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Students who struggle with reading or writing often miss opportunities to participate in the English curriculum. Here are some suggestions to help you explore technology as well as tried and true ideas in the classroom.

Beyond Basic Book Reports 
Encourage students to demonstrate their knowledge using alternative methods. Permit students to reconstruct a story timeline of with pictures or a dramatic reenactment. Accept a PowerPoint slide show or an audiocassette recording in place of a five-page paper. Let nonverbal students point to symbols on a communication board or device to present a book to the class. Ask peers to prompt the student with questions like Who was the story about? Where did the story take place? Who did you like the most in the story? Etc.

Books on Tape
Provide struggling readers with books on tape. Let students choose their own titles. Always give hints and prompt students to listen for key themes before they read their selection. Question students after they listen to a chapter to monitor comprehension. Many students need to listen to selections multiple times before grasping key content.

Click here to explore more reading adaptations.

Look AND Listen to Reading 
Start-to-Finish books from Don Johnston, Inc. present high school literature in elementary English. Each title includes a simplified paperback, audiocassette and CD-ROM. Students listen to the tape and follow the text in the book. The CD-ROM simultaneously highlights and reads text aloud. Titles include The Red Badge of Courage, Treasure Island, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and more. (Call 1-800-999-4660 for more information.)

Everyone is a critic! 
Help nonverbal students critique literature and review the work of other students. Ask peers to record phrases into a communication device such as A waste of time and money, Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down, It was funny, It was sad, It was wicked boring, It was hard to follow. Etc. Students can use this same communication board in other classes or at home to review movies.

Click here if you own Boardmaker to download sample communication boards.

Read Aloud Daily 
Include students who use a communication device in the daily read aloud. Record the first stanza of a poem or opening narration of a play into the device just before class starts. With a click of a single switch or the press of a button, students will introduce the title, author or chapter of a book.

Map it Out 
Inspiration helps writers compose clear and concise essays. This software enables students and teachers to create and modify concept maps, webs and other graphical organizers. Call Inspiration at 1-800-877-4292 for more information.

Groovy Grammar 
Many students write sentences with a word by word approach. This technique requires practice. Introduce grammar to single switch users with scanning setups composed of two columns, one with subjects and the other with predicate phrases. Let the students pick a word from each column to create simple sentences like Joey smells. Lucy stinks. Gary is funny. Pokemon is great. Etc. Follow the same format and create custom overlays for the IntelliKeys keyboard.

Click if you own a Discover:Switch to download sample set-ups. Click if you own an IntelliKeys to download sample overlays.

Talking Terms 
Create interactive talking dictionaries for students with multimedia software like IntelliPics from IntelliTools, Inc. Interactive activities enable students to see and hear text accompanied by a picture cue to reinforce learning.

Click if you own IntelliPics to download sample multimedia activities.

Communication Boards

English

Easy Critic