Making+Reading+Comprehension+Joyful

Reading Comprehension
__[|The Neuroscience of Joyful Learning]__ Great article on Neurological-based learning. Go to the "RAD lessons for the classroom" section. In a nutshell, RAD focuses on three principles:
 * Novelty promotes information transmission 
 * Stress-free classrooms
 * Pleasurable associations linked with learning

Books and Literacy
Finding a book and making it accessible is key to engaging in the RAD principles. For example, a fourth grade classroom could be assigned to read //Number the Stars// by Lois Lowry, a text that could be daunting for some struggling readers. Enter //The Butterfly// by Patricia Polacco.

N ovelty
Novelty promotes information transmission through the **R**eticular activating system. The following resources provide a novel way to engage learners to read and promote literacy.
 * 1) [|Voice Thread] - This is a free online tool that allows users to collaborate and share images, documents and videos with their peers. Users can leave comments in five different ways: using voice on microphone,using voice on telephone, with text, as an audio-file or video. The final product can be imbedded onto other websites or exported to mp3 or DVD for archival purposes.
 * 2) [|Into The Book] - This is an interactive website using 8 research-based strategies for reading comprehension. The eight resources are: using prior knowledge, making connections, questioning, visualizing, inferring, summarizing, evaluating and synthesizing. The //Teacher// section provides lesson plans, exploration of 8 strategies and a list of recommended books for students based on each strategy.

Stress-free classrooms
Stress-free classrooms propel data through the Amygdala's affective filter. The following resources are able to be imbedded into the Microsoft Word 2003 toolbar to promote stress-free reading and literacy.
 * 1) [|Word Talk] - This is a free text-to-speech plug-in for Microsoft Word. It will speak the text of the document and will highlight it as it goes. t contains a talking dictionary to help decide which word spelling is most appropriate.
 * 2) Text to Speech on Apple Computers: Using the "Speech" option under System Profiler users can interact with documents and web browsers with literacy support. (Image link will take you to an article on speech recognition on a MAC)

Pleasurable Associations Linked with Learning
Pleasurable associations linked with learning are more likely to release more **D**opamine. The following resource allows learners to make creative links to the book(s) they've been reading.
 * 1) [|Aaron Shepard Reader's Theater] - Students can create a mini-play based on the book they've been reading, for example a mini-play on //The Butterfly// and upload a video or audio clip of that play onto [|Voice Thread].
 * 2) [|Photo Peach] - This site allows users to take images and turn them into a film, creating the ability for learners to re-tell the story they've been reading.