Alexa is a voice assistant that can be used to control many things in your home, but one of her favorite functions is controlling reading devices. She can read books, listen to music, and watch TV all from her voice. One of the best ways to use Alexa’s reading sidekick feature is to help kids read faster and better. To start, ask Alexa to read one of your children’s books from your library. She will then be able to answer any questions you have about the book and give you feedback on how it was read. You can also ask her for recommendations for other children’s books that you might want to check out. If you want Alexa to read a book aloud with you, just say “Alexa, play the audiobook of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger” and she will start reading from beginning to end without interruption. You can also ask her for specific chapters or passages that you would like her to focus on while she is reading. If you are using an Echo Dot as your reading sidekick device, make sure that it has a microphone so that Alexa can hear what you are saying when she is playing the audiobook with you. This way, she will be able to give more accurate feedback about how well the book was read and whether there were any mistakes made along the way!
What Do You Need?
The Reading Experience
When your child says “Alexa, let’s read (compatible book),” Alexa will then ask them if they want to read a little or read a lot. If they opt to read a little, Alexa does most of the reading while your child reads a page here and there. If they opt to read a lot, the workload is the other way around. While your child is reading, Alexa will help if your child gets stuck on a word. Alexa will also give your child words of encouragement throughout the reading session.
If your child is having a particularly hard time reading, Alexa will go into “Read After Me” mode. This is an adaptive feature that has your child repeat one short passage at a time as Alexa reads it.
Note that there are no features regarding reading comprehension.
The Reading Sidekick doesn’t replace getting an education or the help of a parent, but the goal here is to make books more fun for your child as an activity that they can do on their own. It’s designed to praise your child for reading and to grow their confidence as a reader.
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Reading Sidekick’s Effectivity
During the summer months when your child is out of school, Reading Sidekick could be an excellent way to keep their reading habits kicking. Between praising them for their efforts and giving them the flexibility to read as much as they want, Reading Sidekick does everything that it can to make kids want to read.
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