At Roots and Wings, we’re relentlessly focused on what works for students. Project UpLift – our free, small-group after-school program led by certified teachers in Title One public elementary schools – has shown that consistent, targeted practice builds confidence and accelerates growth. This past year, we piloted a promising tool to amplify our program’s literacy intervention: BuddyBooks.

Developed by ObjectiveEd and supported through the National Science Foundation’s SBIR program, BuddyBooks began as a resource for students with dyslexia and is now being used more broadly to help reluctant and struggling readers build fluency.

Why BuddyBooks matters right now

One of the biggest obstacles to reading success is that children aren’t reading for fun as much as they used to. Among 13-year-olds, those who say they read for fun almost every day fell from 35% in 1984 to 17% in 2020 – and 14% in 2023. Less voluntary reading means less practice, which makes fluency harder to achieve.

How the tool works… and why kids like it

It’s Engaging!

Stories are broken into small, manageable chunks. Students alternate between listening to expressive AI narration and reading the next part aloud themselves – so they don’t feel “stuck.”

It’s Interactive!

In real time, the AI gives gentle corrections and encouragement, letting students practice without peer pressure, while getting specific feedback to improve their literacy skills.

It’s Measurable!

Teachers and families can see progress on pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, reading time, and other useful data. 

As one fourth grader confidently stated:

“It’s hard at first, but then you read more, and you learn to read fluidly.”

How BuddyBooks fits Project UpLift

Project UpLift already pairs small-group instruction with individualized lesson plans. BuddyBooks gives students an extra layer of structured, independent practice between sessions – exactly the kind of practice that turns new skills into habits. It’s a natural add-on to the proven Project UpLift model that now serves 1,500 students in 20 Title One schools across Palm Beach County, where 96% of Project UpLift participating third grade students showed reading gains last year.

This fall, we are expanding BuddyBooks to all Project UpLift students in grades three and four. We are adding this extra tool in our literacy tool box to help our students experience the confidence that comes from reading with fluency and to make reading fun and joyful. To learn more about Project UpLift and how you can support us in our mission, please visit: https://rootsandwingsinc.org/support/.