Book Love by Penny Kittle shares stories on how readers develop depth, stamina and passion. Though written with adolescents in mind, the message is absolutely appropriate for elementary age. She states that the path to difficult reading begins with books that students enjoy. To build capacity for reading requires practice and lots of it…
Tag: reading support
Reading The Impossible
Many of you have asked me if there is support for those who struggle with reading digital content especially when it is written above instructional reading levels. Every time a class attempts research out on the web, students are faced with information they cannot comfortably read. For the brain to have enough neuronal resources to…
Access Raz-Kids Through iPad
Some news that I’ve been waiting for from Learning A-Z, which will offer increased flexibility – Raz-Kids has launched their app for ipad! Students can now access our Raz-Kids accounts from the ipad. You should use a headset [the speaker jack from your headset goes into the jack on the top of the ipad]. The recordings…
Getting Extra Mileage from Apps
One of the things I find challenging is the inability of the iPad to support multiple open softwares (like my laptop). Try using Side by Side. This allows you to split the screen up to four windows at a time. Read, research, download files and take notes can be integrated into a session. This app…
Linking Computer to iPads – Screenshare
No doubt you’ve run into many screensharing apps that connect a teacher computer to iPads. Join.me is a free screen sharing meeting site that is simple to facilitate. This can be used to enhance a lesson by sharing the teacher’s computer screen with student ipads [imagine the possibility of a student with visual challenges being…
App Support in Reading
Apps come and apps go. All of them serve a purpose. It is the teacher who makes “magic” happen through the lesson experiences. Our iDevices Blog is where you will see an ongoing vetted list of apps. (Click Apps Collection list) Please add to the list if you run across an app that you love. Here’s one you may…
Sharing Books…Modeling Strategies…
Sometimes locating just the right book to share or use as a piece of mentor text appears impossible to find. Or have you ever wanted to expand opportunities for your students to read at home? We now have access to TumbleBooks and TumbleBookCloud. [See links under District Links.] These online resources provide a fabulous array of e-texts…
Learning, Learning Everywhere – Part 2
This is Part 2 of the learning opportunities throughout the year with more details in the Staff Development Calendar. Tech Snacks: This series of learning opportunities are offered as little snacks of possibilities. Come spend a bit of time (30 minutes each) to see and explore a variety of tools, objects, projects and ideas that…
Growing Readers – Literature Circles Gone Digital – Part 1
I wasn’t quite sure how to title this, swinging back and forth from “Passionate Conversations” and “Growing Readers”, both of which I believe Lit Circles to be. I’ve been working with a fabulous teacher on engaging her class with Literature Circles. Oh not the process with all the jobs/roles (which I’ve done many times before), but the approach…
Choice Words
Things happen when you’ve return from a conference. New ideas attach with old ones and a host of “how does this all connect” is sifted through a lens of “what if…”. At FETC, keynote speaker Michael Wesch (watch TED talk) talked about the fast rise of the new technologies (Youtube 2005; Twitter 2006) resulting in a new culture…
How do we support "e-Readers" in schools?
An e-reader or e-book reader is a portable electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital books and periodical s. However, with technology advancements, digital reading has been extended to a broader medium that includes using static or mobile devices versus using smaller portable ones such as the Smartphone/iPhone. The…
How Readable is the Information?
Readability may be defined as ‘reading ease’ or how content can be successfully understood. Teachers know that comprehension is dependent on many variables, one of which is the readability level of information whether online or in print. It matters little if you have the best list of websites for research but the students have difficulties…
Kurzweil #2: Annotating – Making Thinking Visible
When you read anything, many things happen in your head that nobody notices. But good readers know and can identify these things. Sometimes we call them “movies in our head, thinking abouts, connections, questions or just plain wonders…”. The Study Skills toolbar in Kurzweil 3000 allows great flexibility in making this thinking visible so we…
Kurzweil – Take Next Steps Session – Tues. Oct. 25
These are the handouts for the Kurzweil 3000 Refresher session. Writing Support Writing Support Practice/Play From Previous Sessions: Implementation Process Reference basics v11