Tuesday, April 25, 2023

The Odyssey An Adapted Novel With Unit - Perfect for Struggling Readers

This is Homer's epic "The Odyssey" adapted for students who struggle with reading and those with learning disabilities. Each part contains reading comprehension, fluency and vocabulary. 

The Odyssey Adapted Text

Here is the "The Odyssey ” broken into high interest - low level reading passages. Reading levels range from grades 2 to 3.6 - Lexile Levels 210L-600L. This is an engaging story that older lower readers may never experience – but should.

What is in this Unit?

  • There are1 Vocabulary Pages and 11 Vocabulary Color pages – some parts have combined vocabulary. The Vocabulary Color pages are visualization exercises.
  • There are two visualization exercises, in addition to the vocabulary visualization activities, to help students build visualization skills and aid in reading and listening comprehension. One to complete at the beginning of the unit and one for the second day. These exercises help set the stage and give students prior understanding of setting, theme and characters.
  • There is a sequence graphic organizer for use anytime during the unit.
  • There are Quick Draw instructions.
  • Each Part of "The Odysssey" is written in Lexend Deca with a lot of white space on each page. Why Lexend Deca? Lexend fonts are intended to reduce visual stress and improve reading performance. Initially they were designed with dyslexia and struggling readers in mind, but Dr, Bonnie Shaver-Troup, creator of the Lexend project, conducted much research and discovered that these fonts help improve reading fluency and comprehension for all students.
  • Plot, theme, characters and settings are also included.

Each passage has:

  • "The Odyssey passage on pages with a lot of white space.
  • A constructed response printable that tells the central or main idea of the specific reading then asks students to put the main idea into their own words. There is also a sequence exercise here that asks students to explain the what happened at the beginning of the passage, what happened in the middle of the passage, and then what happened at the end of the passage.
  • The passage written as a timed fluency exercise.
  • A printable with 4 multiple choice questions and three constructed response questions.
  • Optional Lesson Plan

The Odyssey

Reading Level – 210L – 600L

Reading Level – 2nd – 3rd Grade

Passages 1-6: 410L-600L

Passages 7-29: 210L-400L

Interest Level – Middle and High School

High Interest – Low Readability passages are perfect for Distance Learning. Why? Because students are able to read the passages on their own and complete quick comprehension assessments. The assessments contain multiple-choice questions and one or two short constructed-response questions.

This resource is perfect for reluctant older readers who need reading practice but are put off by text that looks “young” or “babyish.” The passages are “The Odyssey” for them.

Written using research-based techniques – the passages repeat words, scaffold and introduce vocabulary.

Adapted Novels are intended to bring general education curriculum to struggling readers as well as students with disabilities. These novels allow all students the opportunity to access literary classics alongside.  I hope you enjoy "The Odyssey" for all students.

Adapted Novels are intended to bring general education curriculum to struggling readers as well as students with disabilities. These novels allow all students the opportunity to access literary classics alongside.  I hope you enjoy for all students.









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