Tips for teachers in the classroom

Source: British Dyslexia Institute

The Active Approach

ACTIVE is an acronym that summarises a wide  range of teaching strategies and  classroom accommodations that are grounded in the psychology of learning and work with students who are dyslexic, with those with more diverse needs and , in fact, for all learners in every class.

A   Auditory

C   cumulative and Kinaesthetic

T   Time

I    Information and Communication Technology

V    Visual

E    Esteem and Environment

Auditory

Some dyslexic children find it difficult processing auditory information. They take a longer time making sense of what they hear and often find it hard to remember a string of information.

The following are ways to help them learn better: 

• Provide information in small chunks with time to review work. Do not overload them with too much information. Make sure the information is well-organised and presented in a clear and precise way, with no ambiguity.
• Ensure your instruction is direct and clear. Dyslexic children have trouble with both oral and written instructions. Give only one or two oral instructions at a time and when giving written instructions, make sure you are certain that they can read all the words in the directions.
• Encourage students to repeat what you have said, paraphrasing it in their own words. You will then get an idea of how much they understand and they get to hear their own voice which research shows is one of the most powerful stimuli for learning.
• Use tape recorders. Directions, stories, and specific lessons can be recorded on tape. The student can replay the tape to clarify understanding of directions or concepts. Also, to improve reading skills, the student can read the printed words silently as they are presented on tape.

Cumulative and Kinaesthetic

Experience has shown that a strategy of small progressive steps, each building from the previous stage, works well for dyslexic learners. To help them consolidate their skills, make sure opportunity is given to review and practice what was done in the previous lesson before moving on to new learning. Daily review of previous learning or lessons can help students connect new information with prior knowledge.

Research has also shown that the dyslexic child needs to hold and feel, to see and hear and touch, to do and act out , whenever possible. The following are some suggestions on how to make your lessons more kinesthetic:

• Use more manipulatives instead of worksheets.
• Include more physical activities such as tracing words in the air or on a friend's back.
• Move to a different place in the classroom for different activities.

Time

Give them more time to think.  Keep in mind that the dyslexic has trouble  with processing information. He needs more time to make sense of what he has seen and heard and when asked a question in class, to retrieve, organize and produce the information in a sensible way.

His slow processing speed also means that he would need more time to complete the task that you have assigned him.

Information & Communication Technology

Make technology work for the child.

Encourage the use of

• word processing facilities,spell checks.
• language and literacy related software e.g Wordshark, Clicker and Touch Type Read Spell (TTRS).

Visual Strategies

Many dyslexic learners have a strong visual approach to learning and would benefit from some of the following strategies

• Use visual prompts to support the spoken word even is it's just eye contact and body language
• Re-organise information visually, using graphic organizers, pictures, maps, etc
• Enlarge text where appropriate and use fonts that are clearer. Arial, Comic Sans and Tahoma are the clearest. The recommended font size is 14.
• Ensure clear formatting for test papers. Avoid making test papers too text dense.
• Memory jogger cards. These should be tailored for each child and have on them key word or key facts they need to remember. These words could be reinforced by pictures.
• Try coloured paper instead of white. Some dyslexics find it easier on the eye.
• Encourage the use of highlighters to highlight keywords and key points.
• Use highlighters or colour markers to highlight the tricky part of the word or the small word within a word.

            e.g   believe ( commonly misspelled as belive)

                    There is a lie in believe

You can help your kids think up a sentence which draws attention to it.

                   Never believe a lie.

Environment and Esteem

The working environment can be the ‘make or break' for a dyslexic child. They may be having difficulties with listening, hearing, looking, sitting still, concentrating, writing and finding things they need. If their class environment works against them, no matter how hard they try, they will not succeed.

Dyslexia friendly classrooms should be:

• arranged so that the dyslexic child can sit near the front and close to the teacher so that the teacher can monitor for any early signs of fatigue or failure. Students with attention problems should be seated away from distracting sounds, materials, or objects. Check also students who are left-handed- they need to sit on the left side of right-handed children.
• equipped with clearly marked and neatly arranged resources so that they can be easily found. Label them using words, colour, symbols or pictures.
• organized with routines established and consistently carried out. Many students with learning problems need the structure of daily routines to know and do what is expected.

Aside from the layout  of the classroom,  the environment of the classroom must also be one in which the dyslexic child feels secure and safe, accepted and liked by the teacher and his classmates. Keep in mind that children with learning disabilities are often vulnerable to low self-esteem and that this impacts negatively on their learning.  It is important that we help them  become more confident and instill in them the self-belief that they need to succeed.

The following are ways that can help foster self-esteem in your students:

• Create a safe environment where making mistakes is seen as part of the learning process.
• Recognise your students' strengths.
• Structure each lesson for success. Design worksheets with problems arranged from easiest to hardest. Early success helps students begin to work.
• Praise!
• Provide constructive comments on improvement and effort made.