With increased demands to read on phones and mobile devices, it’s more important than ever to optimize web reading for dyslexic students and adults. There are 2 resources that you may want to check out. The first is an Unofficial Immersive Reader Chrome Extension that is free in the Google Extension store HERE. Here’s EdTech Teacher demonstrating some of it’s helpful features. The extension is unofficial because it doesn’t come directly from Microsoft. I was able to activate it quite quickly – I hope this extension is truly here to stay. The voice is quite good and there are also helpful functions like breaking down words into syllables to easier reading. It’s much better than Google’s tools. It can help with adjusting color, character […]
Diagramming Math [Premium]
When we tested older students in our clinic who were in college on STEM tracks, I often asked students who were proficient in mathematics, what strategies were most helpful to them. Many of them found their own ways of solving problems – often using spatial and mental math strategies or diagrams. How did they learn these approaches? Most said they figured it out themselves. In my search for math curricula that emphasized deeper understanding and diagrammatic thinking, I came across two resources that may be valuable for you – Illustrative Mathematics and Japanese Math. Often, we may be reminded that mathematics has its own language. There are words and symbols that mean different things in every day speaking, reading, and writing vs. math. If […]
Resources For Reading Fluency [Premium]
Reading fluency is usually defined as an ability to read easily with little effort…with good accuracy, speed, expression, and comprehension. Reading fluency practice doesn’t take the place of decoding work, but it can be an important step that makes it likely that a person will become a lifelong reader. Strategies to improve reading fluency are many, including choral reading, echo reading, reading along with audiobooks, readers theater, sentence trees and more. As April Karl describes in the video below, reading books with repetitive text can also give student practice at reading words with a different tone. The second video below is an example from McGraw Hill showing older students implementing practices like choral reading, Reader’s Theater, and paired reading in small groups. Some researchers […]
Free Structured Literacy Resources [Premium]
Even if these are unprecedented frustrating times for instruction due to the pandemic, there are occasional upsides – like the increased availability of free resources about structured literacy now available on the web. In many respects, it’s never been easier to sample different curricula, look at how others introduce lessons, and take advantage of free resources posted online. As an example, for those using the Wilson system, here is a teletherapy site where teachers have uploaded lessons. Here is a board that can be used if you’d like to work with a student remotely or simply give your student digital manipulatives for lessons. https://sites.google.com/view/teletherapyforwilsonproviders/home Work directly online with a board HERE. Get a copy of the board HERE. […]
Resilience and Emotional Intelligence
There's some great advice in this online webinar from Emotional Intelligence Coach (and also dyslexic!) Monique Wintle Camp. Some highlights: Be alert to signs of stress...
Surviving and Thriving in Hybrid Classrooms
With the rise in vaccinations, many schools have opened with a hybrid schedule which has some pros and cons for dyslexic students. ONLINE ASSIGNMENTS - GROUP PARTICIPATION and AUDIO The reduction in written assignments since of the start of the pandemic has...
Sneaky Free Ways To Get Kids Reading [Premium]
We all know the drill – we want kids to read so that reading gets easier so it’s more fun to read, but it’s too hard to read now, so they don’t read, there’s no practice, and reading comes to a standstill. So how can we get them to read? HELP THEM FIND THE RIGHT BOOK AT THE RIGHT LEVEL In order for students to enjoy reading, a book should be at the right level for their interest, but also right level for their current reading level. FINDING THE LEXILE LEVEL THEN SELECT THE ‘JUST RIGHT’ BOOKS IN YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY It’s estimated that almost 1/2 of public school children have been assigned a Lexile Level based on their most recent […]
Emotional Resilience [Premium]
A Short Video on Building Personal Resilience The second video is a good cartoon introduction to the idea of Emotional Intelligence. It has some good examples and insights, but occasionally has some misses. Try it out first yourself and see if it might be helpful sharing with a student.
Keeping Math Alive
Among the many challenges facing dyslexic students in the midst of the pandemic is holding on to skills and continuing to make progress in the midst of disruptions and altered schedules due to the pandemic. Because so much math builds on previous knowledge, many...
Coronavirus Resources for Dyslexia : Free Resources and Trials for Remote Learning
Because events are changing rapidly, email Fernette (team "at" dyslexicadvantage.org) with any changes or new resources that might be valuable to add to this list. The gold standard for remediation of dyslexia is structured literacy as it was coined by...