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, […]
Tests Seem Scary But Don’t Panic We’d like to see a world without tests. We think certificates of mastery for various skills would be better. But as long as the tests are part of schooling, tutors will need to help students deal with them. Tutors often encounter test anxiety in students. When panic sets in, […]
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. […]
Author Richard Whitehead Richard Whitehead facilitates the Davis Dyslexia Method at his center in the UK. His articles impressed me over the past few years. I share his admiration for Ron Davis’s pioneering dyslexia research. So, when he recently published a dyslexia book, Why ‘Tyrannosaurus’ But Not ‘If’?: The Dyslexic Blueprint for the Future of […]
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 […]