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Help for Struggling Readers. Byron Smith, FDLRS Heartland. Struggling Readers.
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Help for Struggling Readers Byron Smith, FDLRS Heartland
Struggling Readers Students who have difficulty reading fluently are at a significant disadvantage in most classrooms. While they may be capable of understanding the content, the mode of presentation must allow them to access that content in ways that permit cognitive processing and comprehension. If such accommodations can be identified and put in place, this student may be able to succeed in content areas that are traditionally reading-intensive. The challenge is to identify what sort of accommodation the student needs.
Struggling Readers Individuals who struggle with reading may have problems with individual words, sentences, and/or paragraphs and with understanding what they read. This may result from an inability to decode words, track words and sentences on a page, comprehend the written information, keep thoughts and images organized, and/or generalize the information to previous knowledge. This deficit often results from a problem with visual or auditory processing.
Struggling Readers In order to assist the struggling student, it is crucial to identify exactly where the difficulty exists. Processing deficits are problems with the processes of recognizing and interpreting information taken in through the senses. The two most common areas of processing difficulty associated with learning disabilities are visual and auditory perception. These distinctions are critical to selecting the correct tools to help the student succeed.
Indicators of Reading Difficulties Not all students with reading difficulties have been identified. Be alert for students who: Read slowly and deliberately with no fluency; Appear to re-read or read very slowly, when reading silently; Reread or skips lines in oral reading; Have trouble reading signs, notes, forms, want ads, etc.; Substitute, omit, and/or transpose letters, words, syllables, and phrases; Lose place on page; Skip lines, words, letters, and numbers; Have poor comprehension of written materials; Guess at unknown words and thus compromise comprehension;
Indicators of Reading Difficulties (con’t.) Not all students with reading difficulties have been identified. Be alert for students who : Have trouble sounding out unknown words; Have decoding problems (difficulty with sounds/symbol relationships; Problems discriminating between sounds and between certain letters (e.G., Bs and ds, ps and qs; Frequent reversal of letters and numbers; Difficulty blending sounds together to form a word) ; Have difficulty with basic skills assessments; Have problems keeping place in test answer sheets; Have difficulty tracking from test booklet to answer sheet.
Classroom Strategies The first level of intervention when a student is struggling with reading is with basic classroom strategies and accommodations. Examples include pre-teaching a list of vocabulary words matched with pictures, reading the story aloud while the student follows along, and asking only one comprehension question per reading. For additional ideas, see the Teaching Resources for Florida Exceptional Student Education website at: http://www.cpt.fsu.edu/ese/in/acom/needs/need_B.html
Positioning aids Page turners Tracking aids Contrast aids Word identification aids Handheld scanners Standalone magnification aids Alternative format books Digital audio files Electronic word identification aids Compensatory Tools Take this link to examples of these items
Standard word processing software Graphic word processing software Talking word processing software Advanced reading and writing aid software Screen enlargement software Screen reading software Compensatory Tools -Software Take this link to examples of these items
Increasing the Readability of Text • Change the font to Verdana or Century Gothic • Increase the font size • Double space between the lines • Change the background and / or text color • Use clipart to define new vocabulary • Use the replace feature to add more space between words
Increasing the Readability of Text (con’t.) • Bold or highlight text to draw attention to important points (e.g. – Use bold to emphasize directions; Highlight vocabulary, key concepts.) • Consider using different colors of text or highlighting for different types of information (e.g. Names, dates, places)
Use Pictures to Teach Text • Match pictures with words to teach vocabulary • Clip art • Boardmaker • Communicate: SymWriter • Pix Writer • Clicker Five Take this link to a free online website for symbol readers @ http://www.symbolworld.org/
Use Text-to-Speech for Comprehension Students who are poor readers may be able to succeed in grade-level academic courses if the text can be read as they listen. • Natural Reader • Read Please • Premier Literacy • Read & Write Gold • Kurzweil • Wynn
Use Digitized and On-line Books Students with good auditory comprehension can access a wealth of digital material on the internet. • Read Print • Project Gutenberg • StoryPlace • Storyline Online • Kizclub • eBooks
Audio Text Students who meet specific criteria can obtain auditory recordings of texts in a variety of formats from the following sources: • National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards (NIMAS) • Recordings for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) • Bookshare
Additional Websites of Interest • http://www.paec.org/fdlrstech/reading.html • http://www.gatfl.org/ldguide/read.htm • http://www.ldonline.org • http://www.onionmountaintech.com
Positioning Aids • Reading stands of various kinds provide a different angle for reading. These range from the single-page sheet holders to bookstands that provide orientation at several different angles. • Experiment by using binders of different widths as makeshift bookstands.
Tracking Aids • Reading guides help the student focus on the line of words he is reading as he tracks across the page. • Rulers can be used as reading guides, and may be more acceptable for some students.
Contrast Aids • Highlighter tape can be used to draw attention to instructions, key terms or concepts, or questions. • Colored filters have been shown to help some students process printed material without distortion (see example)
Standalone Magnification Aids • Magnification of text and graphic images may help with focus and tracking as well as visual impairment. Magnifiers range from small cards to full sheets to thick handheld lenses.
Electronic Word Identification Aids • Electronic dictionaries allow a student to hear the definition of unfamiliar words. Back to slideshow
Standard Word Processing Software Most full-featured word processing software programs have a number of capabilities that can assist struggling readers. These include text effects, such as font size & color and highlighting; outlining (a quick way to produce study guides); and auto-summarize (to extract key information from a lengthy text). An excellent on-line training using Microsoft Word is available at FDLRS.com. Choose “The Wonders of Word” from the right-hand column near the bottom.
Screen Enlargement Software • Most newer computers have screen enlargement capabilities built into the operating system. In PC’s, look in Programs, Accessories, Accessibility for this option.
Screen Reading Software Back to slideshow
