Schools and families are looking for effective and cost-efficient ways to get books into the hands of students to improve reading skills and help offset learning loss from disruptions due to ongoing pandemic restrictions. Fathom launches today with over 1,200 English titles from 11 U.S. publishers and offers content to support independent reading, language learning, history, math and science. Students reading books related to core-subject matter on Fathom will improve their academic achievement and reinforce vocabulary. It is imperative that all students have access to quality content to read for knowledge and comprehension.
Fathom’s audio-assisted reading helps students build fluency and comprehension. A 2019 report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that only one-third of all Fourth-grade students were reading at or above grade level. By combining the audio with word, fragment, or sentence highlighting, students increase word recognition to become better readers. Children needing extra support can slow the audio down while proficient readers may work at a more rapid pace allowing for differentiated instruction.
Struggling readers may also include English as a Second Language students. A 2018 study from Harvard’s School of Education indicates that ESL students should be encouraged to read in their native tongue as well as in English. Fathom’s multilingual ebooks are designed to help students develop into confident readers and speakers in multiple languages. Language learners have a choice of over 1000 translated books with native narration, including Spanish (800 translations), Arabic (20), Chinese (56), French (39), German (21), Haitian Creole (4), Hmong (10), Indonesian (15), Japanese (10), Portuguese (21) and Thai (13). Language and audio flip instantly with a button toggle throughout an open ebook; imagery follows suit in Arabic (right-to-left reader). In addition to language selection, the bilingual mode allows readers to listen and view highlighted words in the primary language, while the secondary language is statically displayed. Inside the ebooks, students can video record themselves reading aloud and then playback the recording, showing progress over time.
An integrated Learning Management System built for the ever-changing needs of teachers, parents, and students is the hub where users can assign and monitor reading performance, video recordings, quizzes, and other activities. Most books have at least one quiz in a shared database, and teachers can create quizzes with varied types of questions. Teachers can lead a class remotely and read an ebook aloud with live video chat and synchronized page advance. With a simple license setup, classes or group members auto-populate into the chat system where text or video calls give educators or remote families an easy and safe space to communicate.
With unlimited simultaneous access, gone is the need for expensive classroom sets of physical books. The platform is designed to fit any budget, allowing purchasers to easily choose books by subject, grade, language, publisher, or individual title. Plans are available for families, classrooms, schools, and districts. Free trials are available for each plan type.
For more information on Fathom, press inquiries can be made to publicist Heather Williams at heather@fathomreads.com or (843) 278-2285. General inquiries can be directed to info@fathomreads.com or (843) 278-2285.
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