Ideas for Encouraging Reading with a Magnifier

1. Observe interesting objects: rocks, shells, fossils, feathers, money, fingerprints, leaves, flowers, and so on
2. Use a magnifier to identify stamps and find out the country of origin in an atlas or on a globe
3. Use a game board approach to move forward when cut-out pictures on individual cards are identified
4. Find hidden pictures within pictures
5. Encourage systematic left-to-right scanning by placing a clear piece of acetate over the page with a grid or scanning plan mapped out first
6. Read recipes off boxes during a cooking lesson
7. Life skills reading activities: include reading: recipes, menus, newspapers, CD covers, food cans, maps, charts, graphs, television guides, bus schedules etc
8. Read Lego assembly instruction sheets to Lego toys
9. Place magnifier on mirror to observe eyes and open discussion on the child's eye condition

• “The Wrong Stone” by Russell Deal
• “The Red Tree” by Shaun Tan
• Graeme Base books including “Animalia”
• “Where's Wally?” books and jigsaw puzzles

1. Scan pages of print for specific information
2. Read newspaper classified sections, sports pages, and stock reports to search for specific information
3. Locate information about food ingredients on grocery labels
4. Read bus and train schedules to plan routes to and from school or work experience placements
5. Make an address book by looking up names and addresses of friends in the telephone book
6. Make a chart to compare reading speeds using magnifier with different sized print
7. Read instruction manuals for computers or new appliances
8. Use a magnifier to locate geographic areas mentioned in current news broadcasts

See also Teaching the Use of Magnifiers for Reading and the Reading Exercise Chart - three examples