Reading+Rockets

=Reading Rockets=

Reading Rockets is a website [] and is an American initiative that aims to assist parents and teachers with children who are finding it hard to learn how to read.

The website, although it is based in America, has a search tool that teachers can use to search for information and articles on teaching and assisting students with different disabilities to learn to read. It also offers different pages on classroom strategies including text awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and writing. Within the vocabulary section it offers templates to assist students to increase their understanding of words by creating a 'word map' which includes the word in the middle of the page, a student's own definition, synonyms of the word and the student using the word in a sentence.

Having the ability to search different disabilities is a great resource as it can give the reader a different strategy to try with the student. Just a small search on dyslexia came up with many articles to read and one such article described different ideas for parents to use to encourage students with dyslexia to read over the school holidays. It also includes signs and symptoms for teachers and parents to look out for in early childhood and primary school that may be early symptoms of dyslexia. This would be useful information for a teacher to be aware of as many of the 'symptoms' may show up in the classroom and not necessarily as strongly at home. This way a teacher could talk to the parents about what to be aware of and how to assist their child to increase their reading ability.

This resource can assist teachers in many different aspects of teaching students to read as they are able to search different disabilities and see articles about the disability, strategies on teaching students with a particular disability to read and even if just used for general knowledge it includes strategies that would be useful for any student struggling to read.

Reading Rockets. (2011). //Teaching kids to read and helping those who struggle.// Retrieved 26 July 2011 from []