Good Sensory Learning Blog

Did you know that audiobooks or books on tape can improve word recognition, the proper pronunciation of words and also develop visualization abilities?  Passive learners may not obtain these perks, but with guided instruction on active and mindful reading, these benefits can be easily attainable. How Can Students Reap The Benefits of Audiobooks? For young learners to get the most out of audiobooks, they must learn to be active participants in the reading process.  They can take one of two roles. 1) Students should follow along with the text as they listen to the book: If students read the text...

Getting prepared for the upcoming school year can be a complicated task that involves gathering school supplies, connecting with new teachers and administrators, establishing individual needs, creating house rules and routines, coordinating nutritious meals and snacks, and arranging any needed accommodations. To help with the process, I have created the following checklist: Stock Up on School Supplies Check the school website or call to inquire about of list of required supplies. Find out whether students will store supplies at school or bring them home each day. See if the school will allow you to get an extra copy of all...

What if you could teach struggling students the vowel combinations or vowel teams by having them complete fun coloring activities, searches, and mazes? In addition, what if embedded memory strategies could help to make the concepts stick? Vowel combinations or vowel teams are some of the most difficult reading concepts for young readers to master, and my publication, Vowel Combinations Made Easy is a great OG or phonics base addition to your bag of teaching tricks. Would you like to download a free sampling of activities? Click here to access this freebie. Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren Dr. Erica Warren is...

Teaching students about how to make inferences can be challenging. Unlike most of the concrete learning that they encounter, this is an abstract notion. However, most students love the idea of finding or uncovering a hidden message.  So, explaining that, like a detective, they can solve the secret code, students will find this both appealing and exciting. Here are four activities that you can do to help even the youngest of learners find joy in searching for inferences.  Look through magazine images and see if you can uncover any hidden messages. When traveling look at billboards and see if you...

Voice Dream Reader and now the new Voice Dream Writer are what I believe to be the best apps out there for dyslexics as well as struggling readers and writers.  I am so pleased to feature an interview with Winston Chen: the creator these Voice Dream apps.  We focused our discussion on his recent release, Voice Dream Writer.  My Interview with Winston Chen Erica: If you had to put it into a single sentence, what is at the heart of Voice Dream Writer? Winston: It helps everyone write better. Erica: Why did you create Voice Dream Writer? Winston: Over the 3-year period during which I...