# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

UDL Rising to Equity

Because the UDL Guidelines are meant to be informed by feedback from the field as well as new research, they have been updated several times in the past. We are in the process of updating the Guidelines once again in our UDL Rising to Equity initiative.

This update will focus specifically on addressing systemic barriers that result in inequitable learning opportunities and outcomes. CAST aims to develop a transparent, inclusive, and community-driven process. If you are interested in collaborating and staying updated on our progress, we invite you to complete a brief survey. Do you use social media? Join the conversation happening now in the #UDLrising hashtag.
Meet the UDL Rising to Equity Advisory Board Meet the UDL Rising to Equity Stakeholder Council

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guid…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
About the Author

About the Author

The Understood Team is made up of passionate writers, editors, and community moderators. Many of them learn and think differently, or have kids who do.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Guinevere Eden, PhD is a professor at Georgetown University and director of its Center for the Study of Learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Understood Team is made up of passionate writers, editors, and community moderators. Many of them learn and think differently, or have kids who do. Guinevere Eden, PhD is a professor at Georgetown University and director of its Center for the Study of Learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Jamie Martin

Dictation is an assistive technology (AT) tool that can help kids who struggle with writing. You may hear it referred to as "speech-to-text," "voice-to-text," "voice recognition" or "speech recognition" technology. Kids can use dictation to write with their voices, instead of writing by hand or with a keyboard. This can be helpful for kids with dysgraphia, dyslexia and other learning and thinking differences that impact writing.

Read more about what dictation technology is and where to find it.

Types of Dictation Technology

Dictation technology converts spoken words into digital text on a screen. With dictation, kids can write words by speaking them aloud. Kids can use dictation not only to write, but also to edit and revise their writing-all by using their voice.

There are several types of dictation technology kids can use.

Built-in dictation technology: Today, many devices have built-in dictation tools. This includes desktop and laptop computers (Windows and macOS), smartphone and digital tablets (Android and iOS), and Chromebooks (Chrome OS). If you have any of these devices, you probably don't need to buy special software. The microphone and the dictation tools come with the device, but you may need an Internet connection.

Dictation apps: Along with using built-in dictation tools, your child can also download dictation apps on smartphones and digital tablets. One example is Dragon Dictation (iOS).

Chrome tools: A number of tools for Chromebooks and the Chrome browser also offer dictation, like Co:Writer Universal, WordQ and Read&Write for Google Chrome. When used in the Chrome browser, Google Docs also has its own dictation tool called Voice Typing.

Dictation software programs: The most full-featured dictation technology is found in software programs for desktop and laptop computers. These programs can adapt to how a child speaks, which makes them more accurate the more a child uses them. Some dictation programs can also convert audio recordings into digital text. Examples of dictation software include Dragon for PC, Dragon for Mac and WordQ+SpeakQ.

Kids with writing issues can have a hard time with assignments like essays and papers, and even writing emails. Dictation technology can help in several ways. By using dictation technology:

Kids with motor skills issues can write more comfortably and accurately. This includes kids who have trouble typing on a keyboard.

Kids with poor handwriting can use dictation to create text that's easier for others to read.

Kids who struggle with spelling can say a word or sound it out, and then see how it's spelled on-screen.

Kids who think faster than they can write by hand or type on a keyboard can more easily get all their thoughts into words.

Dictation technology is a powerful tool, but using it properly is a skill. There are commands kids have to learn. And some aspects of dictation can be difficult for kids with certain learning and thinking differences.

Here's what you need to know:

When dictating their writing, kids need to speak clearly and pronounce words correctly. If kids mumble or mispronounce words, the dictated text might not be correct. This may be hard for kids who struggle with spoken language.

While dictating text, kids don't only have to say the words they want to write. They have to say the punctuation, too. For example, they may need to say "period" or "question mark" at the end of a sentence.

In general, dictation is more accurate if kids say whole phrases and sentences, not just individual words. While kids who have slow processing speed or struggle with working memory may benefit from dictation in other ways, they may have trouble saying large groups of words at a time.

Editing or navigating a document with dictation can be challenging. Kids have to learn how to use special verbal commands. For example, to delete the previous sentence, a child might have to say "select previous" and "delete that." To navigate a document, a child might have to say "move backwards 10 words" to move the cursor, or "new paragraph" to start a new paragraph.

Many teachers recommend that kids start with an outline before writing a paper with dictation. That's because when kids dictate, they can sometimes lose focus on what they're writing about. An outline helps kids stay organized.

Kids can use dictation in combination with keyboarding. For instance, some kids find it easier to write a first draft with dictation, but then use a keyboard and mouse for editing and moving around in a document.

It's important to keep in mind that dictation technology isn't perfect. It may not always be accurate when putting what your child says into text. And as with all AT tools, dictation may not help every child with writing issues. Some kids may do better with other types of accommodations for writing, like a scribe to write down what they're saying. Others may prefer physical tools to support their writing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dictation is an assistive technology (AT) tool that can help kids who struggle with writing. You may hear it referred to as "speech-to-text," "voice-to-text," "voice recognition" or "speech recognition" technology. Kids can use dictation to write with their voices, instead of writing by hand or with a keyboard.

# data[].attributes.body
Low Tech- No Tech Option

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
UDL in the Cloud: A Conversation with the Authors Learn how to design for remote learning through a UDL lens in this webinar with Katie Novak and Tom Thibodeau, authors ofUDL in the Cloud: How to Design and Deliver Online Education Using Universal Design for Learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Get Email Updates

Sign up to receive the RTI Action Network e-newsletter.

Progress-monitoring assessment is becoming more widely adopted than ever before as a means of tracking the reading development of students with dyslexia and reading difficulties. Both general and special education teachers are including frequent curriculum-based assessments into their routines and tracking the data to monitor growth. However, such assessment is of little use to the classroom teacher without continual analysis of data to determine the appropriate intervention and level of intensity for each student. Mr. Beckwith, the special education teacher quoted above, is quite aware of the importance of using assessment as he plans learning activities for his students. He knows that he has to think about the instruction that he provides to his students so that each one will learn. Cunningham, P. M., & Hall, D. P. (1994).

"...I've really gotten the necessity of assessment. Without assessing our students, we really don't know what they know and we don't know what they're learning... Certain approaches that may be effective for most of the class may be leaving one or several students in the dark... I would suspect that they are often capable, but the instruction itself is not meeting their need. Maybe they need more practice, maybe they need to have the material presented in an alternative form, maybe they just need a little one-on-one instruction from a teacher or a peer."

- Mr. Beckwith, a beginning special education teacher

Other articles in this issue discuss the why and how of progress monitoring assessment, so the focus of this article is on using data to make meaningful instructional decisions. The linkage between assessment and instruction is an often-overlooked aspect of teaching that can make a critical impact on student outcomes. Teachers need to know how to select appropriate materials and instructional programs based on students' skills. With data, teachers can answer such questions as, "What is Megan's instructional reading level?" "What specific skills does Megan need to work on?" and "Is this decoding program that I am using helping Megan to make adequate progress?"
With a screening assessment, teachers identify struggling readers and outline a plan for forming intervention groups, small groups of students with similar learning needs. Then, it is important that they have a progress-monitoring, assessment system in place. Progress-monitoring assessment fulfills two main purposes: to assess students' academic progress and evaluate the effectiveness of intervention. Both purposes require collecting data points frequently that allow teachers to continually monitor progress toward a specific learning goal. In reading, the progress-monitoring tool would be based on the student's specific areas of need and the grade-level standard that is the target of intervention. Progress-monitoring assessments are typically short, fluency-based assessments that can be given frequently (once a week or every two weeks) to monitor the student's learning.

Ms. Reeder is an experienced general education teacher who has taught various elementary grades for 7 years at Applewood Elementary School. This year, Ms. Reeder is teaching second grade. A few weeks into the school year, it is apparent that two students, Miguel and George, are having difficulty with reading. Ms. Reeder needs to know about the students' skills so that she can effectively place them in appropriate instructional groups and plan the best way to assist them in meeting grade-level goals.

Miguel is a seven-year-old boy who came to the United States from Guatemala with his family when he had just turned five years old. He entered kindergarten at that time and has always had good attendance. Though Miguel's family has lived in the same city since moving to the United States, they have only recently settled into a long-term housing situation. Miguel is currently in his fifth school in three years. At home, Miguel and his three siblings (two older and one younger) speak some English, but mostly Spanish. His parents, who are enrolled in an English as a second language class, encourage the children to speak English; however, Spanish is the language of choice in most of their family interactions. While Miguel's parents and older siblings are able to read in Spanish, Miguel had not yet learned to read in his primary language when he entered kindergarten in the United States.

George is 8 years old and new to the Applewood School. His family just moved to the area because of his mother's job. He lives with his mother, new stepfather, and an older sister, spending some holidays and part of the summer with his father, who lives about an hour away. School records indicate that George has struggled academically and socially since entering school. In kindergarten, George's teacher and parents agreed that he lacked the maturity to complete the year successfully, citing his late birthday, which made him among the youngest children in the class. He repeated kindergarten and seemed to be improving until his parents separated toward the end of that year. George's mother hopes that a fresh start in a new school will help him settle down behaviorally, make some friends, and gain proficiency with his basic academic skills.

Upon entering Ms. Reeder's class, Miguel and George were given a baseline assessment of their oral reading fluency using DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills; Good & Kaminski, 2001). Because Miguel and George were each reading at about the same rate, approximately 25 WCPM, Ms. Reeder knew they were both at risk for failing to attain grade-level proficiency. DIBELS provides benchmark goals for fall, winter, and spring. Using the fall benchmark scores for second grade, they would need to read about 44 WCPM to be on their way to meeting the end-of-year level of 90 WCPM. Initially, Ms. Reeder placed the two boys in the same reading intervention group and used a combination of phonics and reading fluency instruction to try to improve their ability to read meaningful, rich literature and expository texts.

Ms. Reeder knew that, according to reading research, weekly gains of 1.5-2 words per minute in reading fluency were feasible if the reading instruction were rich enough (Fuchs, Fuchs, Hamlett, Walz & Germann, 1993). Ms. Reeder drew an aim line, indicating a slope of about two words improvement per week, onto the progress-monitoring graph for each student. This rate of growth, which is attainable during the 13 weeks available for intervention, would result in each boy reading about 75 WCPM. Although this rate of growth would not be enough to move the boys into a category of grade-level proficiency, it would move them out of the "at-risk" category and it is an achievable goal. It is important to help students reach and surpass grade-level expectations; however, Ms. Reeder did not want to frustrate her students or herself by setting goals that would be impossible to achieve.

Pulling together all the pieces of the reading puzzle is a difficult job. Teachers, such as Ms. Reeder, Ms. Roth, Ms. Greene, and Mr. Beckwith have to make many decisions about which assessments to use, how to monitor progress on an ongoing basis, which materials will teach needed skills, and how to organize their time to intervene with students of very diverse levels of ability. In addition, juggling the demands of state standards and end-of-year testing with those of the needs of individual students who may be reading below grade level is complex and sometimes daunting. Often teachers reject the idea of progress monitoring and intensive intervention without trying it because they cannot see how these activities can be incorporated into their already busy schedules.

Progress monitoring applied to focused and intensive intervention does not have to be overwhelming. Teachers must consider everything in their bag of teaching tricks when selecting interventions. More than likely, they have favorite phonics games, context-building strategies, vocabulary development activities, and much more that could very appropriately supplement the core reading curriculum in a classroom. In addition, core curriculum items can be used to reteach skills to small groups of two to five children.

Determining how to group children who need similar reading instruction is, like anything, complicated the first few times it is attempted. It helps to remember that students are not permanently assigned to a group. Groups are reformed as children make progress at different rates. No intervention group is a long-term commitment; if a child is not making progress in one group, then the teacher can move the student to another group. In fact, changes might be the norm rather than the exception when it comes to reading intervention based on progress-monitoring data.

Finding the time to assess and monitor progress can be tricky; however, the power to select and implement instruction with the precision of a laser beam (rather than the scattered approach of a shotgun), cannot be discounted. Teaching children to read can be accomplished much more effectively and efficiently if the teacher knows what skills the child already has and which ones need to be developed, enabling him or her to put together an intervention package exactly tailored to the child's needs. The time lost to assessment may well be regained when the student progresses more quickly after receiving the appropriate intervention at the moment it is needed most.
At first, George made progress in this intervention group, his weekly fluency scores, taken during progress monitoring, matching the aim line. Miguel's fluency was not increasing as quickly, but Ms. Reeder's real concern was that by the third week of intervention and progress monitoring, neither boy appeared to be on track to meet his fluency goal. Ms. Reeder decided to conduct further informal assessment to pinpoint the reason each student was continuing to struggle with reading fluency.

Making words. Parsippany, NJ: Good Apple, Inc.

Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., Hamlett, C. L., Walz, L., & Germann, G. (1993). Formative evaluation of academic progress: How much growth should we expect? School Psychology Review. 22, 27-48.

Gersten, R., Baker, S. K., Haager, D., & Graves, A. W. (2005). Exploring the role of teacher quality in predicting reading outcomes for first-grade English learners: An observational study. Remedial and Special Education. 26, 197-206.

Good, R. H., & Kaminski, R. A. (2001). Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. Eugene: University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning.

Hasbrouck, J., & Tindal, G. (2006). Oral reading fluency norms: A valuable assessment tool for reading teachers. Reading Teacher. 59(7), 636-644.

Menzies, H. M., Mahdavi, J. N., & Lewis, J. (in press). Early reading intervention: From research to practice. Remedial and Special Education.

Further assessment. Ms. Reeder administered additional DIBELS probes to George and Miguel. She selected the Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) test and neither boy had any trouble with segmenting and blending words. On the Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) test, George was in the no-risk category, but Miguel struggled. Ms. Reeder analyzed Miguel's errors on the NWF and then used an informal reading inventory to diagnose more precisely the problem he was having with phonics. Analysis of Miguel's phonics skills showed that vowels were a significant weakness for him, particularly long vowels, like CVCe words and vowel teams such as ea, ee, and ai, as well as diphthongs, such as oi and ow.

Closer inspection of George's fluency problems, using an informal reading inventory, indicated that he was not using context when he read, and that he rarely self-corrected his errors. In addition, unfamiliar vocabulary words appeared to slow him down. Ms. Reeder's anecdotal records indicated that George tended to fidget, rock back and forth, and make excessive involuntary facial contortions during reading group time. He frequently left his seat during independent work time, preferring to walk around the room and talk to other children.

Armed with this information, Ms. Reeder moved Miguel into a phonics intervention group and put George in a fluency group working with text from a late first-grade level.

Intervening with Miguel. Ms. Reeder's phonics and decoding group, which included three students, worked with her for 15 minutes each day while the rest of the class was engaged in independent reading and writing activities. Each child in this group has problems similar to Miguel's in the areas of phonics and letter-sound correspondence. This group worked extensively on phonics activities that required a high level of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Each intensive intervention session included practice with letter-sound correspondence at the word level, both expressively and receptively, and the use of decodable text for reading practice in connected text (Menzies, Mahdavi, & Lewis, in press).

Miguel's group enjoyed Making Words, the program by Cunningham and Hall (1994). Students were given eight letter tiles that they used to form words that Ms. Reeder dictated from a list. The words followed particular patterns of long and short, vowel patterns, blends, and word families. After using the tiles to make words, the children wrote the words on their individual whiteboards. They also sorted the words, written on cards, by sound and spelling patterns. The Making Words lessons might last only 15 minutes, but provided many opportunities for students to hear, say, see, and spell words with phonetically regular patterns.

Books for Miguel's group were selected with easily decoded text so that the students could practice their decoding skills within the context of connected and interesting passages. During each intervention session, the children read at least one of these short, decodable books. They participated in choral reading, as well as whisper reading (each individual reads independently in a whisper so that the teacher can hear mistakes and make sure that the students use decoding strategies). Ms. Reeder also sent these books home with the students for reading homework.

Progress-monitoring assessments in oral reading fluency were given to each child in Miguel's group each week during the intervention period. Miguel's chart shows that after two weeks of intensive phonics intervention, his reading fluency scores rose to meet the aimline (see weeks nine and 10 on Miguel's graph, Figure 1). Ms. Reeder decided to keep Miguel in the phonics group for now, working with him and the others on increasingly difficult phonetic patterns. She will also continue to monitor their progress each week with the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency measure to evaluate the intervention and decide if it should be continued or changed.

Intervening with George. The fluency group that George joined consisted of four other children who struggled more with reading comprehension than decoding. As a group, they were unlikely to be able to identify the main idea of a passage they had just read. Like George, when they read, they did not seem to notice when they substituted a nonsense word or a word that made no sense in the context of the sentence for the one that was printed. Rates of self-correction of errors when reading were very low in this group. In addition, the oral language skills of George and one other student in the group lagged behind those of their more typically developing peers. They lacked facility with academic vocabulary as well as the vocabulary used in grade-level fictional texts. Ms. Reeder knew that this group of children needed to increase their reading comprehension and widen their vocabularies to read more fluently and more accurately.

This comprehension group met with Ms. Reeder for about 15 minutes per day each day of the week. Ms. Reeder carefully selected books for this group to read and culled them for relevant and interesting vocabulary words. Once she selected words that her students needed to learn, she used various strategies to teach them. On some days, she would act out the words and then have the students do the same. Sometimes she would have the children draw pictures and write their own definitions of the words. Often, Ms. Reeder used photographs, cartoons, or hand and body motions to help the students understand the vocabulary (Gersten, Baker, Haager, & Graves, 2005).

In addition to vocabulary, Ms. Reeder taught the children to ask themselves, "Does that make sense?" and to stop and retell the story at frequent intervals. During these comprehension checks, Ms. Reeder refrained from telling students what they had just read. Rather, she created frequent opportunities for the children to talk among themselves as they read, explaining to one another what they had read and clarifying main ideas, supporting details, and other story features. As part of these activities, Ms. Reeder also asked the children to identify vocabulary words in the story that they did not understand. She would then ask one child to lead the others in activities to help them all understand the words. These strategies were all designed to make the children more responsible for their own learning and more independent in their reading.

Both the vocabulary and comprehension activities for this group were conducted in the context of rich pieces of late first-grade level literature as well as expository text selected to appeal to the four children in the group. Progress was monitored based on the results of the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency measure administered each week during the intervention period. George's chart (see Figure 2) indicates that the vocabulary and comprehension activities began to show results in his reading fluency by week nine, after two weeks in that group. Ms. Reeder decided to continue her vocabulary and comprehension interventions with this group, particularly with George for as long as his ORF scores continued to match the aimline.

One type of information provided by progress-monitoring assessment is comparative. Teachers can examine a round of data collection to see how an individual student's performance compares to other students in the class, academic standards, or others in the same intervention group. For example, Ms. Roth is monitoring the progress of three students in her fourth grade class. She is collecting timed oral reading fluency checks once a week. Each week, she compares the students' scores to the fluency rates of their classmates and asks herself if these students are within range of catching up. Her school district has also issued grade-level norms, based on the work of Hasbrouck and Tindal (2006). According to the norms chart, the average fourth grader would read about 112 words correct per minute (WCPM). When she looks at the three recent scores, she sees that two of the students have made significant gains from scores in the 80s to 100-105. The third, however, has not moved beyond 85. Ms. Roth uses this information to consider regrouping the two progressing students into other intervention groups in the class and arranging for the third student to receive a more intensive intervention with a reading specialist.

In recent years, our research has supported teachers in using curriculum-based measurement tools for conducting screening assessment to identify students at risk for reading difficulty. Reading intervention has been provided as part of this research to address the students' specific learning needs and track their progress. Working with teachers participating in this study, the PLUS Project (Promoting Literacy in Urban Schools) has provided insight into how teachers can best use progress-monitoring data to decide the type and intensity of instruction struggling students may need.

What Can Be Learned from Progress Monitoring

Using Progress Monitoring to Change Instruction: Two Case Studies

The Case of Miguel

The Case of George

Baseline Assessment Results for Miguel and George

An Instructional Plan Based on Data

Solving the Puzzle

Resources

Curriculum-Based Measurement Warehouse

References

This article was originally published in Perspectives on Language and Literacy, vol. 33, No. 2, Spring 2007, copyright by The International Dyslexia Association. Used with permission.

Back To Top

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Linking Progress Monitoring Results to Interventions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get Email Updates Sign up to receive the RTI Action Network e-newsletter. Progress-monitoring assessment is becoming more widely adopted than ever before as a means of tracking the reading development of students with dyslexia and reading difficulties. Both general and special education teachers are including frequent curriculum-based assessments into their routines and tracking the data to monitor growth.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Progress Monitoring Within a Multi-Level Prevention System | RTI Action Network

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
RTINetwork.org guides educators and families in the effective implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) as a means to improve educational outcomes for all students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
About the Author

About the Author

The Understood Team is made up of passionate writers, editors, and community moderators. Many of them learn and think differently, or have kids who do.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Shelley Haven has spent more than 30 years helping individuals with physical, sensory, and cognitive challenges unlock their potential with technology.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Assistive Technology for Auditory Processing Disorder

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Understood Team is made up of passionate writers, editors, and community moderators. Many of them learn and think differently, or have kids who do. Shelley Haven has spent more than 30 years helping individuals with physical, sensory, and cognitive challenges unlock their potential with technology.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find out more about CAST. We’re busting barriers to learning, until learning has no limits®.

# data[].attributes.headline
Students with dyslexia can practice reading a passage for fluency and confidence.

# data[].attributes.subject
Students with dyslexia can practice reading a passage for fluency and confidence.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This course will cover technical skills as well as curriculum connections. You will learn how to implement Soundtrap in a way that truly maximizes engagement and learning.

The Level 1 certification covers the essential functions of Soundtrap and starts the conversation about integrating music and podcast creation into your curriculum.

In the course, you will learn:

Account setup & administration

How to create and share assignments

Recording 101

Podcasting skills

Music creation skills

Expect to spend about 2 hours to finish this course and try out some of the skills in Soundtrap.

Join us in the Level 2 and 3 Certification Courses to dive deeper into the studio tools and take a closer look at how you can bring meaningful projects into your classroom with Project-based learning strategies and pedagogy.

Tens of thousands of teachers around the world are already using Soundtrap to empower students to create music and podcasts, find their voice, and make learning engaging AND meaningful. Join us and help accelerate the creative renaissance!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Soundtrap Certified Educator Course - Level 1

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This course will cover technical skills as well as curriculum connections. You will learn how to implement Soundtrap in a way that truly maximizes engagement and learning. The Level 1 certification covers the essential functions of Soundtrap and starts the conversation about integrating music and podcast creation into your curriculum.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Soundtrap for Education - Student Course - Level 1

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As a companion course to the new Certified Educator Level 1 course, this student course is offered to help students learn the basics of Soundtrap quickly and...

# data[].attributes.body
Education/Training Goal- After graduation *student* will attend college to study music engineering.

Employment Goal- After graduation, *student* will seek employment (after college) in the music or radio industry.

# data[].attributes.headline
Statement of supplementary aids, modifications, accommodations, services, and/or supports for SAU personnel

# data[].attributes.subject
Statement of supplementary aids, modifications, accommodations, services, and/or supports for SAU personnel

# data[].attributes.body
1.  Provide access to audio recording system to demonstrate mastery on tablet or laptop (Classroom instruction, classroom assessment, district wide assessment).
2. Access to podcasting tool to record oral reading fluency.

# data[].attributes.body
Needs- *student* benefits from having access to a device with audio recording (podcasting) software to record and self-monitor reading fluency, demonstrate knowledge, and collaborate with other learners on multimedia projects.

Goal- By June 2019, Given direct instruction and access to device using audio recording/podcasting software, *student* will improve reading fluency from 75wpm to 150wpm as evidenced by data collection and recordings.

# data[].attributes.headline
Rethink Written Expression with Soundtrap!

# data[].attributes.subject
Rethink Written Expression with Soundtrap!

# data[].attributes.body
Article by Hillary Goldthwait-Fowles, PhD.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Soundtrap - Hillary Goldthwait-Fowles, PhD ATP

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hillary is not afraid to think outside of the box and come up with ways in which programs, activities, or even slight modifications could impact a single student, the school, or the entire district for the better.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Soundtrap for Storytellers | Chapter 3: Interactive Transcript

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Teachers don't typically encourage students to bring iPods to school, but when a girl in Ken Giles's class brought him "One Tribe," a song by the Black Eyed Peas, he was thrilled. Giles, a music teacher in Washington, D.C., uses protest music to illustrate the connections among culture, art, history and social movements and to help his students understand how music can effect social change. Kids have access to an almost infinite number of songs, but this student saw through the clutter, says Giles. "She figured out that, 'This modern song is like the historical songs he's been teaching us.'"

Protest songs are part of our cultural consciousness-and a powerful tool in the classroom. Just as music has brought together members of different socioeconomic groups, races and religious convictions into cooperative social movements, protest songs can serve as a versatile teaching resource, culturally relevant to students of diverse backgrounds.

"Everyone has some musical interest," says Dr. Christopher Andrew Brkich, author of the article "Music as a Weapon: Using Popular Culture to Combat Social Injustice." That interest is a tool that can be used to hook students and to convey powerful messages that they might miss in traditional texts.

Protest songs allow people to bond on an intellectual level as well as on a deeper, subconscious level reached through shared experience, says William G. Roy, author of Reds, Whites and Blues: Social Movements, Folk Music, and Race in the United States. That shared experience goes beyond listening.

When students are given the opportunity to engage with protest music by singing, the learning experience is enriched. "Music is a very social thing," says Brkich. "If you've ever been to a musical concert, the entire audience sings along with the artist who's up on the stage. The same thing happens in class."

Giles agrees that there is greater power in making music than in simply listening to it. "I really do wish people would sing and play instruments," he says. "When civil rights activists would go out on a demonstration and sing 'we shall not be moved,' everyone in the line was singing."

"It couldn't but cement the learning experience more strongly," says Brkich. "The whole class gets engaged in the learning experience."

As important as the music experience is, it is even more essential that students connect to a song. Students are more likely to participate in class if they can relate to the subject matter. For a teacher, this may mean working with contemporary music, or illuminating the circumstances in which an old song was originally sung. "Try to tell the story that surrounds the song," Giles advises. "Who were [the singers]? What were they doing? What did they think?"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators-teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners-who work with children from kindergarten through high school. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants.

# data[].attributes.headline
Comprehension Amplified- Presentation by Jeff Glade

# data[].attributes.subject
Comprehension Amplified- Presentation by Jeff Glade

# data[].attributes.body
Session description: In 2019, podcasts achieved a milestone.  According to The Infinite Dial 2019 report, 51% of the United States population above 12 years old has listened to a podcast.  This means that, for the first time, podcasts are now considered mainstream media in the U.S.  More and more classrooms are embracing podcast creation, and yet few have addressed critically consuming podcasts in a way that explicitly supports comprehension.
Much research has been done on the importance of listening comprehension.  When listening, students can gain exposure to complex ideas, build essential background knowledge, and engage with challenging storylines - all while easing the cognitive load of decoding and fluency that can hinder many readers.
The opportunities available with utilizing podcasts in the classroom are boundless.  If we can help teachers embrace podcasts to benefit the comprehension and engagement of all students, we can begin the important work of providing students with the tools to harness podcasts for lifelong learning and enjoyment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Comprehension Amplified Presentation - Soundtrap

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Soundtrap - Creativity in every classroom

# data[].attributes.body
Audrey O'Clair audrey.oclair@soundtrap.com

Jess Kertz
jess.kertz@soundtrap.com

Jostin Grimes
jostin@soundtrap.com

Taylor Haun
taylor.haun@soundtrap.com

# data[].attributes.headline
After a negative student reaction, prompt them to record their feelings using the pre-recorded loops.

# data[].attributes.subject
After a negative student reaction, prompt them to record their feelings using the pre-recorded loops.

# data[].attributes.headline
Teaching mindfulness by creating a guided meditation.

# data[].attributes.subject
Teaching mindfulness by creating a guided meditation.

# data[].attributes.headline
To calm when upset: students record a passage of reading and add music. 

# data[].attributes.subject
To calm when upset: students record a passage of reading and add music. 

# data[].attributes.headline
Recording answers if student has difficulty writing.

# data[].attributes.subject
Recording answers if student has difficulty writing.

# data[].attributes.headline
Students create challenging social skill scenarios (i.e. how to manage losing a game). Then record, add sounds and audio. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Students create challenging social skill scenarios (i.e. how to manage losing a game). Then record, add sounds and audio. 