Last Friday, I did my “Differentiated Instruction Strategy Blast” seminar at Gilmanton  School. Not only was a treated to breathtaking foliage on the way to this New Hampshire town, I spent the day with a motivated, positive staff who truly care about helping their students succeed.

Here’s the first indicator: The front tables filled up first! When I saw that happen I knew that I was in for a great day! Ok, it’s true, we presenters are partial to people who are willing to brave the front row.

• For students to build vocabulary skills at home, suggest to parents that they turn on the closed captioning on tv.

• Use the sign language alphabet to have students practice spelling words. We used it very successfully with special education students in grades 4-8. One first grade teacher plans to use it as a center. Idea contributed by Amy Small

• A great website for building vocabulary and doing a good deed is www.freerice.com – grammar, foreign languages, multiplication, vocab, science elements. Idea contributed by Erika Langlais

• For pictures to connect to vocabulary for visual vocabulary review cards, try  http://www.makebeliefscomix.com  –  This site is a wonderful tool for teachers and students alike!

• Lastly, here is a a free online tool that has the potential to meet the needs of more than just the students with learning disabilities for whom it was intended. Read the Words — http://readthewords.com “Originally designed for students with disabilities, ReadTheWords accepts multiple input formats such as MS Word, PDF, or html for users to create readings. Output is a synthesized speech file in one of fifteen voices that can be heard online, downloaded, saved, and shared. If you download the toolbar, you can convert text in a web page to speech without having to go to ReadTheWord.com”