Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label Reading Speed

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

12 Free Ways to Strengthen Visual Tracking

Tracking is the ability to move one's eyes smoothly across the page from one word to another as well as from one line of text to another.  For some learners, however, this is a challenging task.  Instead, their eyes jump back and forth and struggle to stay on a single line of text.  This can result in problems such as word omissions, reversals, eye fatigue, losing one's place while reading, and most importantly it can undermine reading comprehension. Can Tracking be Improved? Yes, one can improve tracking by strengthening eye muscles and getting one's eyes and brain to work together. There are three types of eye movements that need to be addressed: Fixations : The ability to hold one's eyes steady without moving off a target. Saccades : The ability to jump to new targets that randomly disappear and reappear in a different location. Pursuits : The ability to follow a moving target with one's eyes. 12 Free Ways to Improve Tracking: Use color overl...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Make Color Overlays for Struggling Readers - FREE DIY

Many struggling readers have difficulties tracking text across and down the page. Their eyes get lost in a maze of words and keeping their place takes up most of their attention - leaving little stamina for decoding and comprehension. Did you know that there is a simple and fun fix for this problem?  You can make your own color overlays! What are Color Overlays? Colored overlays are plastic sheets that allow students to change the background color of the text.  This can make the stark contrast of black text on white paper less intense, and many kids enjoy the colors.  Most importantly, by placing the line of text that is being read at the bottom of the plastic lens, it can be a wonderful way for students to keep their place while reading. Would You Like to Create Your Own Color Overlays? You can make your own overlays by using transparent, colored report covers, dividers, or overhead projector film.  They can be used as whole sheets, but I prefer to cut stri...
Post a Comment
Read more

Superior Sight Word Mastery - A Breakthrough Proven Approach

For many struggling readers, sight words can seem like an impossible hurdle. Sight words are high-frequency words that are commonly seen when reading and used when writing.  Students are encouraged to memorize these words by sight because most do not follow standard decoding rules and can not be "sounded out." What if a Student Struggles with Visual Memory? Over the years, I have tried a multitude of strategies to help my struggling students master sight words.  Repetitive, multisensory lessons were a bore, games were a great improvement, but the best technique, to begin with, is creating a multisensory memory book.  Instead of expecting students to use rote, visual memory, I like to teach my students hooking strategies and have them record their ideas with colorful markers in booklets or notebooks.  It is a word diary of sorts that students can title with their own fun, creative name (e.g., magical memory strategies...). Each difficult...
Post a Comment
Read more

How Can I Improve My Reading Speed and Comprehension?

There are all sorts of companies that are trying to sell “speed reading” programs and a “quick comprehension fix.” I often evaluate these products, and I continually find them, too good to be true. What I do know, as a seasoned reading specialist, and educational therapist, is there is not a single solution that serves every struggling reader. So why is this and what can you do? Why Does the Solution to Improved Reading Differ Across Individuals? The secret to improving both reading speed and comprehension depends on each individual’s learning profile and preferences. What are the cognitive weaknesses that are causing the reading difficulties? These deficits need to be remediated through individualized support and accommodated with assistive technology tools. In addition, what are the cognitive strengths of the learner? Tapping into these abilities can help struggling readers develop compensatory strategies or workarounds. Finally, looking at individual preferences can also help. Thi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Processing Speed - 7 Powerful Strategies for Student Success

Dear Friends: This is my second post on processing speed. Last week, I addressed the definition, causes, assessment options, and revealed 5 ways that a slow processing speed can impact learning . This week, I will discuss 7 power strategies for student success as well as reasonable accommodations in the classroom. A Quick Review: Processing Speed: The speed at which one makes sense of incoming information from the senses and then generates a response. Tests such as the WISC intelligence test and the Woodcock-Johnson IV Test of Cognitive Ability and Test of Oral Language offer subtests that assess some types of processing speed. A slow processing speed can be caused by any of the following: difficulties receiving and perceiving information through the senses, problems making sense of that information in the brain, and/or challenges producing a response or action. A slow processing speed can impact the understanding of oral and written concepts, note taking skills, homework c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Slow and Labored Reading: Causes and Solutions for Dyslexia and More

Slow and labored reading can make schooling a drag for many bright students, and in order to truly help these struggling learners, teachers and support personnel need to understand the root causes. The problem is that each student has their own unique contributing factors. As a result, the best way to serve each student is to begin with an investigation. What are the Three Main Causes of Slow and Labored Reading? Three main causes of slow reading. 1) Cognitive - Deficits or weaknesses in key cognitive processing areas can point to a root cause of slow and labored reading. Common areas of deficit that can impact reading speed are: Auditory processing Visual processing Memory Processing speed Executive functioning and attention 2) Physical - Discomfort in the physical process can also make the process of reading difficult and it can minimize the practice needed. For some learners, the reading process is: Exhausting: Some report that reading is wearisome for t...
Post a Comment
Read more