I am often asked about books that children might like

every child has their own preferences but often its difficult to know where to start looking:

this is a great list compiled by Bags of Books who have separated the books by age
they have compiled the more unusual books that kids are enjoying beyond the classic favourites we always think they will enjoy,

http://www.bagsofbooklists.com/77books/

Never too early

For those starting their GCSE or A-level courses this year it might be worth pointing out that it's never too early to think about revision.   

The best time to make revision cards is when you understand the subject best.  That is usually when you are actually doing it in class - not two years later from a text book or old notes.  

If you try and make a few cards each week on what you've been learning by the time revision comes you'll have a huge head start. 

Make sure you keep them somewhere safe, where you can look over them little but often -- you'll be surprised how much you could take in.  

Lernstift - a spellchecking pen !

The Internet has made me aware of a pen that checks your spellings as you write !!!! Has anyone ever seen it in action ? Any chance it could cope with my terrible handwriting ?! It sounds like a lovely idea to me.   

Lernstift

http://incredibleengineering.com/lernstift-a-pen-that-checks-your-spellings-as-you-write/

‘Accessing Books - A Guide for Dyslexic Adults

‘Accessing Books - A Guide for Dyslexic Adults’

Help with books

‘Accessing Books - A Guide for Dyslexic Adults’ is a free downloadable resource.  It outlines strategies and other means that can help dyslexic adults to engage with books.  It contains lots of ideas and information and is written by a dyslexic.

Overview

To download the guide, copy and paste the second url below into your browser.  Once you have opened the document, click on the download icon in the border above the page.  If the icon is not visible, hover the mouse in the border above the page and it will appear.  To download an overview of the guide, do the same with the first url below: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B35hqPwDwrDdYnFoYUUtcGFVV00/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B35hqPwDwrDdSHY4R1ZYZTZqU1E/view?usp=sharing

https://ugc.futurelearn.com/uploads/files/78/85/788593b5-cf6e-414a-a00e-ee8d24cfc974/Websites_Apps_Dyslexia.pdf



this is a link to a great list of different IT strategies and websites compiled by Lancaster University

Dyslexia and Language Teaching

A new course is available from Lancaster University. I have done a similar course before and they can be very useful to language teachers who have dyslexia in their classrooms. 

We are pleased to announce a free online learning course on 'Dyslexia and language teaching’  (https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/dyslexia) which runs from 20^th of April – 17^th of May 2015.

 

This exciting new course is offered by Lancaster University in cooperation with FutureLearn and takes place over four weeks entirely online. It is aimed at English language teachers, teachers of modern foreign languages, teacher trainers, educators and trainee teachers who are interested in how they can accommodate and cater for the needs of students with dyslexia in foreign/second language classrooms.

 

In this course, which is based on the award-winning materials of the Dystefl project (www.dystefl.eu), you can find out about the nature of dyslexia and how it affects the learning of additional languages. You can explore a variety of useful techniques, including recent computer-assisted tools that you can take into the classroom to help students with dyslexia in acquiring another language.

 

Lead educator Dr. Judit Kormos and well-known experts Anne Margaret Smith and Dr. Joanna Nijakowska give practical guidance and advice on enhancing the phonological awareness, vocabulary knowledge and reading skills of dyslexic language learners.

 

The materials and tasks in the course can be applied for various age groups of dyslexic students and for a variety of language learning contexts including the teaching of English as a foreign/second language and the teaching of modern foreign languages. 

 

 

Enrolment is now open (https://www.futurelearn.com/register) and we are looking forward to welcoming you and your colleagues as one of our participants. Please feel free to distribute this course information to other interested colleagues, teachers, students and share it on social media and the word-wide web.

 

Today I found a very useful document from Oxfordshire's LEA. This simple flyer gives lots of the words that teachers and assessors like myself often use, assuming that everyone knows what we are talking about!      Hopefully this should clear up some confusions. 

Never hesitate to ask what someone is talking about - sometimes we need reminding that we've been at this so long we forget we've started speaking in gobbledygook. 

www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/sites/default/files/folders/documents/childreneducationandfamilies/educationandlearning/specialeducationalneeds/supportforparents/parentguides/parentsguideedspeak.pdf

oxfordshire.gov.uk