Welcome to March
and
National Reading Month!
Participating in literacy and reading activities is an important part of life. Through reading we learn academic content as well as having access to the joy of leisure reading. One strategy to improve reading skills is to increase reading enjoyable texts (Brozo & Flynt, 2008). To help educators and families have access to a variety of texts, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has compiled and posted on their website a list of Literacy Resources for Families and Communities. Links to literacy resources are grouped by grade level and most are free to use.
One great resource from the list to try is Unite for Literacy. This online library provides free digital access to a variety of fiction and non-fiction picture books. They can be read or will read the story to the viewer. Though designed for the younger reader they can become favorites for anyone of any age who is an emergent reader or who just likes to have books read to them. Unite for Literacy books can be narrated in 20 different languages. Basic mouse skills are needed to advance the page and turn on the narration.
Individuals who have difficulty controlling a mouse may need to control the computer another way. Assistive Technology can be the answer. Single switch access is a form of Assistive Technology that helps an individual with motor control challenges access and control a computer or other piece of technology. A switch and a switch interface are needed. The switch interface turns keyboard keystrokes into electrical signals that are controlled by pressing a switch or button. To control the Unite for Literacy website the switch interface would need to activate the right arrow (to turn the page) and number 1 key (to speak the words on the page). Two switches would be needed to do this. If the individual can only control one switch, then a programmable switch interface such as the Hitch 2, would be used. This video shows how. Turn on CC if you prefer to read the transcript while watching the video.
This is just one of the many great resources included in the VDOE Literacy Resources for Families and Communities. Try them all! Checkout the Assistive Technology Network posts on National Reading Month for more tips on accessing reading materials from the VDOE list.
References
Allington, Richard & Gabriel, Rachael. (2012). Every Child, Every Day. Educational Leadership. 69.
Brozo, W. G., & Flynt, E. S. (2008). Content literacy: motivating students to read in the content classroom: six evidence-based principles. The Reading Teach, 62(2), 172-174. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20203098
Guthrie, J. T., & Humenick, N. M. (2004) (pp. 329-354). Motivating students to read: Evidence for classroom practices that increase motivation and achievement. In P. McCardle & V. Chhabra (Eds.), The voice of evidence in reading research Baltimore: Paul Brookes Publishing Co.
