{"id":7664,"date":"2025-01-28T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-01-05T15:24:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T23:24:01","slug":"inspire-lifelong-readers-with-the-power-of-reading-aloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2025\/01\/inspire-lifelong-readers-with-the-power-of-reading-aloud\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspire lifelong readers with the power of reading aloud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Join us as we celebrate World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) on February 5, 2025. Each year, WRAD helps spotlight storytelling\u2019s power to immerse young readers in diverse perspectives and broaden their understanding of the world. This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of WRAD, which has grown into a global movement since its launch by LitWorld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading aloud nurtures literacy, cognitive growth, and emotional well-being in children. In addition to helping to boost academic learning, reading aloud can reduce stress and strengthen bonds between children and caregivers. Explore how Reading Coach<\/a> and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat<\/a> help you transform classroom reading activities and inspire lifelong learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Get started with Reading Coach<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bring reading to life for every student<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reading Coach, a Learning Accelerator<\/a>, helps students discover the joy of reading while improving literacy skills\u2014whether practicing challenging words or co-creating stories with responsible AI. Reading Coach makes reading fun for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By providing real-time feedback and personalized tips, it helps students improve reading skills at their own pace by tracking their progress over various time periods, ensuring they remain engaged and continue to build their reading fluency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Meet AI-powered Reading Coach: Watch the video<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Reading Coach is designed to support independent reading practice, making it an ideal tool to use throughout the school year\u2014and to celebrate occasions like WRAD. To keep learners motivated, it offers encouragement through digital badges and rewards. Readers can earn streak badges for completing reading practice and they can also unlock new characters and story settings for every 20 minutes they spend reading. Rewards can even be traded with friends, gamifying the reading experience and inspiring curiosity for what comes next!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading Coach empowers students to build fluency at their own pace to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n