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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...

Remediating Reading Reversals, Tracking Difficulties and Visual Discrimination Weaknesses

Remediating reading reversals can be a difficult task. Well, not anymore! Dr. Erica Warren now has four multi-sensory workbooks that can make the process both simple and enjoyable. Her first workbook, Reversing Reversals, was so popular all over the globe that she released more great activities in Reversing Reversals 2, Reversing Reversal Beginners and Reversing Reversals Primary. Come get a FREE SAMPLING  of Reversing Reversals 2. You can also purchase this publication here . Would you like to learn about the Reversing Reversal Series? Reversing Reversal Primary : Enjoyable activities strengthen and develop the core skills needed for reading and writing. All the activities and games utilize animal characters instead of letters and numbers. Areas of cognition addressed include: visual memory, auditory memory, sequential memory, visual reasoning, auditory reasoning, visual discrimination, receptive language, listening skills, mental flexibility, attention, attention t...

The Four Types of Sentences: A Fun and Easy Approach

Learning about the four types of sentences can be difficult.  Now the process can be fun and easy. Cartoon-like characters can now help students remember the difficult terms. Students will meet Commander Pear, Ms. Clair Bear, Rog the Frog and Sam the Clam. Come get a free sampling of Commander Pear click here To learn more about the full versions click here Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at  Good Sensory Learning  and  Dyslexia Materials . She is also the director of  Learning to Learn  and  Learning Specialist Courses . · Blog:  https://learningspecialistmaterials.blogspot.com/ · YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/user/warrenerica1 · Podcast:  https://godyslexia.com/ · Store:  http://www.Goodsensorylearning.com/  &  www.dyslexiamaterials.com · Courses:  http://www.learningspecialistcourses.com/...

Exposing Students to the 12 Ways of Learning

Many know of the four common ways of learning: visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic. But did you know that students need to be exposed to even more ways of processing information too? Going multisensory is essential these days and presenting instruction that teaches to all 12 ways of processing, as described in the Eclectic Teaching Approach , can help prepare your students for a successful future of life long learning. The other 8 ways of learning include: 1) Sequential Learning: teach students how to order information alphabetically or numerically. Teach with timelines, successive instructions, outlines, and keep materials organized. 2) Simultaneous Learning: teach students how to categorize materials by similarity. Web information, define and discuss main ideas and details, and use flow charts and diagrams. 3) Verbal Learning: teach students how to process ideas aloud. Provide opportunities for students to process ideas verbally through one-on-one or g...

Executive Functioning: Helping Students with Planning Time Management and Organization

Executive functioning is a newly defined cognitive process that has gained recognition in schools over the past decade and accommodating students that struggle in this area is often neglected. Inappropriate labels such as “careless” and “lazy” are often placed on this population. Instead of compassion and strategies, they are often intimidated, harassed and mishandled with discipline and inconsistent methods that result in poor grades. For these students anger, frustration, poor motivation and feelings of learned helplessness are common. More and more students are being described with this label and students need to learn strategies for success.   Capable and intelligent learners can sabotage their grades by: losing materials forgetting to turn in assignments leaving things to the last minute miscalculating or underestimating the amount of time it will take to complete a task failing to record homework in an agenda or planner leaving needed materials at school ...

Strategies that Help Students to Organize Ideas, Build Paragraphs, and Implement Transitions in Their Writing

Organizing ideas and building paragraphs can be a taxing and complicated process for beginning writers. Writing requires multitasking. When some of these tasks are challenging, they can become overwhelming hurtles that trip up the flow of ideas and can stop the creative process in its tracks. For instance, if a student is still toiling with the formation of letters, the second they go to write down their fabulous ideas, their attention is swept away by the engulfing fine motor task. Likewise, those that tussle with spelling often lose their thoughts as they get diverted down a path of sounds and symbol associations. Still, others find that although they have great thoughts, it’s a tough and tedious workout to sequence the surge of scurrying words and ideas. For many students, they must develop some degree of automaticity before they can gracefully interlace the required tasks that are necessary to become a confident and savvy writer. So, what are some strategies tha...

10 Easy Steps to Accommodate Students with Executive Functioning Weaknesses

Students with executive functioning problems are often a challenge for teachers.  So what can teacher and parents do to help? 1. Provide a consistent and structured environment: At home: Create a structured routine and try to schedule activities that are always on the same days and at the same times. You can even schedule unstructured, free times. In school: All teachers should communicate and post homework assignments in the same way and at an expected time daily. Home work should also be collected in a reliable, routine manner. Finally, the classroom need to be managed in a consistent way with clear and concise expectations.  2. Provide reminders: Use smart phones, ipods, watches with alarms, and PDAs to provide auditory and visual reminders of important dates, activities, and things that need to be done. 3. Use a large month or two month at a glance calendar to schedule events and post it in a high traffic location. Review the calendar weekl...

Three Easy Activities that Can Strengthen Tracking Abilities for Improved Reading

Some students struggle with tracking words on a page. They may lose their place or have trouble scanning from one line to the next. Here are three strategies that you can do at home to strengthening this skill. 1. Find a magazine article, book, or letter, and have the student circle or highlight every time they see the word “the.” You can pick any word, letter or phrase. Also, the student does not have to be able to comprehend the text that you select. Tell them to always read from left to right. Double check their work for accuracy. This will help to improve tracking ability and strengthen eye muscles.  2. Find a magazine article and have the student circle or highlight the letters of the alphabet as they scan the text from left to right. Again, they do not have to be able to read the text that you select. Double check their work for accuracy. 3. For a greater challenge, pre-read the text and pull some words out of the text that then create a new sentence that the stude...

Why Should We Learn About Angles?

Learning about angles has never been easier and so much fun. This new PowerPoint first shows students the importance of angles in life.  Then it informs students about acute, right and obtuse angles using both visual and auditory memory strategies. Next, students practice their new knowledge by labeling the many angles we can make with our bodies.  Furthermore, complementary and supplementary angles are reviewed using more fun comic-book like memory strategies. The PowerPoint ends with an interactive classroom activity! It's an enjoyable, multi-sensory and memorable lesson that your students will love.   http://goodsensorylearning.com/math-powerpoints.html Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at  Good Sensory Learning  and  Dyslexia Materials . She is also the director of  Learning to Learn  and  Learning Specialist Courses . · Blog:...

What is Brain Training or Brain Fitness and is it Helpful?

Brain Training or Brain Fitness is the act of strengthening deficits in learning or weak areas of cognition. This is typically done using simple activities that concentrate on areas of difficulty. Just like a personal trainer or physical therapist can focus exercises on a particular part of the body, many learning specialists, educational therapists and learning coaches can help individuals of all ages to improve memory, visual processing, auditory processing, attention, stamina and more.  When instruction focuses on the area of difficulty, it’s important for the activities to be engaging and fun. They need to start at a very simplistic level and increase in difficulty as the participants experience success. Repeated training clears the hurtles that trip the thought processes and helps the mind run smoothly and efficiently. Clearly, the brain is not limited and defined. It continues to grow, if exercised, throughout our lifetime. Early intervention can sometimes cure or ...

Free Internet Games That are Great for the Brain!

I have spent years searching for and uploading great, free internet game links. I have them all listed and described on my private practice website for my clients, and I wanted to share them with you too. Check it out! I have over 100  links and I have them all organized under headings such as Math, Reading, Typing... to make it easy for you to find what you are looking for! https://learningtolearn.biz/free-educational-games Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at  Good Sensory Learning  and  Dyslexia Materials . She is also the director of  Learning to Learn  and  Learning Specialist Courses . · Blog:  https://learningspecialistmaterials.blogspot.com/ · YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/user/warrenerica1 · Podcast:  https://godyslexia.com/ · Store:  http://www.Goodsensorylearning.com/  &  www.dyslexiamaterial...

Top Three, Free Technology Picks for Homework Help and Test Preparation

There is a vast sea of website and software tools washing up all around us, and staying on top of these resources can feel like an overwhelming tsunami. I’m a learning specialist and educational therapist, and a big part of my work is to ride this colossal techno-wave so I can help my students surf the homework swells with confidence and grace.  Here are my three favorite websites that can assist with home work help and test preparation: 1: The Khan Academy: This is a not-for-profit organization that provides a free, high quality education to students around the world. They offer a growing collection of thousands of videos covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to physics, chemistry, history, SAT prep and more. To top it off, they now have a practice/lesson component that is terrific. This allows students to test their new knowledge, and if they get stuck, the website will walk them through the process and will even offer them the needed video tutorial! T...

A Wonderful Lesson for Teaching Students about Angles

Learning about the angles has never been easier.  Would you like a PowerPoint presentation that teaches your students all about angles? What is Why Should be Learn about Angles?  Why We Should Learn about Angles is a PowerPoint that illustrates to students the great importance of the many angles in our world. Next, it teaches students about acute, obtuse, and right angles using both visual and auditory memory strategies in a comic book like manner. Then, students get to practice these new concepts by uncovering the angles we can make with our bodies. Furthermore, complementary and supplementary angles are reviewed using additional fun and memorable strategies. The PowerPoint finishes with a classroom activity!  It's a memorable and enjoyable lesson students will want to see over and over again. http://goodsensorylearning.com/math-powerpoints.html Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educationa...