SCHOOL LEADERS’ GUIDE: 45 WAYS TO SUPPORT STRUGGLING READERS

SPONSORED BY: School Leaders’ Guide Introduction

Why a School-Wide Approach Benefits Everyone

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he statistics are staggering. wide programs that embrace Your struggling readers will gain More than 10 million different learning styles and confidence and independence as American students struggle prioritize continuity from one their progress soars. Tto read, but only 2.3 million grade to the next, year after This guide was created receive special help. Forty-one year. Implementing effective especially for school leaders with percent of students with learning intervention tools and techniques practical, actionable ideas and tips disabilities like won’t is essential and will give all you can use to create a culture of graduate from high school. As students an equal opportunity to reading in your school or district. school leaders, we need to bridge learn. Try out a few ideas to start, and that gap by creating a culture of When you put an emphasis on add more as your students find reading when reading is a barrier. reading and uncover strategies success and develop a true love Filling these achievement gaps that work, big things happen. of reading. Save this guide to shouldn’t be a new challenge every Students will achieve better reference throughout this school year. We need to empower and outcomes not only in their English year and beyond. support educators with school- class, but across all subjects.

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Numbers to Know Dyslexia Defined

Dyslexia is the term associated with specific learning disabilities (LD) in reading. Although indicators of LD in reading vary from 10 million American person to person, common characteristics include: students struggle to read but only 2.3 million students are identified • difficulty with phonemic awareness (the ability to notice, and receive special help. think about and work with individual sounds in words)

• phonological processing (detecting and discriminating differences in phonemes or speech sounds) of students • difficulties with word decoding, fluency, rate of reading, 80% with learning disabilities are dyslexic, rhyming, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension and written and half of these students perform expression three or more grade levels below peers on key skills.

41% of students with learning disabilities like dyslexia will not graduate from high school.

2/ of those diagnosed with dyslexia3 are boys even though equal numbers of boys and girls share the most common characteristic of learning disabilities— difficulty with reading. PHOTO CREDIT: ISTOCK.COM/IGOR MOJZES ISTOCK.COM/IGOR CREDIT: PHOTO

3 | WeAreTeachers.com LearningAlly.org/Educators School Leaders’ Guide Set Your School Up for Success Inside this guide, you’ll find 45 ideas to try with your teachers, students, parents and the community. Start with one or two and build on your success. When you find the right mix of strategies for your school or district, struggling readers (all readers!) will gain the skills and confidence to achieve personal success. And that’s what it’s all about. PHOTO CREDIT: ISTOCK.COM/VIMVERTIGO CREDIT: PHOTO

Create a Consistent formats, like regular books spaces throughout your school 1. Reading Program and audiobooks, that allow will invite students to relax and “The most successful elementary students to access the same read or listen to an audiobook. schools ensure that all students titles in different ways. You’ll Sometimes all it takes are have a reading-enriched curriculum, want to invest in training your some brightly colored beginning in the first grade, where library staff in the latest carpet squares or pillows there is a strong emphasis on media and techniques in in a corner surrounded by phonetics,” explains Dr. Karen accommodating all different books. Here are more ways Carlson, executive director of the kinds of learners. If keeping to make reader-friendly Academic Accountability Council these resources current at environments. Also check who is also a former Chicago Public your school is taxing your out these 11 Classroom Schools principal. And consistency budget, consider applying for the Reading Nooks We Love. is key—especially when you have many grants available to school a large population of struggling libraries and their staffs. Grants are Provide Time for readers. Some urban schools in available from the U.S. Department 4. Uninterrupted Reading Chicago with students who face of Education, especially for schools Instruction the challenges of poverty and that serve families with incomes Making changes to the school-day English as a second below the poverty line. schedule can be a tough transition have implemented 13 common for students and staff, but small strategies that have shown Make Sure Your School shifts in time blocks can help create dramatic improvements in reading. 3. Is a “Comfortable” adequate and uninterrupted time The first strategy is “Create a Place to Read for reading instruction. Too often, consistent reading program,” which Struggling readers schools allocate explains the importance of making are inherently less enough total time, sure your reading program flows comfortable with the but allow it to be seamlessly from classroom to act of reading than broken up, which classroom and grade to grade on a their more fluent Creating comfortable, is not effective. daily basis. peers. What better Encourage teachers dedicated“ reading way to ease some of to schedule their spaces throughout Put Your Money Where the discomfort than day so their daily 2. Your Books Are with some plush your school will invite reading instruction Making sure students have lots reading chairs, easy students to relax and can happen in the of choices to find books that fit lighting and inviting read or listen to an same block of time their interests is important—and backgrounds? audiobook. rather than split up a huge motivator—so keep your Creating throughout the day. library up to date and filled with comfortable, quality reading material in many dedicated reading ” 4 | WeAreTeachers.com LearningAlly.org/Educators School Leaders’ Guide

It Only Takes . 20 Minutes 5Research has shown that reading 20 minutes each day can raise students’ performance on assessments to the 90th percentile. Try blocking off a period after recess or lunch to devote to reading. Squeeze in a few extra minutes by having students in every classroom read while they are waiting to be dismissed at the end of the day and anytime they’ve finished their class work ahead of their peers. In short, more time reading = more words read = better reading performance.

Schedule “Power Up Know When to 6. Time” 7. Step In One way to make sure students All indicators point to the fact that with learning disabilities aren’t identifying struggling readers early singled out for extra time or is key. Set up a system that applauds pulled out of regular classes to teachers for proactive interventions receive needed extra support is rather than taking a wait-and-see to build in an elective block where approach. That means giving extra each student goes to some sort instructional time to the students of enrichment class. Your best who are at risk of falling behind—and math students may choose to try more time for their teachers too. a robotics session. Someone in the band may slot in a practice It’s Not the Stuff, It’s session with the music teacher. 8. the Service And dyslexic students can If your school has a long list of head off for a multi-sensory resources, programs and tools language intervention. to help struggling readers, make One elementary school sure your teachers get the training has labeled this flexible they need to use them. All of the block of the day “Power resources in the world won’t help Up Time” because it students if they aren’t being used gives each student time correctly—or used at all. When to focus on a particular teachers get the right professional area of need or interest to development, they’ll be confident power up their learning. and excited to effectively help struggling readers use the resources and devices you have put in place for them.

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5 | WeAreTeachers.com LearningAlly.org/Educators School Leaders’ Guide Be a Reading Cheerleader Any reading achievement—big or small—at your school deserves to be celebrated. It’s time for the bells, whistles and confetti, whether you pull off a school-wide reading event or Ask the Right Questions simply share a reading milestone with 9. Sometimes all it takes to set up your a reluctant learner. Make a big deal out school for reading success is to ask yourself a of every effort to raise the reading bar few questions to get you thinking about where for your students and make sure you you are excelling and where you may need are the number one fan of fresh ideas to put in some extra effort. Here are some to get kids reading more. questions to help grease your wheels:

➜ Does your school/district have a culture that supports struggling readers?

➜ Do your generalists know how to identify students early?

➜ Does your school/district have a trained team of educators to identify students?

➜ Have you researched assessment tools? PHOTO CREDIT: ISTOCK.COM/BRAUNS CREDIT: PHOTO Don’t Reinvent the Wheel 10. Make sure your teachers know about Open Educational Resources Promote a “Principal’s Pick” (oercommons.org), which are freely 11. Follow the lead of Houston accessible, openly licensed documents Elementary’s principal and start a book-of-the- and media that are useful for teaching, month program for your school. Every few learning and assessing. Does one of your weeks, each classroom at the school receives students need supplemental information the same book to read together. Principal’s on the solar system or the Civil War to Picks are carefully selected to help build help her comprehend the classroom community, a positive culture and positive lessons? OER may have just the thing. character traits. Houston Elementary aptly Do you know teachers who have created started its school year with Oh, the Places You’ll an exceptional lesson that helped a book-of-the Go by Dr. Seuss. Just think of all the places your struggling reader make the grade? book-of-the-month program can take your Encourage them to share it on OER. MONTH school community.

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Participate in a “Read More Pages” Contest 12. Invite everyone in your school or district to log the number of pages they read during a specific time frame. Then celebrate individual achievements or a specific group’s success reaching a goal. A group of struggling readers at Louise A. Spencer Elementary School in Newark, New Jersey received a lot of publicity from the local newspapers and radio stations for their reading accomplishments in the Great Reading Games, an annual reading incentive program for schools with memberships to Learning Ally, a non-profit that provides audiobooks to students. Students who participate in the Great Reading Games can win prizes like Chromebooks, gift cards, Learning Ally’s headphones and student prize packs.

Take a Stroll Through Your School National 13. Take note of places in your school where books and reading are celebrated and where you could boost the reading references to promote a school- Reading wide love of books and learning. Are there pictures of books and people reading on bulletin boards? Are you posting notices for the library events? Are there quotes about books and reading on your digital display? Does the principal’s office have Contest reading material for anyone waiting to speak with him or her? Check out this site for more great ideas and opportunities to promote a reading culture.

Our principal gives students a reading incentive.“ If the student body reads a certain number of books, he’ll dye his hair blue. ” Motivate your struggling readers to increase their reading activity. Join Learning Ally PHOTO CREDIT: ISTOCK.COM/SOLSTOCK to get in the games!

Pledge to Do Something Totally Shocking LearningAlly.org/ 14. Sometimes it’s OK for school leaders to let loose—when learning is GreatReadingGames involved. Teacher Adriana Gonzalez says, “Our principal gives students a reading incentive. If the student body reads a certain number of books, he’ll dye his hair blue.” Talk about a motivator for students and faculty!

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15. Get Social! Invite all readers in your school and community to post photos on Instagram of their favorite reading spot and give prizes for the best posts. The U.S. Department of Education did this with their #ReadWhereYouAre campaign over the summer. Learning Ally sponsored a similar Instagram challenge called Summer Reading Together where readers posted photos of themselves reading in fun and wacky places—like in the pool or taking a walk. Start your challenge off with a post of you in your favorite book nook. Inspire and Engage Teachers As a school leader, one of your most important roles is to promote a culture of learning at your school. Not only are the students there to learn and grow, but so are the faculty, staff and administrators. When everyone at school approaches challenges with a growth mindset, real progress happens. Here are a few ways to draw in your professional team and involve them in the movement toward positive change. Feel free to toss in an offer of free coffee, chocolates and books too! PHOTO CREDIT: ISTOCK.COM/GRADYREESE CREDIT: PHOTO

Brush Up on Your Reading There are several books that can help you and your teachers 16. do a better job of not only accommodating students with reading difficulty but inspiring all learners to get the most out of reading. Here are a few to add to your reading list:

How to Adapt Text for Struggling About It by Kelly Gallagher is a look The Book Whisperer: Awakening Readers helps teachers address at the things teachers do in the the Inner Reader in Every Child by the special needs of students who classroom that take the fun out of Donalyn Miller outlines her simple struggle with reading textbooks reading and offers specific tools and techniques: affirm the reader in and other written materials. The strategies for reviving the joy. every student, allow students to guide by Pro-Ed offers specific choose their own books, carve out steps in how to modify materials, The Read-Aloud Handbook: 7th extra reading time, model authentic assignments and tests for individual Edition by Jim Trelease is a great reading behaviors, discard timeworn student achievement. book to share with new teachers. reading assignments such as Along with providing useful advice book reports and comprehension Readicide: How Schools Are Killing and inspiration to encourage reading worksheets, and develop a Reading and What You Can Do aloud to students, it also includes an classroom library filled with high- annotated list of great read-alouds. interest books.

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Protocol for Accommodations Connect With Your Let Kids “Catch” in Reading is a free resource 18. Librarian 20. You Reading from donjohnston.com that helps Creating positive reading experiences It’s important for students to see teachers evaluate their students' for students often boils down to the adults in their lives reading. reading level and how to assess making sure you can match them with The positive role model of adult which supports may be most that one book that will ignite a love readers helps to create a school- effective. It is an excellent resource of reading. Your library system may wide reading culture that inspires to share with teachers so they can have records of what each of your students to read on their own. At determine if a struggling reader students has borrowed, which can Loxford School in Essex, England, would benefit from text-to-speech illuminate trends and interests over every adult is invited to take part in support, human-read text, or other time. You and your school librarian their “Caught Reading” campaign. strategies and supports. can generate and post a “top ten” list Everyone, including the principal, by grade to promote your students’ office staff, teachers, faculty, Teach the Teachers interest in books. students and visitors, has posters 17. Not all teachers are made as they are “caught reading.” trained to identify learning or Give Rave Reviews They find it’s a great way to engage reading challenges in students, yet 19. Invite teachers and their staff and students and get kids those issues may be impacting a students to write short reviews of excited about their teachers’ reading student’s success in classrooms books they love reading. Reviews can experience. other than those in the language include student quotes/comments, arts hallway. Set aside time for star ratings or ways to extend the We Are All in This a mini-workshop or lunchtime book topic beyond the pages. If 21. Together learning session about what to possible, list all the formats the class Remind your faculty that all teachers look for and accommodations to used to access the text: printed book, are teachers of reading, not just provide. Don’t forget to include e-book, audiobook, movie based elementary classroom teachers and more than just your English on the book, etc. Have the librarian English teachers. Reading can be language arts teachers, since post the reviews in a prominent spot incorporated in all subjects—even students with learning disabilities to give visitors ideas for their free- phys ed! This lesson combines need support in all of their classes. choice reading time. the ever-popular parachute gym activity with a poetry reading.

Join a Conversation About Struggling Readers #Hashtag 22. One of the best ways to connect with experts and other #Hangouts professionals who have a special interest in supporting struggling Here are a few online communities readers is to start or join in a conversation—either in person or on Twitter that are especially on social media. You can join a professional learning community helpful to educators and (PLC) that regularly reads and discusses the latest books. administrators supporting For educators looking for an ongoing way to connect with peers, struggling readers. many are turning to Facebook and Twitter to stay current with the latest tips and tools of the trade. Join private Facebook groups #LDCHAT like Learning Ally's Teacher2Teacher, which provides support to #EdWeb educators working with struggling readers. On Twitter, you can #EdWebChat search for #Dyslexia and #ReadingSupport, among other hashtags. #Read4All There's even a live chat every Wednesday for LD professionals at #StrugglingReader #LDCHAT. You can follow #SchoolLeaders and #EdWeb to join other school administrators in a variety of online discussions. Once you #Dyslexia get the hang of it, you can start your own hashtag to engage the #ReadingSupport whole school in conversations around reading. #SchoolLeaders #ATchat

9 | WeAreTeachers.com LearningAlly.org/Educators School Leaders’ Guide Spark Your Students’ Love of Reading Students who struggle to read can grow more and more frustrated and discouraged when they spend too much time without the proper support. Finding innovative ways to motivate readers who are on the verge of giving up, and offering effective accommodations and assistive technology can turn reluctant readers into eager and more confident ones. Here are some ideas that are easy to implement and won’t test your tight school budget. PHOTO CREDIT: ISTOCK.COM/YUELAN CREDIT: PHOTO

Use Easy-to-Read boys become lifelong readers. Go on a Blind Date 23. Novels The good news? Boys will read 26. With a Book Encourage your teachers to suggest if they find books that interest Here’s a low-tech and age- easy-to-read novels for struggling them. The site also features book appropriate way for middle readers. Books with short chapters, recommendations by other popular schoolers to go on a blind date larger font and increased spacing authors like Jack Gantos, Jeff Kinney with a book. Teacher Annie Silver between words are good choices. and Walter Dean Myers. says, “My sixth graders did a ‘blind The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series date with a book.’ They wrote a meets these criteria and is also a Look Out for Your short review for the book including student favorite. 25. Underserved Girls difficulty, suggested age, genre, Although two-thirds of students and a couple of clues. Then they Encourage Your identified with LD are male, wrapped it up in brown paper 24. Boys to Read research studies show that equal and stuck the clue sheet on the If your teachers are struggling to numbers of boys and girls share front. The rest of the school loved get the boys in their the most common characteristic opening a mystery book and trying classes to pick of LD—difficulty with reading. something different!” up a book, Consequently, many girls with refer them to learning difficulties may go One Million Minutes, Guys Read, unidentified and unserved by special 27. and Counting a website set education. Dyslexia is often referred Educator Meghan Loitz’s school did up by author to as hiding in plain sight— a One Million Minutes Challenge. John Scieszka especially in girls who are less likely “Our school library gave out with the to act out or draw attention to their bookmarks (just strips of colorful goal of helping struggles. Encourage your teachers paper) for readers to record their to be on the lookout. minutes of reading. Kids hand them in, and we add the bookmarks as ‘legs’ to our big Marvin the Millipede on the walls that went Boys will read if they find books that interest all through our hallways by the end of the challenge. Community, them. Guys Read is a website set up by author parents, students, and staff were all John Scieszka with the goal of helping boys encouraged to hand in bookmarks. become lifelong readers. Everyone loved seeing our millipede grow over the challenge, and we had PHOTO CREDIT: ISTOCK.COM/GRADYREESE a school-wide dance party when we reached our goal!”

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Get Your Reading Game On! Use Tools You Already Have 28. Reinforce the core principle of written 30. You don’t always need to buy something new language—that letters have sounds, sounds make words, to offer the assistance that struggling readers need. Take and words make meaning—with games and puzzles that stock of the technology you already have at your school. the whole school can play. Broadcast clues over your PA system or digital screen display if you have one. If not, Apple: Any Apple device, for just post the puzzle outside your door or some other high example, has the ability to speak traffic area in your school. Here’s an idea for a Phoneme what is on the screen or to speak of the Day: What word rhymes with “cake” but turns wet and highlight the words of any and glassy when you replace one letter? Answer: “lake.” selection you choose. To enable Have an answer collection box and draw a winner among the feature, just go to Settings> the correct responses to announce the next day before General> Accessibility> Speech offering a new challenge. and turn on the Speak Screen and Speak Selection options. You can even adjust the voice and rate at which the text is read aloud. Asking Level the Playing Field With Siri questions can help with online 29. Audiobooks research for students who find With the right kind of support, inspiration, teachers wading through search engine and technology, struggling readers can overcome results challenging. “Hey, Siri! What is dyslexia?” She’ll any challenge. Audiobooks let kids read with their even read the results for you aloud. ears. Technology like Learning Ally gives students more than 80,000 human-narrated books to choose Chrome: Chrome from such as textbooks, non-fiction or literature and users can install lets them download books directly to their tablets, extensions, such computers, smartphones, iPods and other devices. as Snap&Read This gives kids the flexibility to read in school, on the Universal, which go or anywhere they have a device. reads aloud any text on a website or in a .pdf. Students can click a button to level the text by changing words to simpler choices. This allows readers to pull meaning from the text at a more accessible level, facilitating independent reading, building comprehension, helping with vocabulary and giving students the confidence to attack reading matter that they might not have been able to before.

Technology Options Certified Assistive Technology Professional Mike Marotta offers a long list of assistive technology supports for Chrome on his website and says, “In the past, students who needed specialized supports needed to use a specific computer that would have the software installed…Now with Chrome, since all the customized supports are connected to your user profile, any supports I need are automatically attached to any computer I sit down to use. This is a seismic shift for struggling students. Now they don’t have to feel different because they are using the exact devices as their friends and classmates.”

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More Tools, Extensions and Resources Let Students Make Their Own Choices 31. Remind your teachers that the tools are not 34. Some children don’t have a diagnosed a magic “fix,” but finding the right tool or resource for a , yet they still struggle with reading specific student’s needs can make a big difference. Here assignments and lack the motivation to read. Reading are a few tools to check out: Rockets suggests offering these students specific instruction in choosing books that are both engaging and https://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com has a broad appropriate. Giving students a specific reason to read (for range of LD tools. example, to get information on a particular topic or to research how to do a task from a “how-to” book), and letting Readability minimizes distractions by stripping out all of students choose their own reading material is extremely the visual clutter on webpages. important. Peer group book discussions and hands-on or experiential learning activities that incorporate reading can Callscotland.org.uk has a downloadable chart to help also help motivate reluctant readers. find the best apps for specific learning disabilities.

Enlist Student Buddies 32. Creating a peer buddy program for struggling readers is one of the best ways to build self-advocacy and reading confidence. Cindy Kanuch from Calhan Partner School District in Colorado pairs younger students with with dyslexia with older, more experienced students who have persevered through their own struggles with reading Parents LTD ISTOCK.COM/AWPIXEL CREDIT: PHOTO and can share their words of wisdom and hope. High When struggling readers go home school tenth-grader Lily says, “I think it is so important to have someone to look up to and show you that you’re for the day, guess what? They going to get out of the hard struggles.” Ninth-grader Sam are still struggling readers. And Donlin adds, “You just have to get through the words, get oftentimes, their parents are also through the challenges, and those challenges will make struggling—feeling unsure of how you stronger.” to help. According to “The State of Learning Disabilities” report, one in Score with Sports Superheroes three parents (35 percent) are deeply 33. College and professional athletes who can struggling with their attitude toward relate to students’ struggles and ability to cope with their child’s with reading can be a major learning and attention issues. Inviting motivator. When athletes parents to join the reading effort is a share their personal stories and cheer students on, it can win-win by keeping reading frustration give them the extra boost they need to succeed. “I know at bay and extending or even how it feels to struggle with reading,” says NFL rookie wide receiver for the New England Patriots, Malcolm accelerating the progress students are Mitchell. “When I was a kid, it was all academic reading making in the classroom. in school. Reading wasn’t fun.” Mitchell is on a mission to help other struggling readers find joy in reading. He founded Read with Malcolm, a youth literacy initiative supported by the Malcolm Mitchell Share the Magic Host a Listen Up! Event Foundation, a nonprofit organization. He even wrote a 35. Your school may have tried movie nights or children's book, The Magician's Hat, that is accompanied book clubs, so why not try hosting an audiobook night by a free teacher's guide on his website. Mitchell then where families can come and listen to a classic together? teamed up with Learning Ally to volunteer his time to Set up in your school cafeteria—or under the stars if the record the book in his own voice, so it could be added to weather is nice—and invite families to bring their own Learning Ally’s list of audiobooks narrated by celebrities. blanket or chairs. Popcorn and Skittles optional!

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Have a Pajama read The Lemonade War, and several 36. Party of the district elementary schools Teacher Lori Saboe Sevon's school Audiobook chose the same book. This provided hosts a PJ Book Night. She explains, us opportunities to blog with “Teachers stay after school. We Fast Facts students from other schools about choose our favorite children’s book the book.” to read. The students and their Call out these facts to families come back in pajamas and encourage families to listen to Invite Guest bring pillows and blankets. The books at home: 40. Readers to School families sit in a classroom, and the During Read Across America Week, teachers rotate between the rooms Eye reading is one kind of Teacher Angela Glazar’s school reading; ear reading is another. reading to the families.” invites parents, community business Listening to human-read audio owners, school board members Read Under the Sun, texts (ear reading) can be a and other district administrators powerful way to improve a Moon and Stars to come into classes and read to 37. child’s reading comprehension. Teacher Adriana Gonzalez and her the students. Not only does it get school have an event called “Reading Audiobooks give students a the kids excited about reading, but Under the Stars.” She says, “We taste of how fluent readers the adults have a blast, too. If you experience text. invite families to come and set up can’t get live readers, try a virtual tents in the field on campus, bring The reader’s voice cues help guest reader. Here’s one you can get snacks and books to read. The book students identify important on-demand with Jeff Kinney, author moments in the text and teach fair is also open during that time of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. them to use context to decipher because we do it during literacy unfamiliar words. week.” If you’d rather host a daytime Parents Have Great event, try “Reading Under the Sun,” Children who qualify can have Ideas, Too! access to more than 80,000 41. which is the same concept but books from Learning Ally. Set up a forum (with snacks!) where earlier in the day. parents can share what works to Want to learn more about help their children read. This can Encourage audiobooks? Check out this be as simple as a parent coffee 38. Reading Aloud and infographic, Why Audiobooks chat or a time and place set aside Audiobook Use at Home Work! during open houses and curriculum Help your parents understand nights. Also consider setting up a that everyone reads in different simple one-question SurveyMonkey ways. Feature Read-Alouds and questionnaire where parents can Audiobooks in your next parent share ideas and suggestions about newsletter, and suggest family supporting reluctant or struggling read-aloud choices and audiobooks readers. You can compile and to encourage reading at home. KC share the results in your next Edventures shares this list of 50 administrator’s newsletter. Memorable Read-Alouds. Some parents may need you to reassure The majority of them that listening to audiobooks, educators (66 percent) for example, or reading a book consider that a lack of aloud to your child is not cheating. Organization purchases a copy of a support from parents Read a Book book for each family. We then read in helping their children 39. Together as a a chapter every night and have trivia learn is a major School or District questions daily—one question for challenge confronting Educator Christina Michelle says, K-2, one for 3-5, and one for staff. schools working with “My school does ‘One School, One We also have a kickoff assembly children with LD. Book’ where the Parent Teacher and a closing activity. Last year we

13 | WeAreTeachers.com LearningAlly.org/Educators School Leaders’ Guide Connect With the Community Think beyond your school walls by drawing on the resources of your community to help support and extend your school’s reading efforts. You know your community best, but here are a few ideas to get you started. Online Conference for Educators Enlist Tail-Wagging 42. Tutors and Parents Inviting four-legged friends to special reading sessions with students might just make you the most popular principal ever! Plus, struggling readers can practice reading aloud to their furry PHOTO CREDIT: ISTOCK.COM/GLOBALP CREDIT: PHOTO companions who will have nothing but adoration for the attention. Therapy Dogs International is just one well-established organization to check out.

Set Up Reading Lunch Dates 43. Guest readers from the community are a great way to set up 1:1 Learn from leading reading support. Consider inviting local business people to come in during their experts on key insights lunch break. Kids think it’s cool to get to spend their lunch period with an adult, and it makes volunteers feel great to be doing community service. and practical strategies to support students with Sponsor a Career Day learning disabilities. 44. Community professionals are a fantastic resource for inspiring students. Ask local police or a fire chief to talk about protecting the community. Register today and use Find an artist or musician to give students a closer look at their craft. Students this event as PD! practice their listening skills, which aids in reading comprehension. LearningAlly.org/ Give Library Lessons Dyslexia-Conference 45. Not all libraries are set up the same way as your school stacks, so field trips to your nearby public library is a great way to help students become familiar with different bookshelf organizational models. They’ll also gain practice finding what they’re looking for among thousands of volumes.

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Resources for Educators of Struggling Readers PHOTO CREDIT: ISTOCK.COM/CHRISTOPHER FUTCHER ISTOCK.COM/CHRISTOPHER CREDIT: PHOTO

On-Demand Webinar Article Infographic Assistive Technology for 7 Ways to Get Your Struggling Why Audiobooks Work! Struggling Readers Readers to Read Not sure about using audiobooks From apps to software to cloud- These creative strategies for in your school? Check out this based cross-platform supports, this struggling readers include graphic infographic with audiobook myth free webinar explores tools that organizers, audiobooks and more. busters. can aid struggling readers.

Printable Checklist Grants Common Accommodations for Potential Indicators of Dyslexia School Library Grants Students With Dyslexia Check off the dyslexia warning Grants for school libraries are Give this accommodation list to the signs that apply to students to available from the U.S. Department teachers in your school as a quick determine if a reading screening of Education, especially for schools reference guide to determine the may be needed. that serve families with incomes interventions and support they can below the poverty line. provide to students with dyslexia. Technology Human-Narrated Audiobooks Apps Educator’s Guide Learning Ally has 80,000 Literacy Apps for Struggling 7 Common Signs of Dyslexia in audiobooks, including test prep, Readers the Classroom popular fiction, classic literature, This large list of apps is sorted Dyslexia is often described as textbooks and study aids. by price and indicates the target being “hidden in plain sight.” This Students can listen on computers, students for which each app is ideal downloadable guide helps educators tablets or smartphones. (e.g., pre-readers, beginning readers identify the most common signs of Call 1-800-221-1098 or visit and catch-up readers). dyslexia and offers tools and tips for LearningAlly.org/Educators to helping these students. learn how to bring this technology into your classrooms.

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CASE STUDY CHANGING AUDIOBOOKS OPEN A WORLD OF KNOWLEDGE FOR STUDENTS THE LIVES OF WITH DYSLEXIA STRUGGLING ontinually reinventing the urban school experience, Austin ISD READERS is a champion for every child. As a leader in providing specialized C instruction to students with special needs, they have recognized the need to help those who struggle with reading and have been identified with a print-based reading disability. The most common form of this type of is dyslexia.

The Road to Student Success To help students with dyslexia succeed in school and capitalize on their strengths, Austin ISD uses audiobook technology I like that Learning from Learning Ally, a nonprofit Ally shows“ me the words, so my brain organization that supports students who does not get mixed read and learn differently due to dyslexia, up.” blindness, visual impairment and other disabilities. The Learning Ally program is — Josie, Student, Kiker Elementary School offered at no cost through a partnership with the Texas Education Agency.

All About Audiobooks Learning Ally has a collection of 80,000+ human-narrated audio textbooks and My son quickly literature titles, all of which can be “Learning Ally opens up a new world of literature and went from“ having downloaded by students and teachers, daily meltdowns knowledge to kids, who due to their disability, would and read using computers, smartphones about reading and otherwise be left in the dark.” and tablets. Many of the most popular homework to racing —Leandra Trevino, 504/Dyslexia Compliance Specialist audiobook titles feature VOICEtext, home after school to allowing students to follow along with ‘ear read’ yet another the audio as they read synchronized book! Not only did it boost his confidence SCHOOL DISTRICT PROFILE highlighted text on their devices. In in reading (and in addition, Learning Ally’s technology Austin Independent School District school overall), he was allows students to read outside of the Location: Austin, Texas able to read what his classroom on a computer or any iOS or peers were reading, Total Schools: 130 Android device. and most importantly, Total Student Population: 84,000 he started loving Hispanic Student Population: 50,000 Igniting a Reading Movement school again.” Now students who struggled to read can’t Economically Disadvantaged Student Population: 48,000 — Heather Hardeman, get enough of their favorite books and Parent, Doss Elementary are keeping up with assigned class texts School and Co-Founder, Austin ISD Learning Ally Program Growth at the same time. While becoming avid Dyslexia Parent Network 2013 272 Students Enrolled readers in class for the first time in their 2015 2,700 Students Enrolled lives, students are excited and motivated to read, both at school and at home with their computers and devices.

16 | WeAreTeachers.com LearningAlly.org/Educators