Support #3: Bookshare

For anyone that's counting down with me, we have 12 days left of school. Here's support #3!

I am a HUGE fan of Bookshare. In my experience, it is the best (and most age appropriate) way of providing access to text for students who have print based disabilities. I love using the Bookshare app called Read2Go. It's $20.00 and well worth the price but you can also download the program on a computer for free. The hardest part about Bookshare is signing up. Give yourself a week to sign up and familiarize yourself with the download process. Below are some great videos from Bookshare that show you how to become a member. Enjoy!

Here's a website tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0RUvNRZl8w

How to use Read2Go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcQOmPDjw9g

How to download Bookshare on your computer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFDt34DhVPo

From their website:
Bookshare® opens up the world of reading for people with print disabilities. If you cannot read traditional print books because of a visual impairment, physical disability or severe learning disability, Bookshare can help! Our books are “accessible,” which means you can read our books many different ways. Bookshare offers the world’s largest collection of accessible titles. As a result, students, seniors, veterans, schools and many organizations around the globe use Bookshare to access the books they need for school, work, and the simple love of reading.

How can you read Bookshare books?
  • Listen to books with high quality text-to-speech voices
  • Hear and see highlighted words on screen
  • Read with digital braille or enlarged fonts
  • Create physical braille or large print
  • Read directly from your Internet browser
  • And more!

Check out Jenn and Nina's amazing sixth grade class. Students are reading The Westing Game. Bookshare's Read2Go app makes it possible for all students to access the text.
Students that have the Read2Go app can change the color, voice, and font size among other things. This is a screenshot from a Chicago Bulls fan. He personalized his Bookshare Read2Go app to show off his Bulls pride. Go sports!

This student is using Read2Go to respond to read and respond to the text. Check out my Support #2 post to read more about sketch annotation.
 


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Accommodation and Modification Checklist

Image
Question:  As an Inclusion Facilitator, I am often asked about modifying and accommodating work to meet individual student needs. Whenever this happens, I immediately ask for samples of student work. Modifying and accommodating for students is so individualized in nature that the A/M section on the student's IEP isn't enough information to tell me what the student needs. The reality is that what works for one student in one class with one set of co-teachers (or one teacher) might not work for another student in the same grade in a different classroom. The IEP is the most individualized document in town and we need to remember the specific student every step of the way.  I look at the following: Student IEP goals Student IEP modifications and accommodations Student strengths General education teacher and learning specialist personalities and teaching style Lesson and unit plans Specific activities Student work Resource: Jenn Kurth's unit based approach to...
Read more

Co-Teaching Spotlight: Parallel Instruction

Image
I'm continuing with Julia's Rocking Co-Teaching Series . Click here to read more about team teaching. Okay, onto the next model! Model: Parallel Instruction Definition: "Teachers break the class into two heterogeneous groups and each instructs half of the class" ( Collaborative Teaching in Elementary Schools by Wendy W. Murawski ). What does it look like? Groups facing away from one another and teachers facing one another to limit distractions and noise Two teachers teach the same content in the same way OR  Two teachers teach the same content in a different way ( Collaborative Teaching in Elementary Schools by Wendy W. Murawski )  Notice how the two teachers are facing each other and the groups of students are facing away from one another. Both teachers are teaching the same content in the same way. Notice in this video the quick transition from full class to parallel instruction. The teachers are teaching the same content in a different ...
Read more

Support #5: Modified Rubrics

Image
Happy Monday! Here in the Chicago Public Schools, we have ten days left with students. That means ten more supports that can be used in the inclusive classroom. Let's kick it! A great way to grade modified projects, presentations, essays, or any multiple step activity is to use a rubric. I am a big fan of the modified rubric. You are able to incorporate IEP goals (including Independent Functioning goals) into the classroom lesson and unit plans. The picture on the left is an unmodified rubric provided for a seventh grade essay. The one on the right is modified and incorporates modifications and goals that are in the student's IEP. I set up modified rubrics so that a 70% corresponds with the IEP goal or the student's individual unit objectives. If a student meets expectations, they will earn a C. Students that go above and beyond the expectation can earn a B or an A. Students who do not meet the expectations can earn a D or F. Here is an example of a stud...
Read more