Embedded Files
We recognise that reading is not the same experience for every student. The library supports students by helping them choose books at appropriate reading levels, teaching strategies that enable students to access and understand texts, and maintain a collection of inclusive and accessible resources for students with literacy needs, including dyslexia.
BookTrust
BookTrust
Find guidance, resources and programmes that support children with neurodivergent conditions to enjoy reading.
National Literacy Trust
National Literacy Trust
Tips and advice on supporting your child's learning at home.
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets
Provides research-based resources to help teach reading and to help young children become strong readers and writers.
Dyslexia affects the way the brain processes written language. It is not linked to intelligence or potential. Difficulties may become more noticeable in secondary school as reading and workload demands increase.
Dyslexia affects the way the brain processes written language. It is not linked to intelligence or potential. Difficulties may become more noticeable in secondary school as reading and workload demands increase.
Tools such as audiobooks, graphic novels, subtitles on TV programmes and films, and assisted reading technology can make learning more accessible and help build confidence. Here are some other useful support strategies:
Taylored one-to-one or small group intervention.
Coloured overlays/reading rulers.
Multi-sensory learning - combining sight, sound, touch, and movement to help concepts stick.
Break down tasks into smaller manageable chunks.
Visualising - working on what text looks like using pictures to build comprehension.
Use supportive technology such as, setting dyslexia friendly background colours and fonts, use a spell-checker, if appropriate use programmes such as Text-to-speech or speech-to-text.
Children with ADHD may struggle to focus on printed letters and words or have trouble staying organised and attentive while reading. Reading also depends on memory, since readers must remember earlier parts of the text in order to understand what they are reading. Attention is important for comprehension because readers need to follow and process the meaning of the text.
Children with ADHD may struggle to focus on printed letters and words or have trouble staying organised and attentive while reading. Reading also depends on memory, since readers must remember earlier parts of the text in order to understand what they are reading. Attention is important for comprehension because readers need to follow and process the meaning of the text.
Tools such as audiobooks, graphic novels, subtitles on TV programmes and films, and assisted reading technology can make learning more accessible and help build confidence. Here are some other useful support strategies:
Choose books that are both interesting and have appropriate levels of challenge.
Find a quiet and comfortable place to read that’s free of distractions.
Break the texts apart into shorter chunks. Stop frequently to review what was read.
Take frequent stretch breaks.
Annotate by writing notes in margins (use post-its, if not your own book!).
Highlight key words or phrases.
If text is for an exam or test, ask your teacher for a graphic organisers to help organise thinking about the text.
Develop and use a set routine or set of questions at reading stopping points, for example: Who? What did they do? How does this connect to what we read before?
Retell or summarize what you read in your own words.
Use text-to-speech software and listen, if it helps you focus better.
Set a purpose for reading. Talk to a buddy or friend about what was read to clarify thinking and help remember key information.
Have some regulating strategies in place for if reading breaks down, for example: I can go back and reread the sentence, or I can try reading it aloud instead.
Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often face significant reading challenges, particularly with reading comprehension rather than word decoding, even if they have strong memory skills. Key struggles include understanding figurative language, inferring character motivations, and grasping the "big picture" of a story.
Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often face significant reading challenges, particularly with reading comprehension rather than word decoding, even if they have strong memory skills. Key struggles include understanding figurative language, inferring character motivations, and grasping the "big picture" of a story.
Tools such as audiobooks, graphic novels, subtitles on TV programmes and films, and assisted reading technology can make learning more accessible and help build confidence. Here are some other useful support strategies:
Choose reading based around interests.
Set a reading timetable - when? where? what?
Break reading into small, manageable chunks, e.g., read chapter one, or read 10 pages.
Use visual supports to help tell the story.
Use sensory tools to create a relaxed/comfortable reading environment.
Take part in some social reading with a buddy, friend or peer - unpicking texts through questioning, listening, responding and role play, where reading can be modelled and meanings explored.
General support with reading:
General support with reading:
Use graphic organisers to predict, ask questions and summarise chapters.
Visualise - create pictures of the main topics and themes of a story.
Make connections - activate prior knowledge of characters, settings and storylines (what's familiar and what isn't?)
Create a picture alphabet or use a picture dictionary.
Make use of AI or assisted reading technology (Seeing AI can be used for the visually impaired)
Use audiobooks.
Multi-sensory Techniques - use props, puppets, and tactile items to reenact stories.
Choose reading material that supports your interests - comics, magazines, non-fiction, or Choose Your Own Adventure books.
Use alternative reading formats - audiobooks, ebooks where you can enlarge or change font, and set different coloured backgrounds.
Listen to others read - builds comprehension and motivation.
Read the same favorite book multiple times to build confidence and word recognition.
Choose a comfortable reading environment.
Look for these labels on the spines of our books to find what you need. Every book in our library also includes its reading age on the inside front cover.
DF = DYSLEXIC FRIENDLY
QR = QUICK READS
EAL = ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE
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