Reading on an iPod Found to Help Those with Dyslexia and More on Struggling Readers

As educators, we're always looking for ways to help our students. Some of us work with students who have trouble reading due to dyslexia, and some of us know friends and family members with this reading condition. I came across this study that I thought was worth sharing. Although the subjects in the study were high school students in Massachusetts, it would be interesting to find out if iPods help both younger students and even adults who suffer from reading issues related to their dyslexia. You can read the study at this site. You can also download the article or print it, if you prefer. Click on the article's title to access the article online.

What is some research you know of or observations you have made as an educator to help those who are struggling readers? Did you find the article helpful?

If you work with students with Down Syndrome, you might want to check the blog of Kathleen Whitbread, a special education professor at the Univeristy of Saint Joseph, CT. You can access her blog here, and let us know what you think of the information she provides.

On a more informal scale, I found this article that challenges the way many teachers conduct read-alouds in their classroom. The article offers two alternatives: Echo Reading and Choral Reading. You can find the article by clicking on the headline below.

As a teacher, do you agree with the methods suggested? Do you agree that the more conventional methods of read-alouds are not effective? As a student and former high school teachers who worked with struggling readers, I recall the method outlined as the conventional read-aloud method. I envisioned students figuring out ahead what they would be called upon to read and watching them skim to their sections and not paying attention to other readers. What about you?

Meet the Authors in a Google Hangout

Last year, I played around with a neat Web 2.0 tool called Smore that allows you to quickly create flyers. I decided to visit the site recently to make a flyer to announce an upcoming event.

When you go to the site, it is convenient to have pictures you want to use ready to go. Look through the templates, font choices, and backgrounds. Here is one example to give you an idea of what a flyer embedded in a blot post looks like. Use the scroll bar to see the flyer fully.




Head on over to the Smore site to learn more, and discover how you can send your flyers via email, post them on Facebook or Google +, embed them in a blog or website, or share them in other ways.

Author Blogs: Visit Kate Messner's Blog to Learn More

Kate Messner, children's book author, has an excellent blog, and included on it as a Page to find other authors' blogs. 

Here's a quick screen capture of the authors' blogs she offers, with links to them, but you need to visit her page to use the links virtually to get to the blogs.

While, you're on her site, look around. She offers a variety of information for young readers and encourages children to read and write. Here's a screen capture of the pages on her blog showing she has pages for Books, Blog, Kids, Writers, Speaking, Appearances, and About Me. If you set up a classroom blog, you might want to create a page to help your own students find authors' blogs online.

Perhaps seeing that authors have blogs will encourage your students to want to have a full class blog or to create their own individual blog, or join a class blog organized with a platform like KidBlog.

In addition to Kate's blog, she also can be found in these places:

Twitter

Facebook

Google Docs for Learning: Way More than Meets the Eye

Susan Oxenovd created this great Glogster of multiple ways to use Google Docs. Click any object for details.



Let us know if you find this Glogster useful for finding new ways to use Google Docs.

News, Book Reviews, and More for Kids

I've heard numerous teachers extol the value of using the DoGo website with students. Here students can find current events to read about and then have writing projects in their class based on what they read. They can also read book reviews written by kids, and better yet contribute their own reviews to the site. Check out the book review section. Click on the image below.

Explore this part of the site to see the reviews students have written. After you have explored around, then check the Dogo News for Kids section, by clicking on the link image below. Notice news is listed in categories. Also, notice the tabs: Teachers and Kids.

After browsing around the site, let us know if you would recommend this site to teachers or if you would consider using with your students?