Resources
Strategies to Support Dyslexic Students in the Classroom
Graphic organisers http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
Dyslexia SPELD Foundation http://dsf.net.au/
Australian Dyslexia Association: http://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/
Dyslexia Support Services and Educational Resources http://dyslexiasupportservices.com.au/education_services/resources_teachers.html
http://www.literacyconnections.com/InTheirOwnWords.php
- Create supportive learning environment
- Direct teaching
- Guided practice with feedback
- Frequent revision, pick favourite texts for confidence and fluency for the student
- Pick exciting books, topics which the student would want to read to foster a love for reading and motivation to continue
Reading Strategies for the reading process
There are general reading strategies teachers can follow:
Pre Reading Strategies
- Strategies aimed at activating schema.
- Students draw from background knowledge and experiences related to topic
- Begin to make their own predictions on meaning of readings.
- Previewing the text through skimming and scanning for general idea
- Asking questions based on title and examine visual information within reading.
During Reading Strategies
- Paraphrasing reading into own words.
- Highlighting Key statements/words
- Using Post-it notes: mark text as reading, include questions, comments, mental picture.
- Ignoring words that are difficult: record unfamiliar words in their own personal glossary.
Post-Reading Strategies
Reading Summary:
- Students summarise key points in reading using a graphic organizer
Close Reading Activity:
- Learners figure out what the missing words are and fill in the blanks
Cut-Up Sentences:
- Use sentences from familiar reading cut into separate chunks.
Matching Activity:
- Match characters to key actions/plots of story
Strategies to Support Dyslexic Students in the Classroom
4. Making Meaning from texts
Strategies to Support Dyslexic Students in the Classroom
- Bold key words
- Discuss what the student is to expect from the presented text
- Charts and diagrams to highlight bigger picture
- Personal mind maps, spiderwebs, tree diagrams
http://www.spiderscribe.net/
- Draw a story recall instead of writing
- Underlining key words
- ASK QUESTIONS
5. Constructivist approach
- Pairing students for buddy reading/paired reading aloud
- Keeps student on task
Strategies for Students with Reading Difficulties
6. Assistive Technology
- Texthelp: for dyslexic students
- Spellcheck
- Reading aloud paragraphs to change words/thoughts to audio
- Taped books for storybooks/novels: read along with physical book
- Cameras: personal comprehension
- Presentation software: powerpoint
Strategies to Support Dyslexic Students in the Classroom
- Cream or buff paper
- Avoid cluttering page
- Images to support text
- Less is more! Short points
- 1.5 or 2.0 spacing
- Use headings/sub headings
- Bold key vocabulary/points
Strategies to Support Dyslexic Students in the Classroom
There are some Strategies all teachers can impolement in their own classroom:
1. Breaking tasks into smaller steps/Schematic Development
Dyslexia
- Learning tasks in easy steps
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
Top Down
2. Short term/Working memory Aids
There have been suggestions that work on phonological skills should be embedded within a broad approach, using meaningful texts, real books and personal writing.
- Using a pencil/bookmark to follow along/keep their place
- 'Reveal’ one or two lines per paragraph to break it up and help memory
There are many types of strategies which have been designed for the top down approach for different stages in the reading process.
Top Down
Melanie, Tamisha and Brooke
Bottom Up
Concept-Driven/Meaning Emphasis/Whole Language method which starts with the word and language experience in the reading process
- "Reader attempts to absorb the meaning of the text from the cues that are available"
- Noam Chomsky’s work concluded that language skills are innate in humans, that children could acquire reading skills from exposure to print (Ott, 2007)
- As part of their principles, the goal is to love reading! Then the ability to read would follow on
- There are many types of strategies which have been designed for the bottom up approach- for the early schooling years
These include:
• Phono-Graphix
• Lexia Reading Core 5
• Jolly Phonics
Bottom Up
Code Emphasis/ Phonics based/ Data-Driven model which starts with the phonological awareness in the reading process
- "We read letter by letter so quickly that it becomes automatic"
- Phonics recognition strategies to break down reading process
- Important for Foundation to Y3, teach to mastery
- If continue to use this model in reading process, Dyslexic students will struggle
Reading Models
Two principle models of the reading process
Dyslexia
“Reading achievement is significantly below what is expected given the child’s age, measured intelligence and education.” Farrell, M (2006)
Characteristics of a dyslexic student
Characteristics of a dyslexic student
• Phonological difficulties
• Visual difficulties and visual processing difficulties
• Auditory perception and auditory processing difficulties
• Short-term verbal memory difficulties and sequencing difficulties
More specifically, students:
• Hesitate over words
• Confuse letters with similar shapes, visually similar words and small words
• Omit small words or word endings
• Errors with semantically related words, polysyllabic words or grammar
Students have difficulties with:
• Learning the alphabet
• Remembering routines
• Comprehending what has been read
• Following directions
• Determining important information
• Remembering new information
• Organisation
• Social interactions and behaviour
Reading Difficulty
Needs of a dyslexic student
• Early and effective intervention
• Multisensory methods
• Reinforcement & Repetition
- Reading is most important skill students need to learn
- Key to acquiring information
- Affects up to 30% of students in some schools
- Can affect any child, not just disabled or other identified special needs students
- Without intervention students can fall behind age peers and lack confidence/motivation