new resources for reading

Last spring the Morton Public Library received a $20,000 Libraries Transforming Communities grant to help increase access to resources that assist those with dyslexia and other reading processing difficulties. 

The library’s collection now includes more than 2,550 Playaways and 275 Books that Talk. You can view these and additional resources that we’ve purchased with this grant in the new books area. Other items added include:  

• Updated and expanded parenting resources about dyslexia

• Expanded leveled reading collection

• Decodable books, including 16 new sets of Bob books as well as decodable Books that Talk

• “Try Before You Buy” kits with colored reading trackers, speech to text devices, and pencil grips

Research shows listening to books is incredibly helpful to dyslexic readers so  we have  intentionally purchased titles that are required reading for District 709’s curriculum. The library will also be adding audio copies of titles for children to Libby. 

Decodable books are texts that include beginning words that are easy to sound out and follow the rule patterns. (For example, one text may include an array of "short “a” single-syllable words" to reinforce a concept explicitly taught.) The Decodable Books That Talk follow this same pattern, just have the audio bound included. 

Leveled readers are a "graded" text system that progress in difficulty, and focus more on the memorization of sight words or high frequency words. (For example "goes" does not follow any rules for "sounding out")

Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).