Myfakewall.com is a free site where students can create a mock Facebook wall. It's a great way to engage reluctant writers because it allows them to creatively demonstrate their knowledge with a limited amount of text. Students can create a wall to feature biographical information and show insight into the roles, relationships and contributions of fictitious characters, pets, historical figures, politicians, artists, musicians, characters from a novel, etc. 

Many thanks to Westside Storefront teacher (SD23), Jeremy Sanbrook, and his students for sharing how their “book club” used myfakewall.com with the best selling novel, Hunger Games.

In an attempt to make high-risk youth enjoy the process of reading and storytelling, our class participated in "book club" twice per week. During book club, our class would sit on the comfy couches next door to our classroom, shut the blinds, and let our minds unwind and relax in literature. Although book club's participation was mandatory, the students were not required to read aloud or answer comprehension questions after each chapter (my main purposes were to have the students enjoy reading and to have them experience completing a book from cover to cover). After each book club session, I would formatively assess the students' comprehension through class discussions. After we finished reading the book, the students were required to create a fake Facebook wall for the character of their choice, along with some other "Who Are They?" character comprehension worksheets.
 
Technology is growing at an exponential rate and an overwhelming number of tools are available to support students who struggle with reading and writing tasks. Here are a just a few inexpensive or free options that can help school students achieve greater success and better prepare them for college or university.

 
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Are you looking for ways to support and engage your students? Here's an example of how we recently integrated some simple, but effective digital tools to engage, educate and empower our students.

A Bit of Background . . . 

This fall we provided literacy support to sixteen high school boys with severe learning disabilities. We reviewed their files, met with staff and and completed the required standardized testing to gain a basic understanding of their literacy skills and needs. They were bright and creative, but despite working with skilled and caring teachers, most had experienced a great deal of academic failure. Many struggled with basic everyday reading tasks and their spelling scores explained their reluctance to write - only two scored above the 17th percentile on a standardized spelling test. 

Our goal was not only to address deficits in critical literacy skills; but also to provide tools and strategies that remove obstacles to learning and empower students with alternate ways to access information and communicate ideas. To personalize their learning and achieve greater success, we wanted to learn more about their background, previous experiences, values, attitudes, talents, interests, strengths and needs. Rather than quizzing, testing, interviewing or assigning an 'All About Me' essay, we chose a multimedia format and integrated some of our favorite digital tools - Animoto, YouTube, BrainPop and Wordle.