The Frugal OT Series…Reading Highlighters

Dollar Tree Find of the Month

Introducing my February Find of the Month: Reading Highlighters or as I like to call them…visual scanning aides.

For just one dollar you get 10 of this wonderful tool that helps with so many things.  These strips come in two different color transparencies, yellow and blue, and lots of cute borders options that the child can choose from. 

Let me count the ways these reading strips can benefit a child…

1. Helps children who have difficulty with visual tracking (eye movement that enables the eyes to aim their focus on the line without losing place). 
2. Helps to prevent skipping words, sentences, and lines altogether.
3. Helps to increase focus/concentration by providing more visual input; this is good for children who have difficulty attending to visual information on a page or are overwhelmed by too much visual information presented on a page.
4. Provides tactile input for children who need to have something in their hand or need to touch something.
5. Increases the level of engagement in the reading task as the child must move the reading strip along the lines of text as they read.
6. Serves as a bookmark which is a great reminder for kiddos to use their reading strip consistently.

How to Use Reading Highlighters:

Using these strips is very simple. Simply place the transparent portion of the strip over the line of text that is being read; much like using your finger to keep place along a line of text. Move the reading highlighter over each line of text as it is being read.

So if you know a child who has needs fitting any or all of the descriptions above, try these visual tracking aides! Leave a comment if this tool has helped your little one, or share successful tips you like to use.

Disclaimer: 

The Fun Strokes blog is designed for educational and informational use only for teachers, therapists, and parents. It is not intended as medical advice or therapeutic treatment that would be provided in an individualized treatment plan. If you suspect a child has delays, please consult an occupational therapist.