I Teach Bay: Reading

One of the curriculum goals for this year is to promote and support reading across the content areas. This resource page will be updated on a regular basis.

Reading Tools For Web Based Use

Readability - this tool removes all of the additional text and images around the main article. For students who are struggling to read, this helps to remove visual distractions and information they may not need to take time to process or understand.
http://www.readability.com/
Choose the “download free app” button in the center of the homepage. It will install on your computer and create a little red couch button in your Google Chrome or Internet Explorer bar or a book page in the Firefox browser bar. Once installed, you need to navigate to a specific story or text area on the web, then click on the button. Choose “read now”. A new window will open with just the text. The text can then be cut and pasted or highlighted to be used with read aloud software.
Use this app on a specific article to eliminate all the surrounding adds and graphics

Buy the full app and you can save the articles as pdf, send to kindle accounts and more.
Works in all browsers (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox)

FoxVox - text to speech reader

If you do not have Firefox as a web-browser - you need to install it first
http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/foxvox/

FoxVox is an addon that works in the Firefox web browser. To install FoxVox, click on the link above. Choose "download" and follow the directions on your computer. You will have to restart your Firefox session to access it once you have downloaded it.

Highlight any text that you would like it to read to you.
FoxVox will speak any text you highlight in a web page. FoxVox can create audio-books in mp3, ogg, and wav formats. You can now easily turn your blogs and articles into podcasts. FoxVox is ideal for having blogs, email, news articles, and ebooks read to you while you surf the web or do other work. FoxVox now supports speech in many different languages. Version 1.7 now let's you stop speech easily.
Press either F9 or F12 to start speech, and Shift+F9 or Shift+F12 to stop speech

eBook Resources

Audio Books - Students who have been identified as having a reading disability, and have an IEP are eligible to use the audio book resources available through Bookshare.org. Bookshare has an extensive collection of texts, fiction, and non-fiction books. Books for all grades k-12 are included as well as college level and professional texts. The Bay Schools have a district account that our teachers and tutors have access to for use with students at school. Individuals may also set up a personal account. Please work through the District Office of Special Education for more information. Bookshare is available to use on a PC or Mac Platform. It can also be accessed through an iPad/iPod App called Read2Go. This App is available through the App store for $20.00. A Bookshare account is required in order to access materials through the App. Directions for using Bookshare

Cuyahoga County Public Libary eBook Collection Visit this site to access eBooks that are available on loan to anyone with a county library card. Visit our Bay library to get a card and get started reading. These eBooks will work on a variety of devices including iPods, Kindles, iPads and laptops.

Kindle Reading App - free download
Kindle Accessibility Add -on This free add on allows you to use the text to speech capabilities of Kindle on your PC ( you do need to install the free version of JAWS to use this...click on JAWS FREE 32 Bit demo - it runs for 40 minutes on your computer, then the computer needs to be rebooted to get another 40 minutes)
Kindle Books From the Public Library

Google Books - Visit this book site to find books free through the public domain. You can also read large segments of books that are available as "preview" copies. Search magazine and book lists.

Reading Support Programs Available Through Bay Village Schools

Accelerated Reader - This is available only at school. Students at Normandy and Westerly are using this tool with the teachers and library staff. Scores can be converted to Lexile scores. Read more about it

Read Write Gold - This is available at school and for HS students, at home by using an install disc. Read&Write 10 GOLD is a resource tool designed to help individuals ages 7 and older overcome reading and writing difficulties. The easy-to-use, customizable toolbar “floats” on your computer screen, or docks to a locked position, offering help as you work. It highlights and reads text aloud using natural-sounding male or female voices, and also includes a comprehensive set of support tools for reading, writing, studying, research and test-taking.

Star Fall Free web-based tool that allows parents and students to practice basic reading skills

Reading Rockets Free web-based tool that has parent, teacher and administrator components.

Teaching Reading and Reading Strategies

Literacy Homepage on Thinkfinity.org Parents, students and after school providers can access this site to find games, lessons and resources for helping others become better readers.

Ohio Resource Center Literacy Support Page Find descriptions of reading strategies to help students be better readers. Also included are best practice lesson plans.

Ohio Resource Center Adolescent Literacy Site Professional Development resources, best practice reading strategies and ideas for helping teen struggling readers.

Lexile.com Use this site to find appropriate books by Lexile level, or students can use this to find appropriate books using a simple "too easy, just right, too hard" assessment on the site. The new common core .

Phonics Resources and Interactive Materials