5 Reasons to Use Differentiated Readings

So, after you read my last blog post about what differentiated readings are, you may have found yourself thinking, "Wow!  What a great resource, but why would I use them when I have a perfectly good textbook?"  Well, here are my five reasons to use differentiated readings in your classroom today:

My first reason is the major reason I created these in the first place; they support struggling readers and special education students so they can feel and be successful in a general education setting.  Most text books I've seen and all the social studies textbooks I've been able to use do not seem to have been written for middle schoolers, and certainly not for struggling readers. Besides being written at too difficult a grade level, they also tend to be overly long and boring.  My differentiated readings are short, to the point  and written in a way that interests middle schoolers.

My next two reasons both deal with skills.  My differentiated readings are not just articles to read and discuss.  Students use them to practice their ability to identify and record critical content and to summarize.  They also practice using context clues to define new or unfamiliar words - a critical skill for bumping test scores!  Finally, they are a great and very easy way to embed ELA practice into your social studies content!

If you would like to try out a free one, please click here or the picture below for a free differentiated reading about Early Humans.​