| Ruth's Resources |
(Updated
22/05/08
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Teaching and learning strategies to use with LD (or any) students to help increase achievement |
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LD Teaching & Learning Strategies View Ruth's ordered lists Individual Assistance for LD students The unordered list View (Large html file) Download
the originals
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The
Unordered List (long) Use lots of visual aids such as overhead
projectors, films, videos, slides, chalkboards, flip charts, computer
graphics, diagrams, charts, highlighting, underlining, drawing arrows, and
pictures to illustrate all subjects, including the teaching of language.
Write neatly on the board, using colored chalks or
markers to emphasize different sections. Give new information more than once. Give study notes, models and guided outlines for
projects and writing assignments. Insist on drafts of written work with deadlines. Minimize noise and visual distractions in and
outside the classroom, including flickering light bulbs. Give shorter spelling lists and shorter essay
tasks. Use games or songs that encourage repetition. Allow a dictionary at all times, even during tests. Use continuous portfolio assessment in preference
to tests, and include non-print based assessment. Seek opportunities to praise and build self-esteem. Encourage expectations of success by having clearly
set objectives. Test orally whenever possible. Leave notes on the board for as long as possible. Put key words on the board clearly. Provide a list of key vocabulary words, explaining
technical language and any foreign words. At all times avoid the use of sarcasm, continual
criticism or bringing attention to student’s different needs in front of
his peers. Recognize that this student will respond significantly better
when encouraged and when positive achievements are noticed and mentioned. Don’t make an LD student rewrite work. Don’t compare LD students with other pupils or
siblings. Don’t speak too fast.
LD students have difficulty following and processing fast speech. Don’t make the child work for long periods
without a break. Don’t ignore the signs that the child is losing
concentration or not understanding. Get support for yourself through your
administration, colleagues and community.
Seek the help of special educators and learning disability
organizations. Draw on their
expertise. Do not be afraid
to acknowledge what you don’t know. Be prepared to learn from the parents. Interest,
involve and work closely with them. You
both need each other’s help. Students with learning disabilities need a lot of
structure. Lists of the
day’s routine and expected behaviours can help. Prepare the child ahead of time for any change in
schedule, and keep reminding until the change has occurred. Catch the child being good, and reward this
behaviour. Use mind maps, writing frames, and other graphic
organizers to help the student plan projects and papers. Actively teach study skills. Actively teach social skills and self-assessment. Permit students to repeat things under their
breath. Develop active listening skills for everyone in the
classroom. Arrange for frequent parental contact, not just
when problems or crises occur. Celebrate
successes, too. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Begin lectures with a review of the previous
lecture, an overview of topics to be covered that day, and/or an outline
of the lecture. Be aware that the student learns in a different way
from the conventional methods. Recognize self-esteem/depression problems. Recognize that test grades may be well below
potential. Show sympathy, concern and understanding. Be a good listener. Teach and help students to fill in forms and
applications. Pause occasionally in your lectures to allow
students to catch up in their note taking. Leave time for a question-answer period at the end
of each lesson. Offer review sessions. Frequent quizzes rather than or in addition to 1 or
2 big exams. Provide study questions for exams that show the
format that will be used as well as the content. Recognize the frustration felt by the LD student. See that the peer group understands the nature of
the LD problem so that the child is not mocked or bullied.
LD students are vulnerable to bullying. Be aware that learning difficulties many be
undiagnosed even at the high school and university level and that there
are degrees of LD: mild, moderate and severe. Relate concepts to past experience. Make sure that the student has a complete set of
notes prior to any test or examination. Encourage pupils to be aware of and to evaluate the
strategies they use to study. Allow the use of any learning tool necessary, such
as a tape recorder, spell checker, laptop, or calculator. Mark positively – tick the good bits. Keep in mind that no two students with learning
differences are the same, but always there is a discrepancy between
achievement and aptitude. They
have average to above average intelligence and are usually highly
creative. Avoid blaming and name-calling.
Label the behaviour, not the person. Promote risk taking. Break down learning into small, sequential tasks.
Give specific examples. Use cueing words and gestures to emphasize points. The younger the child is diagnosed, the more often
remediation is possible. When
a student is older, you should deal more with coping strategies and
self-advocacy skills. Remember the child is more normal than different,
and different does not mean defective. Encourage the student to ask questions, and teach
them how to do so. Read instructions aloud, even for tests and
examinations. Check that homework assignments have been copied
down correctly. Combine life skills such as reading medicine labels
and filling out forms with phonics, word recognition, and reading
comprehension. Emphasize to students that their worth as a person
is not related to their test scores or how well they did on a particular
assignment. Reduce the number of items to be completed in a
given assignment (for example, the number of words on the spelling list). Allow credit for projects involving hands-on
activities such as collages, dioramas, posters, and skits. Use selected computer programs to increase reading
skills, improve comprehension, and aid written assignments.
A computer is non-judgmental and is often the method of choice for
many LD students. Practice writing in the air, in sand, on a board
and/or with play dough as well as in an exercise book. The letter “L” can only be made with the left
hand using the thumb and index finger, which can help students with
directionality. Use games, songs, and rhymes to help the student
listen and repeat sounds. Allow the student to experiment with different
types and shapes of writing tools. Allow tests/exams to be taken in a quiet room,
alone, with no distraction, with a teacher available if needed. Allow a reader or taped version of exams where
possible. Put 3 lines of space between test questions. Allow the exam to be taken orally, or by using a
word processor. Provide detailed guidelines for revision. Avoid double negatives, unduly complex sentence
structure and embedding questions within questions when composing
examinations. Provide alternatives such as lined paper or a word
processor to aid students with overly large, cramped, laborious or
illegible handwriting. Students with spatial awareness difficulties might
find it useful to work “BIG” for a while. Help the student see his/her progress using
checklists, graphs or other visuals. When correcting, use two
colours, one for content
and the other for spelling and presentation. Recognize that the LD student may take up to three
times longer to learn and will tire quickly.
They have to try harder, which can be exhausting. Give plenty of warning when changes are made to the
timetable, teacher or task. Remember that LD students have good days and bad
days. Performance
inconsistency is part of the problem. LD students might have difficulty with such
organizational tasks as keeping their things tidy at school, getting
dressed, remembering their PE kit, looking for something they have lost,
packing their school bag and organizing the equipment needed for homework. LD students should sit alongside well-motivated
children or a “study buddy” whom they can ask to clarify instructions
for them either during or after class. Classrooms should be organized so that movement
around the room is as quiet as possible. Resources in the classroom should be clearly marked
and neatly arranged so things can be found easily. When writing on the board, use a different
colour on
alternating lines. Teach handwriting in very small groups or
preferably one-to-one, using cursive script, which encourages flow and
aids letter orientation. Use Sassoon Primary, Comic Sans MS or Arial fonts
in size 12-16, with double line spacing.
Times Roman is to be avoided. Allow students to use highlighters to mark key
points/words/instructions. Give out the homework assignment before the
end of the lesson. Give time for the homework to be done rather than
next-day deadlines. Be aware that the pace of the normal class is
likely to be too fast for LD students because they often need more time to
process language. Sensitively share the knowledge of your student’s
difficulties with appropriate others. Do not use playtime to complete work. Avoid letting the student become aware of your own
frustration. Have a home/school communication book. Encourage the child to compete against himself, not
others. Remember that tasks that seem simple to you may be
complex for the pupil. Talk to the student.
Ask him/her what might be better. Make PE activities less daunting.
Avoid ‘team choosing.” Actively teach study skills, like note taking and
time organization. Indicate reading priorities. Summarize the main points. Providing a list of topic words at the beginning of
each unit helps parents know what’s going to be covered, helps students
to assimilate new vocabulary, and provides material for spelling
development. Create summary cards of topic material at the end
of each unit to aid in Overlearning and revision. Place left-handers next to each other to reduce arm
conflict. Place the student in the front, middle of the
class, thus reducing the angle of eye-to-board-to-book contact and
minimizing distractions. Provide wall displays of key terminology. Use a color-highlighted register to help remember
specific needs of students (e.g. green = problems with language
processing, blue = class position is important).
This helps new and substitute teachers also. Give older students a plastic-coated card, which
can be shown to teachers, that details their
special needs Ensure that pupils know the PURPOSE of tasks. Provide fidgeters with appropriate materials to
manipulate. Bookmarks
and bits of paper are less easily dropped than pencils.
Depriving those who require the physical sensory stimulation of
manipulative objects just leads them to search for something else. Allow the students who need it to move around.
Provide opportunities for physical action, such as handing out books,
pacing in the rear of the classroom, doing an errand, washing the
blackboard, getting a drink of water, or going to the bathroom. Beware of overloading working memory. Teach the student breath control to relieve stress
and anxiety. Let the student know privately that his/her
difficulties are recognized. Give more time – to plan, to start, to complete,
and to respond. Remember that LD students are intellectually at the
level of their chronological age, although functionally they may not be.
Therefore, activities need to be appropriate to intellectual levels
and broken down into achievable stages, to allow for success. Don’t expect the child to listen and do
simultaneously. For example,
note taking can be extremely difficult for some. Advocate on behalf of your student with other
teachers, with the school administration, and with the parents, if
necessary. An accommodation often offered is more time for
taking tests. However this is
not always appropriate for some students who rather need a chance to
retake a test, to take it in a quiet room with no distractions, or to take
it at a different time of day. Stand near the student when giving instructions Have the daily routine in writing where it’s easy
to see, on the board, on the wall, or taped inside the student’s books
or desk. Accept typed or word-processed assignments. Allow oral or taped assignments. Provide practice questions for studying. Give open book tests. Allow revision cards to be used during testing. Vary the format of tests: true/false, matching
questions to answers or words to definitions, multiple choice, labelling diagrams, sentence completion, title-paragraph match, table/grid
completion. Give parts of the test in more than one sitting. Give more frequent, short quizzes and fewer long
tests. In grading, specify the skills mastered by the
student, rather than giving a letter grade. Limit the amount of homework to a certain amount of
time spent productively, rather than an amount of work to be completed. Allow extra credit assignments. Allow the student to work on homework at school.
Ideally study periods should be part of the school schedule. Frequent parent/teacher communications via whatever
works: home/school agendas, face-to-face meetings, phone calls, emails. Help the students feel comfortable with seeking
assistance. Many students
with LD will not ask for help. They
need to be taught how to ask questions. Monitor frequently. Maintain a supportive attitude. Make sure you are testing knowledge and not
attention span. Have pre-established consequences for
misbehaviour.
Enforce classroom rules consistently. Teach cognitive restructuring to students with low
self-esteem. For example, positive "self-talk," - "I did
that well.” Be aware that LD might be undiagnosed as late as
secondary school or university, or even never at all. Textbooks and materials should be selected and/or
adapted with the LD learner in mind.
Check the readability of all texts and worksheets – they could be
scanned into a computer that has the Word program as Word has a
readability facility. A ‘mini-max’ technique is best – take minimal
steps for maximum practice and effect. Teach keyboard and word-processing skills in
primary school. Insure that the information concerning the student
is passed on when the child is in transition from one teacher to another,
from one year to another and from one school or country to another.
Do not assume that this will be done automatically. Help the child to succeed.
Avoid failure, be constructive and positive.
Praise helps boost flagging self-esteem. Encourage the use of computers to help the child
get over the hurdle of producing text, but remember that not all children
relate to technology. Build up a bank of resources for the student.
This will not be your last LD student, and you will be more
prepared for the next. Keep your education ongoing.
Attend conferences, read books, visit websites, take classes. Whenever possible, the child should be encouraged
to repeat back what he has been asked to do – this also includes
messages. His own voice is a
very useful aid to memory. The design and presentation of worksheets needs to
be carefully thought out -
bold headings, clear print, less writing, more diagrams. Teach reading and spelling together through a
structured, phonic, multi-sensory program. Rewards should be frequent and important, but only
when deserved. The working environment should be quiet,
non-distracting and attractive. Marking of pupil’s work should be carried out
with her/him present whenever possible; the teacher should sit on the same
side of the desk. Understand the intermittent nature of pupil’s
performance and attention. Part
of the LD profile is that the student’s work will be inconsistent and
erratic. All efforts should be made to build the confidence
of the pupils through the development of their superior aptitudes, be it
in music, sport, design, technology, science or drama. Show patience, understanding, encouragement, and
friendship at all times. When you start blaming the child, you’re burning
out. Burnout comes from
feeling that you’re not making a difference. Students with LD problems often feel they are
stupid, dumb, and worthless, and that they are the only ones with this
problem. Make sure a child feels safe and secure in your
classroom and in your presence. Discuss the value of making mistakes as a way of
learning. Hold a
brainstorming session to discuss, “What could I, as the teacher, and all the kids do, so that
no one is afraid of making a mistake in this class?” For students with difficulty reading, or the very
slow reader, the "read along technique" with taped textbooks and
workbooks might be used in the classroom, at home, and in the resource
room. Talking books may be acquired from Recording for the Blind and
Dyslexic http://www.rfbd.org/. For students with memory problems, or unable to
take notes in classroom, a fellow student might share notes by using
carbon paper or photocopying, or the teacher could provide a copy of the
class lesson or allow the student to tape record lessons. Educational film strips and videos are available on
most subjects and most grade levels for general information not acquired
from the printed page. For students with short term memory problems --
i.e., do not remember mathematical facts, but understand the computation
process -- a table of math facts and other visual aids, and a printing
calculator could be provided. For the student who has difficulty writing, a
battery cassette recorder could be provided for the student to dictate
answers to tests or written lessons. Some students may benefit from
coloured plastic
overlays thought by some to enhance symbols and to give depth to printed
page. Teaching spelling should be started with a
multi-sensory approach -- say the word, spell the word orally, then write
the word. Use a wooden or plastic alphabet to teach names and
sequence of letters – capital first, then lower case.
Close eyes to feel the shape and remember its name and associated
sound/sounds. Use pictures
and memory hooks to provide pictorial and memory hooks for sounds. Let children develop their own word
bank/dictionary, cards, or notebook where they can practice difficult,
new, or irregular words. Choose only those accommodations and interventions
that are the most needed. Attempt to select low-level accommodations and
interventions before moving to more supportive or high-level
accommodations and interventions. If high-level accommodations are
necessary, choose them with the goal of slowly removing them whenever
possible. The objective should always be to provide support while
encouraging growth with these strategies to foster independence and
self-advocacy. Make sure the student is always provided
opportunities for physical activities. Do not use recess as a time to
make-up missed schoolwork. Do not remove daily recess as punishment. Provide the student with a legible outline before a
lesson/lecture and with legible teacher’s notes of same. Provide regular guidance and appropriate
supervision on planning assignments, especially extended projects that
take several days or weeks to complete. A part of the LD spectrum of
symptoms is a sort of a temporal disability where the gauging of time, and
how long tasks will take, are distorted. Give private, discrete cues to the student to stay
on task, cue the student in advance before calling on him, and cue before
an important point is about to be made (for example: "This is a major
point."). Provide the amount of support and structure the
student needs, not the amount of support and structure traditional for
that grade level or that classroom/subject. Allow the student to begin an assignment and then
go to the teacher after the first few problems are done for confirmation
that he/she is doing the assignment properly, and to receive gentle
correction or praise. Periodically if needed, modify classroom and
homework assignments (examples: student does every 2nd or 3rd problem, or
have the student use a timer and draw a line across their homework page at
the end of 15 minutes of sustained work). Make a second set of books and materials available
for this student to keep a back-up set at home. Information retrieval can be complicated by LD.
When more time is available
to complete an assignment, test, quiz or final exam, should it be needed,
memory retrieval is improved and test pressure interferes less with the
ability to retrieve and express what is known. Provide the student with a regular program in study
skills, test taking skills, organizational skills, and time management
skills. Help the student set up a system of organization
using color coding by subject area, especially with materials that need to
be stored in a school locker during the day. Teach the student efficient methods of
proof-reading own work. Across all subject areas, display and support the
use of mnemonic strategies to aid memory formation and retrieval. Designate one teacher as the
advisor/supervisor/coordinator/liaison for the student and the implementation of the student’s plan, and who
will periodically review the student’s organizational system and to whom
other staff may go when they have concerns about the student. This teacher would also act as the link between home and
school. Permit the student to check-in with this advisor
first thing each week (Monday mornings) to plan/organize the week and last
thing each week (Friday afternoons) to review the week and to
plan/organize homework for the weekend. Recognize EFFORTS the student employs toward
attaining a goal, and recognize the problems resulting from skill deficits
versus non-compliance. Praise in public, reprimand in private. Recognize that LD is a neurological condition that
is beyond the control of the student. Humour
and exaggeration are two great teachers. Teachers are urged to re-examine the notion of what
is “fair.” “Fair”
does not mean that every child gets the same treatment, but that every
child gets what he or she needs. Attention span tends to lengthen when tasks are
short and successful. Learning is best when brought through the
modalities of hearing, sight, touch, and movement. - multi-sensory
teaching. Students retain 10%
of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of
what they see and hear, 70% of what they say, and 90% of what they say and
do. A cumulative, highly
structured, sequential, approach which uses multi-sensory materials and
software is what is needed. Time, not money, is the coin we spend on children. |
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