Reading Skills Development

This section provides examples of software programs that address specific literacy skill development. Such as letter and word recognition, comprehension and phonics.

Literacy Skills

Balanced literacy programs look to integrate writing and reading activities in elementary classrooms. Thematic units provide the content for both guided and independent activities for learning. Technology is seen as an integral support in these programs.

Bailey's Book House (Edmark)

Concepts

Some early software programs work on pre- and early reading language skills which focus on letter identification, word patterns, rhyming and early sound to letter associations. Children learn best when words are used within a context.

An Ocean Adventure (Edmark)

Comprehension

Other software programs focus on the development and assessment of reading skills at different grade levels. Reading activities include recognizing, building and comprehending hundreds of new words used in context. These programs are good for reading practice and portfolio assessment.

Simon Spells It Out (Don Johnson, Inc.)

Specific Skills

Software programs are available that focus on the development or strengthening of specific skills used in reading, including phonics, decoding words, sounding out words, parts of speech, spelling, etc.

Earobics (Thinking Publications)
Series of activities for elementary students designed to teach phonological awareness skills through an interactive educational game format

Lexia (Lexia Learning Systems)
Lexia's phonics-based interactive reading programs are designed to
facilitate the acquisition of decoding skills. Includes a Quick Reading Test to help identify specific skills to work on.

Alternate Strategies

With the easy-to-use Writing with Symbols word processing program, students who cannot read can follow the pictures that accompany any reading passage.This reading assistance program shows symbols of words above the actual written text and also speaks the picture/words out loud.

Writing with Symbols (Don Johnston, Inc.)