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Showing posts from November, 2016

100 Powerful Learning Specialist and Educational Therapy Materials

This week I wanted to tell you about my online store, Good Sensory Learning. I’m Dr. Erica Warren, and I established this site so I could share all the materials that I have created over the last 20+ years as a learning specialist and educational therapist. When I first began my private practice, Learning to Learn, I had great difficulty finding fun and multisensory materials for my students that were effective and engaging. So back in 2005, I made it my mission to design and distribute high-end, remedial products as well as memorable, motivating lessons that bring delight to learning. If you would like to try a free sampling of my activities , CLICK HERE . How Are the Products Organized at Good Sensory Learning? You can download my Free Printable Catalog or you can browse the site using the grey “search all products” bar in the top right of any page with keywords such as dyslexia, working memory, and executive functioning. What’s more, drop down menus in the red banner allow you t...
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Dyslexia Screeners: What's the Best Option?

Finding the best dyslexia screener can be a vital step for schools as well as parents, but sifting through the many options can be time consuming and challenging. I began the rigorous process of evaluating 13 different options and found the experience both interesting and surprising. While some instruments offer Likert scale questionnaires, others assess a student's cognitive or achievement abilities. The two screeners (which will remain nameless) that I thought would likely be the best, were disappointingly inadequate. A table below illustrates a summary of my findings, and I will let you come to your own conclusions.  The Table (below) Compares the 13 Resources by a Number of Factors: Age: The age range of eligible participants. Cost: The cost of the assessment/screener. Administration Time: The time it takes to take the test. Test Type: The format of the test. Questionnaires: About half of the instruments were Likert scales that obtain participant's preferen...
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Order of Operations Mobile Teaches the Concept

Order of Operations is a difficult concept for young learners, and many teachers use strategies to help students learn the sequence of mathematical steps. The acronyms, such as "PEMDAS" or "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally," are common memory strategies that teachers use to help students remember the order of operations. However, this mnemonic suggests a specific sequence which can cause confusion. Mistakes may result if the student is unaware that multiplication and division as well as addition and subtraction is of equal ranking order. When one has operations of the same rank, the problem must be solved from left to right. For instance, 10 5 + 2 is not 10 - 7, but is actually 5 + 2, because one solves the problem from left to right. This can be a complicated concept for kids to understand when working with a linear strategy. This is why the My Pet PEMDAS mobile is a fun, memorable and multisensory activity that solves this problem once and for all. My Pet PEMD...
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How to Use Dictation on Mac and Benefits for Dyslexia

Apple has been offering free accessibility tools with their personal computing devices for some time, but with each new operating system upgrade comes improvements and changes. This blog focuses on the dictation tool, as it is real game changer for students with dyslexia and other types of learning disabilities. What is Dictation? Dictation is a tool that allows users to speak computer commands and also dictate text when creating documents, texts or emails. The computer “listens” to your words and follows your directives. Because the computer “hears” every utterance, it is important to speak clearly and mindfully so that your commands are not filled with ums and other unneeded articulations. How Can One Access Dictation? To begin the default is selecting the fn key twice (bottom left hand corner on most Mac keyboards), or you can enable the dictation keyword phrase and say “Computer, start dictating.” Here is how you can enable the keyword phrase. Choose Apple menu > Sys...
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Dyslexia: Rapid Automatic Naming and Multisensory Methods

I’m so pleased to announce my seventh Go Dyslexia video podcast: Rapid Automatic Naming and Multisensory Methods with Guest Dr. Michael Hart and Host Dr. Erica Warren. This blog shares my most recent video podcast, featuring dyslexia expert and advocate, Dr. Michael Hart. Dr. Hart is a child psychologist and dyslexia expert who offers 25 years of experience in parent and teacher training, educational technology, learning differences, and diagnostic assessments. He is the founder/owner of  www.doctormichaelhart.com  and is currently providing online webinars and courses that focus on dyslexia. This is the seventh of many free video podcasts for Go Dyslexia!  During the video podcast, Michael and I talk about rapid automatic naming (RAN) and its impact on dyslexia and more specifically reading. In addition, we discuss the importance of using the Orton-Gillingham approach, multisensory methods and paying attention to the individual needs of learners. What is ...
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Multisensory and Memorable Mathematics Strategies: Math Favorites Bundle

For some students, learning math concepts is challenging and accommodating the individual needs with the current classroom curriculum can be difficult. To make matters worse, by the time many of these students exhibit the required academic underachievement that qualifies them for the needed assistance, many have negative learning experiences associated with mathematics, they struggle with a poor academic self concept, and some are overwhelmed with feelings of helplessness. What are the Common Difficulties Associated with Math Skills? When a student has difficulty with mathematics, they may struggle with any or all of the following: Memory - remembering concepts learned over time. Sequencing - recalling the required steps to get to an answer. Quantitative Reasoning - understanding the logic behind math concepts. Spatial Skills - understand and remember object’s orientation in space. Visual Processing - making sense of information seen through the eyes. Mental Manipula...
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