Literacy Resources/ Websites
Professional Reading in Literacy for Students with Complex Learning Needs
Browder D. & Spooner, F.
Cunningham, P., Cunningham, J., & Allington, Richard. Research on the Components of
a Comprehensive Reading and Writing Instructional Program [Draft September 11,
2002]
Downing, J. E., Teaching Literacy to Students with Significant Disabilities: Strategies
for the K-12 Inclusive Classroom, Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press, 2005.
Erickson, K. & Koppenhaver, D. Children with Disabilities: Reading & Writing the
Four-Blocks Way, 2009
Copeland, S.R. & Keefe, E.B. (2007). Effective Literacy Instruction for Students with
Moderate or Severe Disabilities. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Dell, A. G., Newman, D. A. & Pettroff, J. G. (2007). Assistive technology in the
classroom: Enhancing the school experience for students with disabilities. Pearson,
Columbus, OH.
Soto, G. & Zangari, C. (2009) Practically Speaking: Language, Literacy, & Academic
Development for Students with AAC Needs. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Websites for the Emergent and/or Conventional Reader, Writer, and
Communicator
 The Four Blocks Literacy Model http://www.four-blocks.com/
The Four-Blocks® Literacy Model is a multilevel, balanced literacy framework
that incorporates four different approaches each day to teach children how to
become better readers, writers, and spellers. Developed by Drs. Patricia
Cunningham and Dorothy Hall, this model acknowledges that not all children
learn in the same way and provides substantial instruction to support the
learning personalities of all students. See also Patricia Cunningham & Dorothy
Hall’s website: http://www.wfu.edu/education/fourblocks/
 Wieser Educational www.wiesereducational.com
The materials available on this website provide content at grade level but are
presented in a high interest format and at a reading or vocabulary level that is
usually several grades lower. This makes the majority of these products
particularly appropriate for use in Special Education, ESL/ELL and At Risk
programs, as well as Adult Basic Education.
 do2Learn http://www.do2learn.org/
This site offers free teacher and parent materials, education supplies, games, and
resources, as well as free computer based instruction (e.g., us safety, stree & fire
safety, facial expressions, number, word, and color games. Other features include
templates for creating schedules, story strips. There are other products available
for purchase such as the comprehensive program for learning how to interpret
parts of a face.
 Augmentative/Alternative Communication Intervention - Caroline
Musselwhite & Julie Maro http://www.aacintervention.com/ and
Caroline’s Corner http://www.learningmagicinc.com/partners/corner.html
These websites include a variety of free and materials available for purchase
including specific tutorials for BoardMaker, general Tips & Tricks, Products, etc.
 Literacy Instruction for Individuals with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down
Syndrome, and Other Disabilities, Light, J. & David McNaughton
http://aacliteracy.psu.edu/
This website provides guidelines for teaching literacy skills to learners with
special needs, especially learners with complex communication needs.
Online Libraries
 The Internet Public Library http://www.ipl.org/
This website features a searchable, subject-categorized directory of
authoritative websites; links to online texts, newspapers, etc.
 The International Children's Digital Library: http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
This website offers free access to high-quality digital books from around the
world. Browse by age, genre, book length, character types, or even the color of a
book's cover.
 Listen Up! Vermont: http://www.listenupvermont.org/
This website provides a downloadable audio book program provided by the
member libraries of the Green Mountain Library Consortium
Online Literacy Programs/Activities/Materials
 Learning A-Z: http://www.learninga-z.com/help/index.htm
Learning A-Z provides a number of dynamic curriculum delivery websites with
hundreds of thousands of teaching and learning resources for PreK-6 educators
and students. leveled readers (including English, Spanish, and French versions)
poetry, read-alouds, decodables, and more, with accompanying lessons,
worksheets, assessments, and other teaching and learning materials.
 Intellitools http://www.intellitools.com/
This website offers a series of educational software and hardware products for
students, including Classroom Suite, Classroom Suite MathTutor, Classroom
Suite ReadingTutor, Classroom Suite Primary Skills Builders, and Intellikeys.
 Classroom Suite Activity Exchange: http://aex.intellitools.com/
The IntelliShare Activity Exchange allows users of IntelliTools educational
software to share activities that they have made.
 Clicker 5 http://www.cricksoft.com/uk/products/clicker/
This website Clicker is a reading and writing tool that helps pupils of all abilities
to achieve success in reading and writing.
 Learning Grids https://www.learninggrids.com/uk (an activity exchange
feature available with purchase)
This website is the Crick Software free educational resources site for Clicker 5,
WriteOnline and ClozePro.
 Starfall: http://www.starfall.com (early learning - targets 1st grade and
below activities)
A free website to teach children to read with phonics including phonics games
and online interactive books for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade.
 RhymeZone: http://www.rhymezone.com/
A language arts reference tool and comprehensive search engine for words,
which includes the functions of a rhyming dictionary, thesaurus, and spelling
checker.
 News 2 you: http://www.news-2-you.com/
This website provides weekly newspapers that connect students with the world
through symbol-supported news articles and dozens of worksheets, games, and
activities.
Online Interactive Books
 Browser Books: http://staff.prairiesouth.ca/
http://staff.prairiesouth.ca/~cassidy.kathy/browserbooks/index.htm
This website was created to allow beginning readers to read books on their web
browser. The books have been sorted by level and by subject according to the
curriculum.
 Living Books
Selected Living Books can now be found by searching YouTube.
 One More Story http://www.onemorestory.com (story books on-line)
An online library of classic and contemporary children's literature where
children can hear a book, see a book and read a book.
 Storyline Online http://www.storylineonline.net/
This website provides an online video streaming program featuring Screen
Actors Guild members reading children’s books aloud. Each book includes
accompanying activities and lesson ideas.
 Tumblebooks: http://www.tumblebooks.com/ (story books on-line)
This website provides animated, talking picture books that have been created
from existing picture books from well-known publishers and authors and
converted to the TumbleBook format.
 TumbleReadables: http://www.tumblebooks.com/tumblereadable/
This website includes an online collectio of read-along titles for elementary ,
middle school and high school students, which features adjustbal online text and
complete audio narration.
 We Read for Kids http://www.weread.org/kids/index.php
This website provides educational, fun kids books, music, and activities online.
 Houghton Mifflin Education Place
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
This website provides free graphic organizers to help classify ideas,
communicate more effectively, structure writing projects, help in problem
solving, decision making, studying, planning research and brainstorming.
 Creative Commons http://creative-commons-photo.com/
This website is a catalog of image and text resources, focusing on artistic and
cultural material.
Vocabulary Websites
 Enchanted Learning http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Dictionary.html
This website provides an online resource for curriculum materials.
 Google Images www.google.com
Free images to download including photos, clip art, line drawings, etc.
 Language Guide http://www.languageguide.org/englisch/
This website provides support for vocabulary and language development.
 The Internet Picture Dictionary http://www.pdictionary.com/
Free, online multilingual picture dictionary with interactive activities for English,
French, German, Spanish, Italian and ESL learners.
 The Visual Dictionary http://www.infovisual.info/
Visual Dictionary, to learn by way of image with thematic, clear and precise
pages, with concise and rigorous texts, multilingual, the InfoVisual is an
academic resource. It is different from an encyclopedia or from traditional online
dictionaries, thesauri and glossaries because the images replace the words.
 Visual Dictionary Online http://visual.merriam-webster.com/
The Visual Dictionary is designed to help find the right word at a glance. Filled
with illustrations labeled with accurate terminology in up to six languages, it is a
language-learning and vocabulary dictionary for use at school, at home or at
work.
 Word Surfing http://www.wordsurfing.co.uk/
This website provides links to a numbers of websites that provide support for
vocabulary and language development.
 Pics4Learning http://pics.tech4learning.com/index.php?view=browse
Pics4Learning is a copyright-friendly image library for teachers and students.
The Pics4Learning collection consists of thousands of images that have been
donated by students, teachers, and amateur photographers. Unlike many
Internet sites, permission has been granted for teachers and students to use all
of the images donated to the Pics4Learning collection.
 Edupic Graphical Resource http://www.edupic.net/index.html
Edupic is a teacher-designed free image resource for educators and their
students.. The Pics4Learning collection consists of thousands of images and
teachers and students can use all of the images without permission.
Commercial Literacy Programs and Materials
 Language! The Comprehensive Literacy Curriculum:
http://www.sopriswest.com/
This program is for struggling readers, writers, speakers, intensive intervention,
two or more years below:
 Intensive English Language Arts Curriculum grades 3-12
 Provides explicit, systematic, research-based instruction
 Multiple entry and exit points to place students according to skill level
 Cumulative and sequential multisensory activities engage students while
establishing skills in phonemic awareness and phonics, word recognition
and spelling, vocabulary and morphology, and grammar and usage.
 Start –to-Finish books: http://www.donjohnston.com/
These accessible materials provide curriculum-tied reading materials for
students with low incidence disabilities such as autism and multiple disabilities.
Assistive Technology Programs
Vermont Assistive Technology Program http://www.atp.vermont.gov/
The goal of this program is that all individuals with disabilities receive the assistive
technology they need and want, and that the benefits of assistive devices and
technologies figure prominently in the minds of consumers, policy makers, and
service providers. We seek to create a dependable, consistent system of service
delivery that is consumer driven and consumer responsive.
Get AT Stuff/AT School Swap http://www.atp.vermont.gov/get-at-stuff
The goal of this website is to help get Assistive Technology devices that are no
longer being used into the hands of people who need and can benefit from them.
Contact: sharon.alderman@ahs.state.vt.us (Waterbury)
Special Education Technology - British Columbia http://www.setbc.org/
To enhance student opportunities for success by providing access to curriculum
through the use of appropriate educational and communication technologies.
Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative http://www.wati.org/
This program is a state-funded project to help schools improve their assistive
technology services. Includes many free resources, lending library information, and
related links.
Assistive Technology Assessment Tools
 Wisconsin Assistive Technology Checklist
http://www.wati.org/?pageLoad=content/supports/free/index.php
This website includes free resource materials for assessing students’ needs for
assistive technology.
 Cited Tech Matrix: http://www.techmatrix.org
This website is a tool for finding and comparing educational and assistive
technology products side by side to make informed decisions.
Assistive Technology Training Tools
Atomic Learning http://www.atomiclearning.com/
Atomic Learning’s online training resources provide “how to do that” through a
library of short, easy-to-understand tutorial movies, and address “how do I apply
that” questions with complete continuing professional development and technology
integration solutions.
Other Resources
Sound Bites http://www.findsounds.com/
This website includes a software program that lets you search more than one
million sounds on the Web and helps you organize and search your own sound
collection.
NewEgg http://www.newegg.com/ (low-cost computers...)
This website offers customers a comprehensive selection of the latest high-tech
computer and other electronics products.
Microsoft Word Accessibility Features
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/office2010/
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/office2007/
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/office2003/
The above websites provide instructions for many accessibility features in Word
that support literacy learning.
Microsoft Wor Forms http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/create-forms-thatusers-complete-in-word-HA010030746.aspx
This site provides instructions for creating forms in Microsoft Office Word 2007 by
starting with a template and adding content controls, including text boxes, date
pickers, and drop-down lists, and check boxes.