Key points
Some key points to try to remember:
- Be aware of the desire of many students to be the same as everyone else – differentiate work with sensitivity.
- Encourage the student to offer suggestions in class discussions in which they often shine in relation to their peers. (It can be helpful for a support assistant to have checked that they know the correct answer to prevent further failure).
- Encourage risk taking, ‘What’s your best guess?’ modelling that it is all right to make mistakes.
- Ask students to rate out of 10 their confidence in knowing an answer, before they give it.
- Never ask a dyslexic student to read aloud in class unless they offer, and even then try to ensure that they can read the text easily before allowing them to proceed.
- Try to find written tasks for which the student can see a purpose – e.g. writing emails, writing to outside organisations, penpals.
- Structure the task so that it is manageable.
- Be aware of an over reliance on adult support developing. Fade support out gradually leaving a longer time before offering help.
- Check all students understand the task before moving on.
- Build in SUCCESS and use PRAISE
Classroom organisation
Think carefully about classroom organisation:
- Seat students with supportive peers operating at a similar intellectual level, rather than always with other students with literacy difficulties. Placing a student with their intellectual peers means that they can participate in discussions at a suitable level as well as safeguarding self-esteem.
- Use a more competent, supportive peer to compensate for weak literacy levels – by acting as a reader, as a checker for proof reading, as a tester for learning exercises.
Alternative means
What alternative means are available for recording or presenting information?
- Use of a laptop to access Word or Word on-line (the latter has ‘dictate’ technology).
- Assistive Technology—speech to text (’Dicate’ or Dragon Naturally), however the student will need a quiet space or a ‘privacy board’
- Dictation to an adult or peer (use of a scribe)
- Diagrams (e.g. timelines, tables, posters, charts)
- Graphic organisers and supporting software e.g. Kidspiration
- Storyboards
- PowerPoint presentations
- Oral presentations
Supporting writing tasks
Which mechanisms can support writing tasks?
- Scaffold writing activities with the use of: writing frames, disrupted information and cloze procedure exercises
- Allow students with literacy difficulties to write directly onto worksheets which may need to be enlarged.
- Provide (and teach) key words for independent writing.
- Encourage the use of spellcheckers (Franklin Collins SPQ 109 or Franklins LWB) and word mats.
- Avoid copying from the board.
- If they must copy, provide a close or e-copy.
- Word processing and the use of support packages. e.g: Word, Google, Clicker, Claroread, Text Help, Wordbar etc.
Accessible text
Ways to make the text more accessible
- Choose a font that is clear and easy to read (e.g. Comic Sans, Calibri, Tahoma, Arial, Garamond).
- Use as large a font (12+) as possible.
- Use text boxes to separate out small blocks of text.
- Use pictures and diagrams to break up the text.
Reading tasks
Which mechanisms can support reading tasks?
- Use cream or pastel coloured paper
- where possible to reduce glare.
- Use blue, brown, red, green or purple board markers in preference to black.
- Use different colours to separate key information written on the board.
- Never ask a dyslexic student to read aloud in class (unless he offers, and even then try to ensure that he can read the text easily before allowing him to proceed).
- Arrange for any lengthy text reading to be supported by a ‘buddy’ or a support assistant, or tape recorded in advance.
- Think very carefully about how you present written information.
Marking
When marking written work:
- Mark positively. Identify one success, provide one tip or maybe suggest one target.
- Write comments above, below or beside the body of the text, not all over the student’s own writing
- Focus on strengths rather than weaknesses – e.g. separate composition from transcription in writing.
- Be aware of the effort that has been expended to produce 5 lines of writing when most students are producing 30 plus.