5 Things to Give Up So Your Struggling Readers Won’t

Presented by BeLinda Martin, Fifth Grade Reading/ELA Teacher
Sponsored by Learning Ally

Watch the Recording

If you view the recording and would like a CE certificate, join the Empowering Struggling Readers community and go to the edWebinar Archives folder to take the CE quiz. 

With each new school year comes a new class of students. Students that you may not know personally and have only heard about from colleagues. You might spend the summer anxious about how you are going to address the vast levels of reading proficiency of your incoming students. This was the case for BeLinda Martin. Of the incoming class of fifth graders, only about half were reaching or exceeding levels of reading proficiency. BeLinda had to think differently than she had in her over 20 years of experience to address this gap in reading abilities. The first step in this journey was to give up.

In this edWebinar,  hear about BeLinda’s journey of giving up these practices and gaining so much more in return:

• Thinking that direct instruction was the way to reach and engage students
• Designing the environment first without thinking about the needs of the students
• Believing that students were stuck in their level of reading proficiency
• Believing the myths that audiobooks are cheating
• Teaching to the test and not with the needs of students in mind

Also hear how her classroom became a haven for struggling readers, a place where learning happened and teaching became organic through small groups and conversations. Plus, her students had the top scores in Region 14 in Texas for performance on the STARR reading test.

BeLinda’s story of classroom transformation is incredible, but what’s more incredible is how easy it is to replicate. After tuning in to this edWebinar, you will want to give up in your own classrooms and gain amazing growth for your own struggling readers. Elementary level general and SPED teachers, reading specialists, speech language pathologists, librarians, principals, SPED directors, directors of assistive technology, and directors of curriculum will benefit from watching this recorded session.

About the Presenter

BeLinda Martin is excited to be entering her 20th year in education. When she graduated from Hardin-Simmons University with a Bachelor of Science and early childhood endorsement she never imagined the adventure teaching would take her on. BeLinda has had the opportunity to teach a fifth grade self-contained class, fifth grade reading, language arts, and social studies, fifth/sixth grade reading, sixth grade science, and seventh grade reading. Throughout her years of teaching, she has discovered that believing in oneself is half the battle. Therefore she always tells her students that she will never give them anything they can’t accomplish, it just might not always be easy. BeLinda teaches them to believe in themselves and persevere. She understands that education is always changing and as educators you must be willing to change also. A classroom is a partnership with the students. If you provide a positive atmosphere where success can be achieved, your students will be successful.

If you view the recording and would like a CE certificate, join the Empowering Struggling Readers community and go to the edWebinar Archives folder to take the CE quiz. As a member of the community, you’ll be able to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view past edWebinars to earn CE certificates.

edWeb members can download a personalized CE certificate from their edWeb member page. Not a member?  Join here!

 Learning Ally is a leading ed-tech, nonprofit proven to transform the lives of struggling readers. We provide access to grade-level content to bridge the gap for students with learning differences who can cognitively comprehend the information but read below grade level. Our high-quality, human-read audiobooks coupled with a suite of teacher resources is a cost effective solution for your school.