Personalize reading and track progress

  • 3 minutes

Some students may benefit from structured reading practice and timely feedback. Reading Progress in Microsoft Teams enables teachers to assign passages, track fluency, and analyze progress automatically. Combined with Copilot, educators can quickly generate differentiated passages and comprehension questions tailored to individual student needs.

Screenshot of the review pane of Reading Progress.

Imagine you’re supporting a student with dyslexia who struggles to decode multi-syllabic words. In Microsoft Teams, create a Reading Progress assignment with a short, decodable passage. You can upload your own text or select one from the sample library. To personalize the experience, use Copilot in Microsoft 365 to generate three versions of the passage:

  • One at the student’s current level
  • One slightly easier for confidence building
  • One slightly more challenging for growth Screenshot of the dropdown that categorizes errors, you can mark errors as correct, omission, insertion, mispronunciation, repetition, or self-correction.

Include two comprehension checks aligned to your objectives (e.g., decoding accuracy and expression). During the reading session, enable Immersive Reader for syllable breaks and Read Aloud to model fluent reading. Ask the student to record at least one attempt without audio support to measure independent fluency. Here are steps for text differentiation using Copilot:

  1. Open Microsoft 365 Copilot (in Word or Teams Chat).
  2. Paste or type your original passage into Copilot.
  3. Use this prompt: “Create three versions of this passage: one at the current reading level, one slightly easier for confidence building, and one slightly more challenging for growth. Add two comprehension questions focused on decoding accuracy and expression.”
  4. Review the generated versions and make any necessary edits for accuracy or appropriateness.
  5. Copy each version into separate Reading Progress assignments in Teams or combine them into one assignment with multiple options.
  6. Add comprehension questions to each assignment as suggested by Copilot.
  7. Assign to the student and monitor progress through Insights after submission. After submission, review Insights for words per minute, accuracy, and miscue patterns. Use this data to adjust the next assignment—for example, by adding targeted word lists or shortening sentence length. Important: Always keep recordings within district guidelines and share results only with authorized guardians, following FERPA-aligned practices.