School and Education aren’t the Same Thing Unschooling doesn’t mean no education; it just means no school. The unschoolers I know put in significant time and effort providing education by asking and answering questions, finding resources, connecting kids with mentors, traveling, supporting passions, etc. Despite all this great parenting, it can be hard to justify […]
Powerhouse Vocabulary Builder In 25 years as a reading tutor, one vocabulary-building tool stands out above all the others: Rummy Roots. It’s not fancy — just six decks of cards. The first three come together as Rummy Roots and the second three are sold as More Roots. The package comes with instructions for several games, […]
What is LARA? Listen and Read Along (LARA) proves to be an outstanding tool for teaching reading. LARA is a collection of YouTube videos consisting of text on a screen, with words highlighted as a reader says them. As a reading tutor, specializing in dyslexia, I find older students happy to read things with substance. […]
Talk About Dyslexia A huge mastodon stomps around in the dyslexia education living room. Schools in the United States have done a surprisingly poor job of addressing it. Even though about 15% of students are dyslexic, dyslexia accommodation isn’t part of the regular classroom. Instead, students with the lowest reading scores are pulled out into […]
Kindle Fire + Dyslexia The new version of the Kindle Fire tablet comes with Immersion Reading. “Fire tablets can synchronize Kindle text with companion Audible audiobooks with real-time highlighting to create a more immersive reading experience, as well as deepen learning and comprehension. More than 60,000 Kindle books and companion Audible audiobooks are available across […]
What is Scanning? Scanning means finding words in the text by quickly glancing at each line or paragraph. Students with dyslexia or other reading difficulties find scanning less intimidating than oral reading, and it accomplishes the goal of pairing the visual image of the printed words with the meaning of the words, in context. Dyslexic […]
VOCABULARY SPELLS SUCCESS IN SCHOOL If students aren’t voracious readers early in life, they miss out on vocabulary that bookworm peers are absorbing. This happens to students with dyslexia, students from non-reader homes, students with ADHD, and even students who need glasses. Low vocabulary hurts academic work across all subjects. But, writing definitions on lists […]