Good Sensory Learning Blog

Reading Comprehension Problems: 4 Causes and 12 Solutions

Posted by Erica Warren on

I'm sure most you have experienced the act of reading a book while your mind was wandering elsewhere. Consequently, you can probably appreciate how easy it is for youngsters to miss meaning while reading. Although teachers, reading specialists and even parents spend an enormous amount of time instructing young learners how to decode the written word, they often neglect to fully teach the metacognitive skills required to comprehend text. What are the Common Causes of Reading Comprehension Problems? There are a number of indicators that can be used to flag students who will likely require explicit instruction in reading comprehension....

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Pros and Cons of Every Student Succeeds Act for Dyslexia

Posted by Erica Warren on

On Friday, December 10th, 2015 Barack Obama Signed the Every Students Succeeds Act. This new law now rewrites the No Child Left Behind Act and offers a number of changes that could have both positive and negative ramifications for students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. As with any new law, the true pros and cons will be revealed over time, but here is a list of considerations. The Pros and Cons of ESSA The true test of this law lies in the specifics that will soon be defined by each state. Clearly, it will be important for advocates to...

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How to Prepare for a 504 Meeting

Posted by Erica Warren on

Getting the needed accommodations for struggling students can be a long and arduous process. Whether you pursue 504 or IEP accommodations, there are some things you can do to help assure that you will be pleased with the outcomes. In this blog post, I share a few tips and strategies. What Do I Know? Over the past 20 years, working as a learning specialist, educational therapist, and advocate, I have attended countless 504 and IEP meetings. Some meetings went amicably and resulted in the desired outcomes, while others became a toilsome battleground that left the participants egos scarred and scraped and the student pulled between opposing...

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Free Visualization Game: For Improved Reading, Writing, and Memory

Posted by Erica Warren on

I recently finished a publication, Mindful Visualization for Learning,  that reviews the history and research behind visualization and then provides teachers everything they need to assess and teach this complex skill. In celebration, I wanted to share one of my favorite games, Picture This and Draw. What is Visualization Visualization is an internal, cognitive tool that enables student to picture imagery in their mind's eye.  Like a dream, stories, past experiences and even future events are imagined on an inner sketch pad.   How Visualization Improves Academics Visualization is important because it aids in memory encoding and retrieval. In addition, it is a vital tools for...

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How to Make Color Overlays for Struggling Readers - FREE DIY

Posted by Erica Warren on

Many struggling readers have difficulties tracking text across and down the page. Their eyes get lost in a maze of words and keeping their place takes up most of their attention - leaving little stamina for decoding and comprehension. Did you know that there is a simple and fun fix for this problem?  You can make your own color overlays! What Are Color Overlays? Colored overlays are plastic sheets that allow students to change the background color of the text.  This can make the stark contrast of black text on white paper less intense, and many kids enjoy the colors. ...

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