Enhancing Readability Using the COLA strategy Dr. kathy rotter Assistant Professor, The college of New jersey rotter@tcnj.edu

What types of things do you make that kids read? Writing on Board Handouts Tests Study guides Lab guides Bulletin Boards

Where did it come from?

COLA Contrast Orientation Lettering Artwork

What color do you prefer. Can you read this well. How about this What color do you prefer? Can you read this well? How about this? Or this?

Changing colors

With space, it is easier to read the information you need! Without contrast the lines are pushed together in a manner that makes it very hard to read the material put on the page. Without space, there is very little contrast. Space around the words makes them easier to read. With space, it is easier to read the information you need!

A condensed font is harder to read. Even the space between letters can effect the speed of your reading. A condensed font is harder to read. A spread out font can slow you down as well.

When underlining you must be careful as the shape of the words can be shaped by the line. You must also be careful of use of bold in that it draws so much attention to itself!

Without clear borders it is very hard to read info Without clear borders it is very hard to read info. Borders help contain the eye and make reading easier. Borders also help students with reading difficulties locate the info they need to finish their work.

Contrast Black on white is best contrast Plenty of white space Color is in clear contrast – yellow is the enemy! Underlining issues Bold issues Clear crisp borders

Read this please! tomato bother apple somebody running

All info moves top to bottom, left to right Orientation All info moves top to bottom, left to right Important info is at top left position Materials aligned left Clear visual path

A font can be very interesting to see but not as much fun to read. Cursive writing is especially hard for students to read. By age twelve, most people have evolved into their own unique handwriting which is a combination of cursive and print, making their handwriting even hard to read than this. a, a, a, a, a p, b, d, q elephant vs. ELEPHANT

Italics impact reading speed. You read faster without them! I really hate it when a teacher uses an overhead that is too small to read from the back of the class. If you copy a page onto an overhead, it will be too small to read. Italics impact reading speed. You read faster without them! Changing fonts midway slows reading.

Big enough to read at viewing distance Lettering Printed, never cursive Font choice One font Big enough to read at viewing distance Use upper and lower case, not all caps Avoid italics

Not too busy or distracting Pictures easy to recognize Artwork Used to support info Not just to be pretty! Not too busy or distracting Pictures easy to recognize

Why crowd everything into one corner and leave the rest of the page blank? If I care about having my pupils read what I write, I need to make the right things bigger!

Info makes good use of space available No crowding of info Key points are biggest

General good ideas! Print at all times! Put boxes around key info you want students to find. Watch matching questions as they require diagonal tracking skills. Visuals have real power, use them wisely!

Cutting the reading demand Simplify directions Not: Please read the following questions and consider the best possible answer. Mark the correct answer with an “X”. Yes: Mark the answer with an “X”. Allow bulleted answers when possible Highlight key info for those who can’t.

Don’t give compound directions. Use bullets. Not: Underline the two main ideas in the story then put a check over the one you think is most important. Yes: Underling the two main ideas. Put a check over the one you think is most important.

Oh and just one more thing! Having pupils copy info from board or overhead. Many of them can’t. Do you want to measure knowledge of the subject, or ability to copy?

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. Albert Einstein