SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA IN THE CLASSROOM - Deirdre Whitlow Friday 12th September 2014

SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH
     DYSLEXIA IN THE
      CLASSROOM

                         Deirdre Whitlow
            Friday 12th September 2014

LEARNING STYLES
•   Individuals learn in different ways. “Some people
    prefer to see the information (visual learners), some
    will prefer to hear information (auditory learners),
    while others will learn best by doing- touching,
    feeling, making (kinaesthetic learners). Visual
    learners can be subdivided into those who prefer to
    see text and those who learn best from diagrams and
    pictures”. (Hughes., 1999, p. 41)

•   Find your students learning style online at:
    http://www.vark-learn.com

   According to Hughes (p. 40) “During any
    given class activity it is safe to assume
    that approximately two thirds of the
    children are working outside their
    preferred learning style”. Although
    students have a preferred way of learning
    they can still learn through other modes,
    however students whose preferred
    learning styles are visual or auditory are
    most catered for in classrooms today.”

   Kinaesthetic learners are disadvantaged in
    schools because so many learning activities
    are based upon reading, writing and
    listening. “Once students are taught through
    their preferred learning styles they not only
    increased academic attainment but also
    improved their attitudes to learning and
    behaviour”. (Hughes, p. 45).

VISUAL
 Drawing pictures.
 Watching videos.
 Build stories from pictures.
 Use visual cues to help the students to
  organise themselves.
 Colour coding of material to link similar
  ideas.
 Making posters about the subject which
  includes drawings, text & pictures.

AUDITORY
•   Listen only to obtain information.
•   Read a great deal factual information.
•   Listen to teacher talking.
•   Put ideas on to audio-tape.
•   Discuss ideas with someone else.
•   Use a computer with voice recognition.
•   Work with music in the background.
•   Work from recorded books.

PERIODIC TABLE SONG

KINAESTHETIC
•   Role-play and acting.
•   Discuss information with others.
•   Making displays.
•   Presentations in groups.
•   Walk about while you are thinking.
•   Try ideas out.
•   Try making a collage mindmap using pictures
    associated with ideas.

PERIODIC TABLE

 Activity
 Divide class into 8 groups representing 8 groups
  in periodic table.
 Give examples of each group at each table so
  students can walk around and see each group.
 Group 1- Sodium

 Group 2- Magnesium & Calcium

 Etc.

DIFFICULTIES EXPERIENCED
 Difficulty reading and taking notes.
 Poor reading accuracy, fluency & speed.

 Continues to experience serious spelling difficulties.

 Confuses letter sequences.

 Has slow or poor memory & recall of facts.

 Difficulty planning, sequencing & organising written text.

 Lacks self-confidence & has a poor self-image.

 Poor time management & organisational skills.

(adapted from: Ball et al, 2006)

   According to McPhilips (2003) “In class
    many of the strengths are often masked
    by the expectation to express them
    through writing. Teachers should look for
    skills in practical subjects, original ideas
    as expressed orally or on computer and
    for creative talent”, (McPhilips., 2003, p.
    83).

PRACTICAL STRATEGIES
 Use  coloured paper to reduce glare.
 Suitable fonts include Arial, Comic Sans or
  Verdana.
 Provide high structure and clear
  expectations.
 Capitalise on the student’s strengths.
 Demonstrate activities so they are clear.
 Use short sentences and simple
  vocabulary.

PRACTICAL STRATEGIES CONTINUED..
•   Use self-correcting materials that provide
    immediate feedback without
    embarrassment.
•   Provide opportunities for success to help
    build self-esteem
•   Use computers for class work and
    homework.
•   Provide positive reinforcement
•   Give time to grow and mature in tasks
    and work.
•   Place student beside helpful peer.

READING & SPELLING
•   Select and highlight most important errors, not all
    errors – focus on the nature of the errors (quality)
    rather than the number of errors (quantity).
•   Use a rehearsal-reading system. Instead of calling on
    students at random to read aloud, assign each
    student a specific passage a day in advance.
•   Start with the student’s free writing when selecting
    spellings to learn. Target specific spelling patterns
    that the student requires assistance with.

 Correct spellings positively and allow
  students credit for correct letters or sounds
  in words.
 Encourage the process of drafting and
  redrafting.
 Read questions aloud.

 Limit copying from the board. Write in
  different colours on the board.
 Use a graded-reading programme that is
  appropriate to the student’s level of literacy
  skills as well as his/her interest level.

 Use line trackers and/or coloured/tinted
  overlays as appropriate.
 Encourage students to repeat the
  directions for completing a task.
  Demonstrate the task so students are
  clear on what they have to do.
 Acknowledge that extra time is needed by
  students in order to complete tasks.

WRITING

 Allow students to type work using suitable
  fonts including Arial, Comic Sans or Verdana.
 Descriptive games to develop vocabulary
  e.g. The Blue Ball, the big blue ball.... (in
  groups)
 Get students to write about what is
  happening in a picture to build descriptive
  activities.

NOTE TAKING
•   Have a notebook with key words for specific
    subject areas and this is helpful as pupils can
    learn important words.
•   Provide support with additional recording
    mechanisms where appropriate (e.g.
    appropriate literacy software, charts,
    diagrams, dictaphones, electronic
    dictionaries, models, voice recognition
    software and word processors with
    spellchecker).
•   Give students typed notes instead of asking
    pupils to copy down notes.

THOUGHT SHOWER/BRAINSTORMING

 Good for developing students vocabulary &
  ideas.
 Good logic & order to their work.

 Good for group work.

 It also provides assistance with elements of
  the writing process, such as the using of
  planning sheets.

 Begin by brainstorming topics pupils are
  interested in so they become familiar with the
  technique .
 Use of Graphic Organisers are very helpful.

   Graphic Organisers
    (http://pdst.ie/sites/default/files/GraphicOrgan
    iserFinal.pdf)

BOARD GAMES
 Tarsia- good for summaries.
 Bingo.

 Snakes & ladders.

PAIRED READING
•   Paired reading- involves two people reading
    the information together and if a word is
    wrong it is repeated correctly and they move
    on. (Reid, 2007)
•   Good for one on one or at home with parents
•   Great for building confidence.
•   The student decides on the material which
    interests them and it allows them to
    experience fluent reading.

MNEMONICS
• The pupil should construct it from their own
  imagination & the more ridiculous the
  associations are the easier it is to remember
  them.
E.g. ‘Richard of York gave battle in vain’ for
  colours of rainbow.

•   These can also be used for spelling e.g. Walk-
    we all like ketchup.
•   These can be developed through group work.

TAPPING & RECORDING INFORMATION
•   Use appropriate computer software to support
    reading, spelling and writing (e.g. Wordshark,
    Numbershark, etc).
•   Encourage the use of spelling dictionaries.
•   Use of programmes such as Jolly Phonics, PAT,
    Toe by Toe, etc...
•   Allow students to type homework or record
    information on a dictaphone.
•   Construct logs or diaries of essential words.

REPETITION & REINFORCEMENT

 Over learning is considered so important
  because the short and long term memory
  difficulties experienced by Dyslexic children
  mean that considerable reinforcement and
  repetition is necessary. (Westwood, 2007)
 Provide opportunities for the student to re-
  learn and over-learn.

REPETITION & REINFORCEMENT
•   When repeating information do this in a range of
    different ways for example;
    –   use memory cards,
    –   visuals,
    –   headings,
    –   summaries,
    –   notes,
    –   discussion
•   Praise is essential to reinforce a topic.
•   Use closure strategies to enhance learning &
    retention. E.g. Tell your partner two things you
    learned today
•   Make topics relevant.

MIND MAPPING
•   Teach study skills e.g. highlighting central
    points, mind-maps
•   This is a visual technique and can provide
    opportunities for lateral thinking & creativity
•   Start off simple how they spent the weekend
    and visuals can be used to build memory
•   The move onto topics such as History or
    Geography.
•   Good for showing the big picture so they can
    see the end point.

WAIT TIME

 When asking question give students wait
  time from when you ask question until you
  expect answer.
 Give regular constructive praise and
  encouragement and maintain high
  expectations.

MULTI-SENSORY TEACHING
•   Multi-sensory methods utilise all available
    senses together. It is summarised by the
    phrase “hear it, say it, see it and write it”, (Reid,
    2007, p. 41).
•   Break tasks into small steps and allow adequate
    time for completion of each tasks.
•   Employ a number of multi-sensory methods
    when teaching spellings and consider the use of
    the strategy of look, copy, trace, picture, cover,
    write and check selectively.

MOTIVATION

 Get attention by using humour, unexpected
  introductions & other ‘attention grabbers’ to
  motivate students to work on new topic.
 Set Goals or targets. For example by the
  end of the week...
 Quizzes- Group work.

 Competitions.

MEMORY
•   Songs
•   Write, recite & repeat.
•   Learn actively
•   Write an account
•   Perform a play
•   Discuss in groups
•   Investigate a problem
•   Get student to identify three things they learned
    last week and ask the student why do you think
    you remembered these points- this helps the
    student to become aware of when & how they
    learn best.

THANK YOU

           Thank you for listening.

                   Questions?

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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