What is Tracking? In reading instruction, tracking refers to readers watching the words on the page while someone else says them aloud. This can be done in person or with an audiobook. Audiobooks provide students with more independence and more reading time than most parents or teachers can spare. I recommend using both and responding […]
Cursive Writing and Neurodiversity I received a review copy of Read Cursive Fast – Learn to Read Cursive, Historical Documents, and Notes Even if You Don’t Write by Hand from the author, Kate Gladstone. It piqued my curiosity because many of my dyslexic and autistic students find cursive impenetrable. My daughter, Dr. Alta Graham, age […]
Literacy Frees Slaves Frederick Douglass, a former slave, said, “Once you have learned to read you will be forever free.” Just because slavery was legally abolished in the U.S. and U.K. doesn’t mean it disappeared. People still experience life situations that keep them enslaved to poverty and dead-end employment. Furthermore, the school-to-prison pipeline is real. […]
Judge this book by its cover, not by its fonts Opening How Tony Learned to Read: Growing Up Dyslexic, by Tony and Judy Fishel, was a bit of a shock. I was confronted with some paragraphs in large print Comic Sans. It was stunning since I expected another sober case study by a dyslexia researcher. […]
Because it’s teaching to the weakness, not to the strength Rote memory comes hard for those with dyslexia. However, I’ve known many students who put in phenomenal effort to memorize all the letter sounds, blends, syllables, and rules of the English language. Unfortunately, the payoff was NOT carefree easy reading! Automatic word recognition just didn’t […]
Expanded Edition Dyslexia Tool Kit Expanded Edition: What to do when phonics isn’t enough, published April 2021, replaces the first edition and costs less! The book is available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback. Dyslexia Tool Kit Expanded Edition includes three new chapters. The new version also answers questions posed by readers of the […]
Teaching Reading Requires Multiple Methods Marion Blank, Ph.D, authored several great books as well as Reading Kingdom, an online reading curriculum. In this post, I highlight the reading techniques she uses. Dr. Blank doesn’t specifically target students with dyslexia — rather she acknowledges that children come with a variety of brains, some of which are […]
Testing Doesn’t Improve Reading Here’s why some teachers focus on test scores such as DIBEL, RAZ or Lexile. Test scores provide verifiable data that students are progressing. Unfortunately, teachers feel pressure to produce such evidence. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be acceptable to report that “Johnny now loves reading whereas last year he hated it.” […]
Language Delay Hampers Classroom Success A language delay can seriously impact success in the classroom. This negatively affects the student’s self-esteem and desire to participate. The causes of language delay vary; dyslexia/dyspraxia, autism, second language, premature birth, language deficient home environment, speech problem, hearing problem, and others. Whatever the cause, teachers and parents hold the […]
Oral Reading Should NEVER be Required! Forcing a student into oral reading, especially in front of peers, attaches a huge load of negative emotion to reading. As a tutor, I spend as much time overcoming “reading PTSD” as I do teaching the skills. How Izzy Overcame her Reading Block Izzy is dyslexic and she stutters. […]