Keeping Them Reading

Getting students to read is one thing, but keeping them reading is another. When reading starts getting harder and more about facts and real people, some students can lose interest. Also as their classmates begin to become very good readers, struggling readers will compare themselves to those readers. This can be super discouraging. I hate to be repetitive, but a lot of the things I have talked about so far are also great tips for getting students to continue to enjoy and grow in their reading. Things like finding books they are interested in, lessening the material, and using a recording of the material. Another strategy could be to make guides for their reading. This could include questions for certain sections they have to answer whenever they come to them. This will help them to focus their reading and know what is important. Or you could give them a list of questions before they read that they will have to answer after for the same reasons. Allow time for pleasure reading. The more they read, no matter what it is, they better readers they will be.
Dyslexia make reading and school in general, a little difficult but not impossible by any means. It means so much to show these students that you believe in them and offer them ample amounts of encouragement. The fact that I still remember that comment my third grade teacher made towards me, show that teachers have a big impact on their students. These impacts can be positive or negative. From prior experience and what I have learned in this class, I know that reading is very important for learning as a whole. This why I think these tips and strategies are a wonderful thing to know and be aware of for your future students.

Books

I started to try and find specific books that could help students with dyslexia learn and enjoy reading. The more I thought about it and looked around I came to the conclusion that this probably wasn't something I was going to find. Every student is different and has different interests. I think the most important here, is to know your students. Find out what they are interested in and try to have those kinds of books in your classroom. This applies to all students really, but if a boy with dyslexia in your class loves super heros, find a book in his reading level about super heros. He is much more likely to enjoy reading if the books he is reading are about things he likes. Also, when picking books for your students with dyslexia it is important to know their reading level. Like I said in the last post, it is important not to have them read books above their level but also think they shouldn't only be reading books below either. It is totally fine if they want to read below their level every once in a while for fun but not all the time. This will lead to them getting further and further behind the rest of their classmates. It is a good idea, just like for every other student, to challenge them to help them grow in their education.

Strategies for learning to read

As someone with dyslexia, I know from experience that reading does not come easy when you have this disability. One thing to remember, is that a student that has dyslexia is not a lost cause. It will take more time and more effort but being a good reader is something totally achievable for someone with this specific disability. In this post, I will list a few strategies that have been proven to help people with dyslexia learn to read. 

• Read Alouds- It is important to see early on that reading can be fun. Also to know how reading a book should sound and the basics of books in general. When it comes to having the child read out loud, it think it would better just to not. This can be a very hard thing for struggling readers to do. 
• Use a tap recorder- When learning to read, I wouldn't use the tape recorder solely. Playing the recording while the student follows in the book is a great way for them to get more familiar with reading and hopefully not as frustrated from the beginning. This would also be great to help them find things like main characters, setting, plot, etc. If reading is a huge struggle for them, these things can be forgotten. 
• Repetition is key. 
• Simplify or lessen- The more overwhelmed there are, the more likely they are to become discouraged. When learning to read, I think it is totally appropriate to give someone with dyslexia a some what shorter or easier reading assignment. Not because they are not smart enough to do it, but because it will take longer for them to get it done. Another option could be to give them the same assignment but allow a little bit of extra time for them to complete it. 
• Find books in the reading level- For the most part, giving them a book higher than their reading level has bad consequences. YOu may have good intentions when doing this, but expecting them to read something they can't is very discouraging for the student.

These are just a few ideas for teaching students with dyslexia how to read. The most important thing to remember is to keep reading fun. Allow them to gain confidence in reading before everything else. I believe being a good reader comes from enjoying it and being confident in it. 

My Life with Dyslexia: Reading

When it came to reading, I was not a fan. This was definitely my weakest area in school. Because of my dyslexia, I had to reread a lot. This meant that I was a very slow reader, and the last one to finish if we were reading as a class. And if I had to read out loud, it felt like torture.  I started to feel dumb when reading and this led to me hating it. I rarely ever read growing up, and when I did I would fly through it and not understand. This made school a lot harder for me. It was until high school that I discovered reading could be enjoyable. I have grown to really like reading. I am still not the fastest reader, but I have come to the conclusion that that is not the most important thing. I wish I would have had someone working with me specifically to improve my reading skills. Or at least someone giving me strategies and tips to be a better reader. That is where my idea for this project came from. I want to know and find tips for my future students and students in other classrooms. I know that my schooling experience as a whole would have been a lot more enjoyable if I had been a better reader. I hope to help change this for future students.

My Life with Dyslexia

In third grade, I found out that I had dyslexia. This particular year was such a struggle for me. I spent a lot of time studying and doing homework, but this would never show in the tests. This made school and learning very frustrating and discouraging. I grew to hate it. I can even remember overhearing my teach tell my mom, that I "just wasn't trying." Ouch! After most of the year being like this, my mom knew she had to do something. So I was tested that summer and that is when we found out I had dyslexia. Of course as a third grader, I had no idea what that was but I knew it didn't sound good and was very embarrassed. From there I got a tutor, went to "summer school", and started finding different ways to help me learn. While going through all of this I hated it. A lot! I couldn't see how helpful these things would end up being for my education. I learned that index cards are a great way for me to study. I learned that being organized was very important. I learned that reading slow wasn't the worse thing in the world, it was more about comprehension. And I learned dyslexia was nothing to be ashamed of, it just meant I had to put in a little bit more effort than everybody else. I still catch myself seeing numbers wrong or having to reread an entire passage in order to comprehend it, but I able to deal with my dyslexia to where I don't even remember I have it sometimes. I hope to be able to use my experience to help my own students in the future. It has also helped me to be more compassionate to people when they may not understand something as quickly as "everybody else" does.