Read & Write for Chrome saves my life..

The extension that saves the day in many cases just happens to be read&write for Chrome. You might be thinking, cool Kendra it highlights, anything can highlight, and we have to PAY for it!?

Well.. it comes with a free trial for students.. which I’ve used up. I haven’t bought it for students yet, but let me just tell you how much I love it for the FREE stuff that stays on your computer past the free trial.

What does it even do and how do I download it?

Once you’ve downloaded by clicking on that link, and added it up top you need to agree to run by clicking that blue agree button when the box pops up. Now, whenever you want to use read&write in any Google application, website, or more, just click that purple puzzle piece and it will begin.

(Only place I have found it doesn’t always work are pdfs) Once you have clicked that puzzle piece, it should open up the menu. The menu will have all features for the first 30 days with an .edu email, and after 30 days you will still have access to the audio portion.

Read & Write has become basically an aid in my classroom.

All that I have left because I don’t pay for r&w for my students is the pause and play, but can I tell you how important that is for my students with IEP’s? I have over 5 kids in each one of my periods that are supposed to have each test read to them. How am I supposed to do that all at once?! Oh wait, put the test in Google Forms, and have them press play. The test is read to them, not by me, by the COMPUTER! It’s not a regular robot who just reads the whole page and kids have to keep up. Students can highlight with their cursor what they want read and then press play. One question at a time! Or, maybe they do the whole page but use that handy stop button to stop at each question. Maybe they need the questions re-read to them but are too afraid to ask me to do it because I’m a human. They aren’t afraid to ask a computer to re read the questions, not embarrassing!

I love it for tests, but it is also helpful for articles and difficult primary source readings. My English Learners benefit from hearing how words are said, and sometimes a first read on their own when they are four to five grade levels before reading level is just impossible. My students are at a place where they don’t need to be told to use it, if they need it, they just open it up.

Yes, yes, I know Google Docs has voice feature now.. but if you want EVERY site, every thing to be read, just use this! Plus for 30 days your students have  four sweet colored highlighters, a dictionary, picture dictionary, fact finder, and collector of highlights. Teachers, you get all of these things for FREE for LIFE. Register HERE!

and then once your students run out of their free trial: Just download Clearly to highlight. Let me know if you found anything else that saves your life like read&write does for me! 🙂