Susan RuckdeschelUse this forum to pool and share resources that assist in planning and teaching to multiple intelligences.
Briefly explain why it makes a good resource to teaching to MI.
Use this forum to pool and share resources that assist in planning and teaching to multiple intelligences.
Briefly explain why it makes a good resource to teaching to MI.
Lisa halvorsen
A good resource for building literacy is using story boards. It is helpful to drawn and write
captions about a plot, character, setting, writing techniques and parts of speech.
Jen Mackie
Love using starfall.com in my classroom for struggling readers. Great review of letter sounds!
Susan Kane
12 Incredible Resources for Struggling Readers
April 28, 2015 by thisreadingmama
https://thisreadingmama.com/12-incredible-resources-for-struggling-readers/
The “Reading Mama” is actually Becky Spence, a former classroom literacy teacher with a Masters Degree in Education. With a true passion for literacy and ways to encourage students to read, Ms. Spence created this website for parents and teachers looking for resources including free printables to help struggling readers engage with texts and actually enjoy! Her website contains so much user-friendly information related to reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, and phonics AND the site is easy to use! Just click on a graphic or any feature occurring in blue and you are redirected to that resource. She offers a monthly Newsletter that contains more literacy resources and the option to get exclusive offers including free printables sent directly in your inbox 1-2 times a week including the MEGA Pack of Phonics Cards, which I do have and use. Many of the free printables have been bundled up for easier access and downloading together. The website contains multiple links to worksheets, engaging activities, stories, and easy-to-understand lessons that can be incorporated into any literacy program.
This particular website contains 12 incredible resources for struggling readers that you can actually use!
Included in the resources are articles and resources to encourage parents or teachers of struggling readers. These resources cover help with dyslexia, book selection for struggling readers, helping motivate readers, the importance of spelling instruction, and tons of practical, hands-on activities you can try with your struggling readers. Enjoy!
• Ten Things Struggling Readers Need: This 10-part series was written from my perspective as a classroom teacher and private reading tutor, working with multiple struggling readers. It covers topics such as book selection (especially for upper elementary, struggling readers), giving readers time to read, and supporting readers.
• High Interest, Low Readability Books is a list of books that struggling readers will WANT to read. Often, struggling readers complain that the books on their level are baby-ish. Here is a list of books that are higher interest, but on a lower reading level. Perfect for struggling readers!
• Pinterest- Don’t underestimate the “power” and organization of Pinterest. Even if you don’t have an account, you can still check out these boards, which are filled with hands-on, practical ideas and activities for struggling readers. While I have MANY more boards on reading, these four boards come to mind first. (Click on each image to view the resources from each board.)
• Quick Tips for Struggling Reader – a 10 week series of quick tips if you teach struggling readers. We address things like motivation, fluency, comprehension, sight words, vocabulary, phonics, and spelling. Some weeks even have printables, like the Ultimate List of FREE Phonics Activities!
Alphabetic Spellers
• Spelling Apps– Go paperless with these spelling apps! Spelling is highly related to teaching kids to read. If we are teaching spelling in a hap-hazard way, with random word lists that aren’t related by spelling patterns, the English language will not make sense to them {or us}. Instead of studying a bunch of phonics rules, I highly recommend teaching word patterns, such as ai, ee, or au. I’ve been excited to develop some apps, Alphabet Sounds, Short Vowel Word Study App and Long Vowel Word Study App, that help kids play with word patterns. Our newest one, Alphabetic Spellers, is perfect if you’re teaching beginning readers to multiple learners. These apps are based on the word study approach of Words Their Way.
• All About Learning– All About Learning includes both All About Reading and All About Spelling. This curriculum was created with struggling readers in mind, even dyslexic learners. The curriculum is flexible, solid, and easy to follow, with multiple resources for parents/teachers, even if they have never taught a child to read or spell.
• Multi-Sensory Teaching– A few years ago I had SO much fun putting together a 5-day series on teaching reading in a multi-sensory way. There are over 100 resources for getting your kids involved using their 5 senses with letters, rhyming, reading, and comprehension.
• Book Love by Melissa Taylor– If you’ve ever heard your child say, “I hate to read,” or “I can’t read,” this book is for you! Many struggling readers are also reluctant readers and Book Love has lots of practical advice for helping your child grow a love for reading.
• What Do We Do All Day? book lists– Erica has a way with book lists and if you’re struggling with finding texts for your struggling reader, check out her amazing book lists!
• The Struggling Reader– I had the privilege of meeting William and Kristen Eckenwiler three years ago and fell in love with their amazing resources for struggling readers. She even blessed so many moms by writing a guest post on my blog. You can check out their website and resources at The Struggling Reader.
• 10 Week Reading Comprehension Series- There are two main parts to reading: 1-reading/saying the words {decoding} and 2- comprehending {understanding}. A struggling reader might be able to say all the words correctly, but not interact with that text in any way. Questions about what they read are usually met with, “I don’t know,” or “I don’t remember.” This 10-week series was meant to give you specific lessons on the different comprehension strategies. You can even find book lists to go along with each strategy.
• Three Skills Kids Need for Reading– Many times, struggling readers are missing the foundations of reading: rhyming, syllables, and phonemes. Read more about each one in this 7-day series and how you can “play” with these basic skills to build a stronger reader.
Susan Kane
Reading Resource:
http://readingbuddysoftware.com/how-it-works/
Designed for students in grades 1-8, the Reading Buddy Software program uses Responsive Speech Recognition (RSR) technology that listens, responds, and teaches as a child reads. The “real time” lessons consist of several steps: (1) the child reads the story, (2) the narrator reads the story, (3) the child practices words that were challenging, (4) the child reads the story again, (5) the narrator reads the story again, (6) the child reads the story again, and (7) a comprehension quiz. The software, compatible with both Windows and Mac systems, requires a high-quality USB or analog mic (not included) through which Reading Buddy records and analyzes the child’s reading in order to identify challenging words.
While exploring the story, children can click on words with which they are struggling to see a visual clue, hear the word pronounced, access an online children’s dictionary and thesaurus, see a Spanish translation, view images, and even access Wikipedia content. This not only helps the child with reading and pronunciation, but also with content and comprehension. It also offers an opportunity for extension activities if the child finds a particular concept particularly interesting. And, the genres and topics included in the software are diverse ranging from books on giant squids and desert plants to poetry and folk tales.
Children are rewarded with a series of points for completing various tasks including using the software every day and completing all seven steps in one day, both of which are optimal guided repeated reading procedures. These points can then be redeemed for rewards. In Reading Buddy’s reward system, parents choose rewards and points required to earn them. This is an excellent way to customize the experience and motivate children in whatever way parents believe will be most effective.
The software includes several features which are particularly helpful to parents. It opens immediately with a detailed instructional video by the software’s creator, Ari Fertel, who describes the theory behind Reading Buddy as well as all of the program’s features and how they work. She also reviews the statistics collected by the software (e.g., mispronounced words, comprehension scores, etc.). Viewing these statistics allows parents to see what their children are working on and how they are progressing. This, in turn, enables them to identify areas that need more attention.
Although the software comes with a relatively hefty price tag ($79/month), it is significantly less than private tutoring. Additionally, the program can grow with young readers and can be used for multiple children within the same family. The monthly subscription covers unlimited use, and can be cancelled at any time.
katie
I used this resource I during my 6 years teaching at an all Special Needs School for students from Kindergarten through young adult stages with various Intellectual differences.
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games_vocab.htm
There are so many levels of games and activities you can choose form that feel less like classroom and more like fun. There are multiple categories and types of games that target different learning goals from science to math to reading and vocabulary. It is especially helpful for ESOl students who are still grasping the English language.
Kathryn Rush
A good resource on how to use exit tickets to increase understanding for all in the art classroom (including ELLs) can be found at this website: ttps://www.theartofed.com/2013/03/14/using-exit-slips-in-the-art-room/
Incorporating reading and writing into the dominantly visual classroom is challenging. I have a word board, to help students learn vocabulary, but want the majority of the time that they are in the art room to be spent making art. I use the art created to assess if they had understanding of all the concepts taught. However, there are times that I wonder if the vocabulary was learned or if the concept taught was remembered. Exit ickets will share that information with me as well as give the students a chance to review on their own what they have learned.
I like that the exit tickets will have students names on them as well. I have 550 students, sometimes it is hard to keep track of the ones who are struggling, as I only see them once a week. To see a pattern in the exit tickets will help me better track my weakest students.
Mary Dickson
I have just started using Epic in my classroom. This resource is amazing for the non-readers and emerging readers. Students can have books assigned to them or choose from an assortment. Some books are audio and some are on their own. http://www.epic.com
Elizabeth Ross
I chose “Teaching for Change”, https://www.teachingforchange.org/. I like this resource because it gives lots of up-to-date information happening today. Students and teacher will be able to use this resource for lessons and teach students to read, write and change the world together. The site has many different resources for teachers, parents, and students to choose from. This resource teaches teacher and students to think about the world around them, not just what is happening in their classroom.
Nicole
I like to use https://www.readworks.org/. I like this resource because I can differentiate and pick from fiction and non-fiction texts. I use this with my struggling readers and will start them at a lower grade until they fully comprehend what they have read. It also makes them write answers and in my classroom, if you write, you must cite. This allows me to know that they understand what they have written also as they have to cite appropriately.
Rohan Stewart
newsela.com is an informative website. It is school appropriate for k-12 with an abundance of articles with quizzes that induces literacy comprehension
Andrea
I used newsela.com and it was great. The students enjoyed the plethora of articles and were able to take the quizzes as well.
Andrea Klein
A good resource for building literacy and helping struggling readers is https://www.readinga-z.com/. They have so many leveled readers, assessments, teaching resources, etc. It lets you level the students so they can first be at a level that they can fully comprehend what they read. The students love the wide variety of texts. I love that I can print them off and send them home for my students that don’t have computers at home.
Kristen
I love using Nearpod. It makes learning come to life. It also makes learning relevant in the moment.
Cindy Conner
A good resource for struggling learners would be Child 1st. They have a very wide variety of resources, as well as hands-on lesson materials and ideas. Their website is https://child1st.com/
Carissa Berkely
A good resource for struggling readers is http://www.readtheory.org
I use this site as a resource for struggling readers because it gives them short fiction and nonfiction passages on their level from the pretest given to them. The passages are usually about unusual material that interests kids (Example: How toilet paper was invented? How is a bowling ball made, etc.) These topics are enjoyed by all of my students because they are unusual and not found elsewhere. The questions are also leveled to allow struggling readers multiple choice questions and often the higher readers can respond using short answer written responses.
Danielle
The one resource that I have found most benificial is Nearpod. It is technology based, yet you still can create cooperative learning, movement, accountability, and fun in learning in your classroom. I have provided the link to the website. https://nearpod.com/
Williana C.
A good literacy resource for struggling readers is the website “Reading Rockets” (http://www.readingrockets.org/reading-topics/struggling-readers) it provides resources to help parents and educators support struggling readers. The website contains articles, research videos, and webcasts to find out more about why learning to read can be difficult and what teachers and parents can do to help. Very helpful and resourceful page.
Natalie Updike
Storyboard.org is an incredible resource for struggling readers. Each story is a non-fiction, often inspirational clip that focuses on a person or family. I like it so much because they are 2-3 minutes in length, so digestible for a struggling learner. They are also read out-loud by the person in the story (so it creates a more solid connection). Also, there is an attached transcript that has several translation options.
Jennifer Santora
In order to help students build vocabulary, cloze passages increase a learners understanding of text. Teachers can create the passage with tiered vocabulary and differentiate tasks according to student needs.
https://www.edhelper.com/cloze.htm
suzanne miller
I like to use Moby Max because it is all run by me. I decide which standards and programs to assign the students. There are modules set up individually for reading level assessments, literature and informational text, spelling, language, phonics, and vocabulary. It has MTSS tracking and on demand assessments. It has a test prep for Language, Literature, and Informational that I assign to prepare for FSA. I am able to assign different grade level material for those below, on, or above grade level. Differentiation lessons are at the ready along with worksheets if I so choose. There is also an interactive workboard for those that have the technology. You can assign for whole group, individual, or group. This is a paid subscription but I have found that it does work. The kids like to earn their game time, rewards and badges, and we have class competitions. I split the cost of the program with other teachers within my school. There are free parts of the website that anyone can access and worth the try. That is how I got started.
suzanne miller
I have used http://www.mobymax.com and have found it to be very good program. It does cost but I share the expense with other teachers from my school. There are parts on the website that are free to use. The program is user friendly and I like it because I control what my students are doing. I can monitor progress, MTSS charting, reassign standards/lessons, assess students individually or as a whole class. I can track how long students spent on a question, I can review their answer choices with them, there are additional videos and lessons to add when needed. I can assess progress through standards, grade level, and other means. Students are engaged and earn game time. I can set their mastery level also. My students like earning rewards, badges, and doing class competitions.
Sheila Kiger
During the 2018-2019 school year, I was introduced to the I-Ready program. The students started by taking a diagnostic assessment. This helped to show what their reading level was. The program then built lessons specifically for the individual student. I could follow their progress and see if they needed extra instruction with any skills. I-Ready works because it is fun for the students and it is designed specifically for them.
https://www.curriculumassociates.com/
Kristen Feldman
I like to utilize reader’s theater and story boards as well as audio books for struggling readers. Additionally, I like read-a-louds and modeling thinking/modeling annotation/active reading skills. I also enjoyed a blog I came across that has some good tips for helping struggling readers
https://thisreadingmama.com/12-incredible-resources-for-struggling-readers/
I also like the website
http://www.literacyworldwide.org
Jeff Kline
ReadQuest is a resource for struggling readers that provides a list of high-interest easy to read books and a range of fun activities to complete in conjunction with these books.
The site is http://www.renaissance.com/readquest/
This site has the potential to create a love of reading in struggling readers by selecting books that will catch students interests while not being too difficult. It also provides fun activities which will enrich and illuminate the reading experience.
Robin Hayse
One resource that I use with struggling readers in upper elementary is the use of picture book read alouds and mentor texts for the skill of the week. Jennifer Findley has many ideas of mentor text for a variety of reading skills.http://jenniferfindley.com/read-alouds-for-teaching-main-idea-mentor-texts-for-reading/ I have found many inspiring ideas and sometimes purchase the ready made graphic organizers to go with the mentor texts.