Florida Department of Education just released results of their Florida Standards Assessment or FSA Test. 46% of all of the public school children who took the test were below standard and 20% are at risk for being held back in the 3rd grade. What are these tests that can force 3rd graders to repeat a year? A sample 3rd grade reading passage (with questions and answers) is provided by the Department. The passage was clearly developmentally appropriate for 3rd graders – and ridiculous for dyslexic 3rd graders who are likely to make up 15% of every classroom. But don’t take just our word for it. When we put the 3rd grade FSA practice reading passage through a readability tool, What was the passage appropriate for? […]
Dyslexia in the General Classroom – YOU DECIDE : 2nd Grader and Reading [Premium]
YOU are a 2nd-grade teacher in a busy public school classroom. You just learned that Teddy, a student in your class has been tested and found to be dyslexic. Teddy already gets pull-out instruction with multisensory learning to help him read. What can you do to help Teddy make more progress in reading? ************ 1. Alliteration, Rhyming, and Singing – All students can benefit by alliteration and rhyming. New readers will find the books easier to read and reinforcing in terms of the patterns of sounds and printed word families, but good readers can also use alliteration and rhyming as a prompt for poetry and humorous writing. Here is a nice graphic organizer for alliteration: (click here for more). This teacher created alliteration spinners to […]
How to Accommodate or Modify Assignments and Tests for Students with Dyslexia and ELLs [Premium]
Many teachers don’t realize that many dyslexic students need modifications in assignments and tests in order to accurately assess their knowledge. Some of these changes will also benefit other students in class including English Language Learners or ELLs. Homework and test questions are sentences that often present information out of context, so that the content is more difficult to read. CLASSROOM ACCOMMODATIONS / MODIFICATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA AND ELLs 1. Less! Reduce the amount of homework to 1/3 or if a student needs to completely redraft work, eliminate assignments until the redrafting process is finished. 2. Be aware that your students may not be able to read word problems or instructions on assignments. 3. Highlight clues. 4. Reduce Choices. Eliminate “All of the above” […]
