Reading

Using Edtech for Small Group Reading Instruction

Using Edtech for Small Group Reading Instruction

“While we (teachers) are not always comfortable with technology, we need to think about students first and work through our challenges to make things better for them,” said Sharon Plante, Director of Technology for the Southport School, Southport, CT, during a recent edWebinar. She emphasizes that meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities through the use of technology “can make reading instruction a multi-sensory process that is engaging and explicit while maintaining the individualization and diagnostic-prescriptive aspects of the lesson.”

Reading and the Brain

The “Unnatural” Process of Reading Points to Why It Can Be So Difficult

According to hillforliteracy.org, about 66% of 4th grade readers cannot read proficiently, which often translates into a growing achievement gap for these children. Why is reading such a difficult task to learn and teach? While humans are born with a natural ability for spoken language, reading is much different. In fact, Dr. Vera Blau-McCandliss, Vice President of Education and Research at Square Panda, said that reading is a relatively new and unnatural phenomenon which she described in “Reading and the Brain.”