Resource Room Newsletter - July 2002
<http://www.resourceroom.net >
Surfin' Sally's Latest Links
Dyslexia: A Different Learning Style
< http://www.esc9.net/nocona/elemweb/Dyslexia/Publisher/Dyslexhom.html >
This is "just" a teacher's website about dyslexia. Just imagine if more teachers took this approach!
Meeting the Needs of Twice-Exceptional Children
<http://www.ditd.org/floater.php?location=202 >
Advice for dealing with gifted students who struggle in school; excellent information about intelligence testing and how the special education process can be used to help these children.
In the news
Debating Diagnosis of a Sensory Malady in Children
< http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/09/health/children/09SENS.html >
The New York Times, July 9, 2002
This article describes a child with sensory integration disorder, and the complexities of diagnosis and intervention.
Student's Complicated Gifts
< http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29733-2002Jun22.html >
The Washington Post, June 22, 2002
This article describes how schools in the Washington, D.C. area try to deal with gifted/LD students, including some of the shortcomings.
Personal stories in the news:
Education: Above and Beyond - Centennial High senior goes from special education to valedictorian honor
< http://12.9.217.6:80/plweb-cgi/fastweb?state_id=1025492777&view=rjsearch&numhitsfound=17&query=learning%20disabilities&query_rule=%28%28$query%29%29%20AND%20%28%23date%28$query1%29%29%3ADATE%20AND%20%28%28$query4%29%29%3AHEADLINE&docid=10411&docdb=2002&dbname=2002&TemplateName=predoc.tmpl&setCookie=1 >
Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 06 2002
Deena Jo Hoover tied with three others with a 4.7 GPA, making straight A's in honors courses. Read to find out how.Boy turns dyslexia into award-winning project
<http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,405011768,00.html >
"For his science project, Gallegos had to resort to the dreaded testing to find out if dyslexics could read better after right-brain stimulation. He tested his subjects before and after the stimulation.He decided the stimulation involved would be working with clay, because he had tried it, and it didn't work for him."Tough Cookie, Snug Retreat
At Home with Lara Flynn Boyle
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/27/garden/27LARA.html
Tucked into this article about the actress's home is a discussion of how dyslexia affected her childhood and how she deals with the reading demands of acting now.
This month's feature:
Reading Comprehension
These links and resources focus on the foundation skills of reading and language comprehension, and for providing structure and scaffolding - a "leg up" to enable students to use what they read. It should be stressed, however, that the strategies themselves can simply be another layer of confusion for an already struggling student. Unless a strategy and its purpose are carefully taught with student-owned learning in mind, and practiced and incorporated into that learning, they will be from the student's perspective yet one more inexplicable, arbitrary ritual to be performed because the teacher is in charge.There are many websites with specific strategies and lesson plans; I culled these sites that specifically addressed LD issues or were more general.
Resource Room's Reading Comprehension
<http://www.resourceroom.net/Surfin/index.asp#Readcomp>
Assorted articles and exercises about reading comprehension on the Resource Room site. These are things that worked for me in the classroom. They include:Lowering the Language Barriers in Middle and Secondary School
< http://www.resourceroom.net/myarticles/barriers.asp >
How to help students who struggle with the language demands (reading, writing, and/or listening) of content area courses in middle and high school.Multisensory Vocabulary: Guidelines and Strategies
<http://www.resourceroom.net/myarticles/vocabulary.htm >
< http://www.resourceroom.net/beyond_decoding/multisensory_vocab.pdf > PDF versionLooking More Closely at High-Interest, Low-Level Texts: Do They Support Comprehension? by Stephanie A. Spadorcia, Ph.D. Reprinted with permission from the International Dyslexia Association quarterly newsletter, Perspectives, Spring 2001, vol. 27, no. 2, pages 32-33, Stephanie Spadorcia,, Ph.D.
< http://www.resourceroom.net/Sharestrats/idacomprehension2.htm >Learning About Phrases to Improve Fluency and Comprehension
< http://www.resourceroom.net/beyond_decoding/phrasing_dec2001.asp >
Contains ideas and exercises for improving fluency and comprehension. Includes PDF files of exercises ready to print and useLiterature-based Skill Building: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
< http://www.resourceroom.net/eduonly/HarryPotterComprehensionexercises.asp >
Comprehension exercises to use with this book or use as a model for making up your own.
Reading Comprehension Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities
<http://www.ncld.org/research/ncld_reading_comp.cfm>
National Center for Learning Disabilities' summary of research on reading comprehension and LD.Reading Comprehension Disorders
<http://www.margaretkay.com/reading1.htm>
A very good brief summary of different reading comprehension issues for LD students.Literacy and Learning - Reading in the Content Areas
<http://www.litandlearn.lpb.org/index.html>
Information for a graduate course in reading in the content areas, including strategies and lesson plans.Panel Urges Study Of Reading Comprehension
<http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=21rand.h20>
EdWeek.org's description of and links to and about the Rand Reading The Rand Reading Study Group.
Learning to Learn Reading Modules
<http://snow.utoronto.ca/Learn2/mod6/ >
>From Canada's Special Needs Opportunities Window. These include a description of a reading comprehension strategy -- including stressing that teaching a strategy often doesn't work because the knowledge doesn't transfer and students don't use the strategies.Reading Comprehension Database
<http://muskingum.edu/~cal/database/reading.html >
Part of Muskingum College's excellent database of learning strategies and information.Reading Comprehension Workshop
< http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/palmasola/readcompex.htm>
>From Manatee School District in Florida; reading comprehension exercises for K-2 and 3-5.ESL Cafe
<http://www.eslcafe.com/ >
Emphasizing English as a Second Language, this site has copious language activities that would be useful for LD students too.Read Quest: Reading Strategies for Social Studies
<http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/readquest/strat/>
Strategies for structuring reading in social studies from the Univeristy of Virginia.Strategy Instruction for Increasing Reading Comprehension
<http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/teaching_techniques/ellis_readingcomp.html>
Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute: search for "reading comprehension" for several good articles and resources.Effective Practices for Developing Reading Comprehension
<http://ed-web3.educ.msu.edu/pearson/pdppaper/Duke/ndpdp.html>Reading Comprehension Strategy
< http://www.k12.nf.ca/fatima/readcomp.htm >
Geared to young readers, this teaches how to approach a book or story.
You're welcome to come chat with us!
Net Haven
<http://www.net-haven.net >
Net Haven is a small, friendly chat site where parents and teachers can supportively share challenges and ideas.Chat topics are not strictly enforced -- we've been known to wander!
Some of the educational resources available from the Resource Room Store
Tandem Reading
<http://www.resourceroom.net/Products/tandem.asp >
Help new and not-so-new readers make the connection between phonics and good literature. This guide to reading with a child is designed for parents or tutors to support phonics programs with guided practice and reinforcement -- but without losing the fun of reading! Strategies include "penciling" (a simplified version of Alice Ansara's technique) and practicing words and patterns before oral reading.Harry Potter Comprehension Compendium
< http://www.resourceroom.net/Products/HarryPotterComprehension.asp >
More than 170 pages of comprehension exercises, chapter by chapter, to accompany Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The workbook is sent directly to your computer as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. Introductory price: $12.95.Drill Bits and Drillable Syllables
<http://www.resourceroom.net/Products/drillbits.asp >
Word lists and flashcard sets based on the syllable patterns as taught in Orton-Gillingham programs. Lists are broken down into problem areas such as individual vowel sounds, blends and common "irregular" spelling patterns.Tools for the Times Tables
by Dr. Steve Chinn (accompanying workbook by Susan Jones)
< http://www.resourceroom.net/Products/toolstimes.asp >
Who needs a whole book and a workbook about the times tables? Well, who needs to understand numbers?
Written especially for hands-on learners, this book and workbook are full of strategies and ideas so that students can really master the times tables and come away with a true understanding of numbers and how they work.
If you know someone of any age who finds calculations frustrating, take a look at these books.Books for New Readers
< http://www.resourceroom.net/Products/literacy.asp > >
These easy, excellent and inexpensive books were written for older readers. Romance, adventure and non-fiction are all featured.july0902 N6