One of the challenges in providing students with the most significant disabilities with access to the general curriculum is finding materials that link directly to the grade level content but are written at a level that is accessible. As part of the DLM® project we have been building a library of companion texts that align with literature that is generally taught as part of the general education curriculum across the grade levels. These companion texts are written to be accessible for beginning readers.
Monarch Reader
Monarch Reader (https://monarchreader.com/) is a large library of open-source, accessible, texts for beginning readers of all ages. Monarch Reader was created as a more stable, higher quality alternative to the old Tar Heel Reader site to address the extreme shortage of easy-to-read books on topics that appeal to older students. Books are contributed to the site by teachers, students, parents, and others from around the world.
Most of the books on the Monarch Reader site were written by teachers, students, parents, and others from all over the world. Some books are “Rated M/Mature,” and others may not be appropriate for your students or classroom. Teachers can avoid books that they might find offensive by limiting their search to books that are “Rated E/Everybody” while avoiding books “Rated M/Mature.”
The books can be accessed at Monarch Reader and read online using a range of alternate means of access. They can also be downloaded to read using an epub reader, or downloaded as Powerpoint files that can be read in Google Slides, modified as needed, and printed if desired.
We encourage you to use other books or write your own books on Monarch Reader, but please remember that it is a library that teachers visit to select books for students – and that students visit when particular collections of books have been identified. It was not developed as a writing tool for students.
To find books you might use with your students, start by selecting the appropriate grade band:
Need to access DLM Familiar Texts?
Click here to access Familiar Texts for Instructionally Embedded States
Click here to access Familiar Texts for Year-End Model States