Martina Tapia

"I-Read" is a program developed by Tapia that utilizes technology to motivate Memorial Middle School students to improve reading skills. Tapia will download audio books on portable media players to allow students to listen to books being read aloud while simultaneously following along with printed versions of the books. This structure will satisfy visual and auditory learners. Students will write a book review after reading the book and complete an assessment to demonstrate their level of content understanding. Listening to audio books will increase correct pronunciation and word recognition while improving vocabulary. Students who are below reading level, easily distracted, or simply dislike reading will benefit greatly from "I-Read." Tapia, who lives in Las Vegas, hopes to shift students' attitudes about reading in order to increase additional literacy efforts.