What an amazing group of resourceful people. It is so true that you learn from others while doing.
It was great to see the number of apps and how they are used. Understanding the specifics of each app really helped me break down the reading process and understand the gaps that reluctant readers experience. The following are apps that we reviewed in class;
Meet Millie Learning with Homer The Cat and the Hat Comixology Timbucktu Magazine ABC photo touch app - grasshopper app Little Writer Rhyming Words Little Speller Duck Duck Moose Superhero Comic Book Maker Educreations Interactive whiteboard vbooks PDF Madlibs Super WHY? Aesop's Quest Reading Timer Pictello Bitsboard
Timbucktu Magazine and Dr. Seuss were my favorite apps. We went from the reading task analysis to the writing task analysis. We were asked to pick up a pen and write a paragraph with our non dominate hand. Here is my example;
Writing with my left hand was very difficult. It was very awkward to hold the pen and to feel natural while writing. As you can see from my writing sample I forgot capitals and even spelling. I found myself searching for simple words and sentences to write. I was so focused on getting something on paper that I did not think of the final product. I focused on getting the task done the easiest way possible.
Then we were asked to write a paragraph but using notes on our iPad. This process is very similar but less fine motor skills as their
is no pencil to grip but we still must be seated properly, find the
keys, and press the right letters. We still have the entry level
skills including the knowledge base, vocabulary, and formulate the ideas
before writing, however the fine motor control
element has changed. CoWriter's word prediction helps struggling writers with correct spelling and grammar. CoWriter has topic dictionary for hundreds of topics. It also has the option of creating your own topic dictionary from the web. CoWriter is an excellent tool for students with low level literacy skills. Other tools that struggling writers can use are Dragon dictation and the speech to text option on the ipad. There are may features on the iPad that can help struggling writers.
Starfall ABC App is an interactive program that
works on letter recognition and phonetic skills through videos and animations.
Starfall Learn to read App has 13 different books to choose from with
spelling games that they can use for practice.
Starfall is an excellent resource for reluctant readers. It provides children the opportunity to
practice their phonics and phonemic awareness.
Starfall's website is an excellent resource for students to practice their reading with phonics.
Kidspiration is a resource that students can use to strengthen word
recognition and vocabulary. Kidspiration works with beginning sounds, listening
comprehension and early reading comprehension.
A quote from an educator using Kidspiration.
"I
incorporate visual learning strategies with my students who have ADHD,
dyslexia, and autism spectrum disorders. Grouping and organizing using mind
maps comes more naturally and creates a multi-sensory approach to learning.
Students using Inspiration find writing and learning easier, it is the most
effective and direct way for them to get the work accomplished."
RazKids App is an interactive resource that
allows for differentiated reading instruction. Students can hear
examples of fluent readers; students can
practice reading skills and check for comprehension through an
interactive quiz. All
students especially English language learners, benefit from RazKids.
Reading Aphasia is an App that helps students who struggle with reading
comprehension. The App has activities
that work on reading comprehension skills for word, phrase and sentence
understanding.
Montessori CrosswordApp helps students
struggling with phonic combinations when reading. The App uses picture cues and audio to help
with word recognition.
Word Retrieval helps students with word-finding difficulties. The app improves the students’ abilities to
recall already known words. The program
uses sentence completion, opposite meaning and convergent and divergent naming
in flashcard and word challenge games. (9.99)
The Land of Me - Story Time is an interactive story telling app. The students create their own story by choosing one of three heroes, story lines, and endings (happy, sad, or funny). The stories are short an simple. These interactive stories peak the interest of the reading.
Brush of Truth is and interactive book App for
students between 8-12 years of age. Students are in control of the ending of the book.There are 65 decision points and 20 different
endings.The App is interactive and
students have more owner ship to what they are reading.
Write to Read App encourages students to read by creating books. Write to Read makes the connection between letters and sounds. The student experiments with writing what he or she hears and the App makes the corrections. Students get to compare what they wrote which is "building the basics to their reading".
Read To Kids App is a tool that works on fluency of reading.Students are the narrator and record the entire story. This App is great for all students and if the correct level is selected all students can experience success.
Phonics Genius is an app that works on phonics and word patterns. As a teacher you can customize word list for students. The students can also record their own voice so when they are working with the flash cards they can hear their own voice.
Toontastic is a free app where students get to create their own cartoon and write a story and publish their cartoon. Toontastic is a great tool for students in Junior High that are reluctant to read.
The See.Touch.Learn. app.is a great app for students that need help with the basic colors, slight words, and it is a great app to practice phonemic awareness skills. The app allows you to record questions for your students. You can ask them to point to the object that rhymes with tall. Reading Raven target Phonics and Decoding for students that are ages 3 to 5 or for older Students that struggle with these target areas. The app allows students to record simple sentences which aids in the fluency of reading.
Dr Seuss's ABC readable book app has 3 options Read to Me, Read by Myself, or Auto Play. The Dr Seuss books are excellent for word recognitions and students love to read these books.
Shmoop
is an app that is like Cole’s Notes. It has different books that are
used in Junior and Senior high classrooms. It
provides story overviews and chapter summaries as well as study
questions and quizzes.
Zinio: This is a magazine reader app with most number of magazines available for reading. You can do text to speech with the zinio app as well.
Reading For Kids: 100 Ways to Encourage Your Child to Read
This is an app with creative ways to help encourage
kids to read. This app offers one hundred ways for parents/teachers to help
encourage their children to become life-long readers. Ideas range from
spurring on new readers by making a special trip to get their first
library card, to inspiring teens by encouraging them to comment on news
websites and blogs.
Infuse Learning is a student response system that has an audio feature.
Breaking down the language barrier in the classroom with differentiated learning. It is an excellent tool for junior high and senior high classes. I use it in my Physical Education where, in a lot of cases, students do not have a teacher assistant. Infuse Learning is a tool that I use with all my students, however students that have difficulty reading can use the audio button to read the questions and answer choices.
Task Analysis of Reading The reading process is very complex. Everything that has to happen before a student is ready to read is unbelievable. I know when teaching a student in the physical education setting we are able to point out students that have difficulty in the classroom but there is always the mystery of WHY? How and why students become reluctant readers is very intriguing. Reading "How the Special Needs Brain Learns"(Sousa, 2006) has answered a lot of questions about my struggles with reading. The statement " Reading is probably the most difficult task for the young brain to do" says it all. Then incorporate the social, cultural and physical causes of reading problems and you have 50 percent of our students who have reading difficulties. Teachers need to understand how the brain learns to read. The Phonological and phonemic awareness in beginning readers is very important.
Then we were asked to write a paragraph but using notes on our iPad. This process is very similar but less fine motor skills as their
is no pencil to grip but we still must be seated properly, find the
keys, and press the right letters. We still have the entry level
skills including the knowledge base, vocabulary, and formulate the ideas
before writing, however the fine motor control
element has changed.
