Stories to Read, Words to Know, Level A contains 12 meaningful stories that connect to students' lives. Students are engaged by the charming illustrations and encouraged by the simple stories that help them build confidence while they increase their English vocabulary. The Stories to Read, Words to Know audio component contains two types of readings: 1) a Read Along and 2) an Echo Reading. Learners listen to the Read Along and follow along silently in their books. The Read Along, read by a skilled adult reader, models pronunciation and intonation and guides learners through the story with a bell that indicates when to turn the page. The Echo Reading is read by a skilled adult reader one sentence, phrase, or paragraph at a time and is echoed by student readers. The learner joins in echoing in unison with the student readers. Participating in an Echo Reading helps learners to gain confidence while reading aloud, supports them in reading material that may be too difficult to read independently, and provides practice with proper phrasing and expression.