SymWriter

For many educators who teach in the elementary grades, reading and writing for students with learning disabilities can be challenging at times.  When students are just beginning to read, they still do not have the skills to form meaning from specific words or form complete sentences.  There are many ways to influence and enhance the building of vocabulary and reading comprehension.  One assistive technology that is available for is called, SymWriter.

This tool is resourceful not only for teachers, but will benefit early readers and writers as well.  For example, SymWriter could most frequently be utilize in Literacy Class. The class would be given a writing prompt and the students would respond by typing their responses in the word processor.  As words are being typed into the program, symbols are depicted above each word to help support reading and understanding.  Once the students complete their story, they have the option of text to speech, to have the story read aloud to them as well. Teachers can use this program to input short stories for reading comprehension, vocabulary, and for learning schedules.  There are endless possibilities with this fantastic tool!