Reading skills and strategies are two words that are often used interchangeably. And I’ll admit, I’ve totally used the two words incorrectly on more than one occasion. Every textbook company, every book that you read, every list that you may have Googled will have a different list of reading skills and strategies. I kept thinking, “Why is there not a big momma list of the skills and strategies that you need to know to be able to be a good reader?” Well, here’s the answer: Every reader and every text requires different skills and strategies. What are Reading Strategies? Reading…

What Is Reading Comprehension? Reading Comprehension is simple. It is understanding what you have read. As teachers, I think we overcomplicate reading for our students. And for our students with disabilities, they are especially overwhelmed. Reading comprehension isn’t answering an open-ended question. It isn’t comparing three passages on the same topic. It is so much more simple than that. To better help them improve reading comprehension, we need to take a look at the foundation of reading. What Impacts Reading Comprehension? In my mind there are three barriers that stand in the way of students understanding what they read: background…

If you are teaching virtually, progress monitoring can be hard. Here are three ways to do it while teaching virtually. …

This is what I’m sending home with my special education students to allow them to participate in small groups virtually. …

As a special education teacher, I cover so many grade levels. I struggle to fit in time for math. Typically, I have about twenty minutes for each of the special education math groups that I instruct. In that twenty minute small group, I have SO many things to cover. I like to practice multi-digit addition and subtraction, as well as math facts. Depending on the group, I also cover other skills that are critical for my students, like reading graphs, telling time, counting money, word problems, and number patterns. But how do I get all of that done in twenty…