Help for Struggling Readers: Creating Your Own Color Overlays

You can create your own overlays by using whole sheets or cutting strips of transparent, colored report covers, dividers or overhead projector film. 

Step one: Buy a variety of colorful transparent sheets.  You can use -

• color, transparency film
• color, transparent report covers (plastic)
• color, transparent dividers (plastic)

All of these options can be found at office supply stores.

Step two:  Everyone is different.  Let your students try out the different colors and see which one they like the best.

 

Step three:  For some students, keep whole sheets so that students have the option of changing the background color of the entire page of text.  Other students might like a thin strip of color, as it can help with tracking from one line to the next.  I make them a variety of lengths and widths, and often let students decide for themselves.  Note: The strips also make wonderful book marks. 

Step four (optional):  Place a plain sticker on the end of

the overlay strip or the bottom of a whole sheet so that 
students can write their name on it.  Students can also pick out a sticker of an image too.  Just make sure to keep all stickers on one end of the color overlay strip or the bottom of the overlay page.

Step five (optional): For those students that get overwhelmed by to many words on a page, you can place duct tape around the edge of the overlay to block out competing lines of text. 

At the end of the activity, even if a few of your students don’t find color overlays helpful, they will still have a useful book mark.  

For more great reading remediation ideas, check out my reading games!  You can even get a free sample game!!
http://goodsensorylearning.com/reading-games.html 

Enjoy!