mind to work on reading more fluently, with expression. And reading with expression, leads to improved comprehension.

Achieving a higher level of fluency and comprehension in a body of text gives your child an experience of reading at a level that they can apply to new text.

With Reading Buddy Software, every session your child will read a text three times. Your child will master the text, learn new words, and achieve an elevated level of fluency and comprehension that they can apply to future readings.

The Importance of HEARING Fluent Reading

In addition to guided reading, it’s also crucial for your child to hear fluent reading.

Think about it: did you teach your child how to talk? You may have explained some vocabulary here and there, corrected an occasional grammar mistake, but essentially your child learned to talk by listening to other people talk.

It works similarly with reading. In order to improve fluency and comprehension, your child has to listen to fluent reading.

Most children who use Reading Buddy Software do one session per day. A “session” means that they complete all 7 steps of the Reading Buddy protocol:

  1. Child reads
  2. Reading Buddy Software reads to child
  3. Practice words
  4. Child reads
  5. Reading Buddy Software reads to child
  6. Child reads
  7. Comprehension quiz

Notice that in steps 2 and 5, Reading Buddy Software reads to your child. So a child using Reading Buddy Software hears a dramatic and fluent reading twice each session. Hearing these fluent reads is instrumental in helping them become more fluent readers. And improved fluency leads to better comprehension.

The Precision Memory Tracking Technology (PMTT) records your child’s weaknesses, creates personalized practice readings, and drills your child until mastery is achieved.

The Key to Comprehension

By Ari Fertel

Founder & President
Reading Buddy Software

Many parents want their children to improve their reading comprehension. But how to accomplish that is often misunderstood.

The best way to improve reading comprehension is not to focus on comprehension; it’s to focus on fluency.

Your child’s fluency will determine the depth of their comprehension.

Let me explain.

Fluency is the ability to read words accurately, easily, and with expression.

There’s a progression there…

Accurately > Easily > Expressively

ACCURATELY
First, a child learns to decode words and pronounce them accurately. This is the first step to fluency.

EASILY
The more a child reads, the easier it is for them to read accurately. It’s not that the accuracy increases; it’s that the effort required for the same accuracy decreases. First, a child learns to decode words and pronounce them accurately. This is a very important step in a child’s progress toward improved comprehension. Why? Because the more brain power your child has to invest in pronunciation, the less brain power they have available for comprehension.

There’s a limit to how much your child can do at once. If he’s focused on one thing, he’s not able to focus on another.

Last night I was talking to my husband while he was brushing his teeth. He understood everything I said while at the same time brushing and swishing.

What would have happened if I tried to talk to my 9 year old while he was brushing his teeth?

He would have stopped brushing and said, “What mom?”

For my husband, brushing is automatic. He doesn’t have to think about it. In fact, he can do it while thinking about something else.

But for a 9 year old, brushing takes more thought. He has to concentrate. And therefore, he can’t concentrate on anything else at the same time.

The problem with many young readers is that they spend so much energy thinking about how to read that they don’t have spare energy to think about what they’re reading.

A child with impaired fluency is like an actor who doesn’t know their lines. As long as they’re thinking about the words, the meaning doesn’t come through.

And that’s why improving fluency leads to improved comprehension. Before your child can find the meaning of the words, the words themselves have to be easy to read.

EXPRESSIVELY
After your child reads accurately and easily, they can read with expression. Expression catapults comprehension.

Why?

Think about a public speaker.

A good public speaker uses volume, tone, emphasis, cadence, and phrasing to convey meaning. Our understanding is not just a function of what the speaker says; it’s also a function of how he says it.

A poor public speaker, on the other hand, is monotone. Their delivery is robotic. It lacks expression.

And without the verbal cues, their message is less engaging and harder to comprehend.

It works similarly with reading. Comprehension skyrockets once a reader realizes which words to chunk together and which ones to emphasize within each chunk. But again, this chunking of words and injection of emphasis is only possible for fluent readers who have the brain capacity to make sense of what they’re reading.

WHAT should Your Child Read
(And Why it Matters)

By Ari Fertel

Founder & President
Reading Buddy Software

I remember as a child, most of what we read in school was soooooooo boring. It’s hard enough to learn to read, but what I was being asked to read was killing my interest in learning the skill altogether.

The same thing is happening today. Many schools, tutors, and reading programs fail to choose good content. The result is that the child’s progress suffers.

People think that content is irrelevant, that as long as it’s age appropriate, children will learn to read regardless. That’s only partly true. The fact is that content has a big impact on the child’s experience reading and on the pace of their development.

If the content is dull, it’s hard for the child to focus and they won’t be motivated to read.

If, on the other hand, the content is engaging, it’s easier to focus and the child will want to read.

These issues of focus and motivation directly impact your child’s progress, and therefore, in a very practical way, content matters!

Of course, the content has to be age appropriate and reading-level appropriate. That’s obvious and easy. Pretty much everyone gets that right. In my opinion though, that’s far from the definition of good content. That just gets you in the game. To win, the content has to be truly engaging.

The more captivating the content, the faster your child will develop reading competency.

Now I want to temper my point. It’s important that children also learn to read content that doesn’t excite them. This is an important skill.

I wasn’t excited about reading the instructions on the absentee ballot, but if I wanted my vote to count I had to get through it.

Certainly, in order to succeed academically, a child must be able to read a variety of content, including the boring kind.

But, for the most part, what your child reads should be riveting.

When I was developing Reading Buddy Software, I took this very seriously. Most reviewers don’t care so much about content in the way I’m describing, as long as it’s age and level appropriate. So it would have been easy to get away with using mediocre content.

I refused to do that.

Instead, I spent over a year searching for just the right content for every reading level. And in the end, a lot of the articles and stories I wrote myself.

The result is that kids enjoy using Reading Buddy Software. They know they’re going to read something interesting. They know they’re going to learn something that’s meaningful to them. And this one is big; they know they’re going to learn something that helps them feel smart around other people.

Let me give you some examples.

What’s the body’s biggest organ?

Children who use Reading Buddy Software know the answer to that question.

It’s not the brain, the liver, or the lungs; it’s your skin!

And did you know that skin is not only on your body, it’s all over your house!

What?

That’s right. A lot of the dust in your home is dead skin.

If your child read an article like that today, what do you think would happen? Wouldn’t they come to you and say, “Guess what I read today”?

How great would that be? Your child coming to you excited about what they read.

Here’s another one.

Did you know that you can go snow skiing in the summer? Yup, it’s true. There’s an indoor ski resort in Dubai. And kids who use Reading Buddy know where Dubai is (quick geography lesson) and they’ve seen a picture of the resort, which they think is very cool.

Sorry, I can’t resist, I have to share with you one more.

Who invented baseball?

If you’re like most people, you answered…Abner Doubleday.

But if you were a child using Reading Buddy, you would know that Abner Doubleday did not invent baseball. And you’d also be able to tell the story about how that myth came to be.

The bottom line is that content matters. What your child reads will affect how much your child values reading. And practically speaking, that makes a big difference as to whether or not and how quickly your child progresses.

If you use Reading Buddy Software, you’re all set with hundreds of stories that your child will think are awesome.

Try Reading Buddy Software risk-free for 1 month. If, for any reason, you're not satisfied, call or email anytime within 1 month and we’ll gladly refund your money, no questions asked. You can keep the microphone headset (worth $50) as a gift.

Your child will need a USB microphone headset to use Reading Buddy Software. It’s free with your purchase, as is 2-day Express Shipping. (Andrea Electronics NC-185 High Fidelity Stereo USB Computer Headset with Noise Canceling Microphone and Volume/Mute Controls.) $55 Value.

Lessons/month needed to improve reading level: 20
Average Cost for Tutor: $60/lesson

Which Platform?

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Try Reading Buddy Software risk-free for 1 month. If, for any reason, you're not satisfied, simply call or email anytime within 1 month and we’ll gladly refund your money, no questions asked. You can keep the microphone headset (worth $50) as a gift.

What’s Included?

Reading Buddy Software for up to 4 Users

Unlimited Usage. Every user can access any of the 400 readings as many times as they want.

Up to 4 Users.You can create separate accounts for each child.

What’s Included?

Reading Buddy Software for up to 4 Users

Unlimited Usage. Every user can access any of the 400 readings as many times as they want.

Up to 4 Users.You can create separate accounts for up to 4 children.

Unlimited Technical Support. Email and LiveChat.

Your child will need a USB microphone headset to use Reading Buddy Software. It’s free with your purchase, as is 2-day Express Shipping. (Andrea Electronics NC-185 High Fidelity Stereo USB Computer Headset with Noise Canceling Microphone and Volume/Mute Controls.) $55 Value.

Reading Buddy Software Costs 98% Less than Tutoring

Lessons/month needed to improve reading level: 20

Average Cost for Tutor: $60/lesson

Cost Per Month
1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 4 Children
Tutor  $1,200  $2,400  $3,600  $4,800
Reading Buddy Software  $79  $79  $79  $79
 You Save  $1,121  $2,321  $3,521  $4,721
   93%  96%  97%  98%

Your child will need a USB microphone headset to use Reading Buddy Software. It’s free with your purchase, as is 2-day Express Shipping. (Andrea Electronics NC-185 High Fidelity Stereo USB Computer Headset with Noise Canceling Microphone and Volume/Mute Controls.) $55 Value.

Reading Buddy Software Costs 98% Less than Tutoring

Lessons/month needed to improve reading level: 20

Average Cost for Tutor: $60/lesson

Cost Per Month
1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 4 Children
Tutor  $1,200  $2,400  $3,600  $4,800
Reading Buddy Software  $79  $79  $79  $79
 You Save  $1,121  $2,321  $3,521  $4,721
   93%  96%  97%  98%

Cancellation Policy

Headset Required

System Requirements

How to Download

Sample Readings