How can barriers in reading be reduced? Adding symbols to assignments could be one possibility for enhancing readability and, therefore, providing students with poor reading skills with access to learning material. This qualitative interview and eye-tracking study aims to acquire a first insight into how students rate and perceive the addition of symbols to texts. Students with special educational needs (N = 6) and without special educational needs (N = 6) participated. All students worked on tasks that were designed as an introduction to fractions. The study shows that the participants rated the additional symbols positively and utilized them without a prior explanation. Furthermore, the symbols were mainly used by the students to gain a holistic understanding of the assignments.