5 Things Every Child with Dyslexia Needs in the Classroom
Students with dyslexia need to be taught in the way that their brains learn best. As teachers, it is our responsibility to learn how to meet the needs of this unique and special learning style. Research tells us that people with dyslexia often have average to above-average IQ’s.
The reason that they struggle in the school setting is not that they lack the intelligence it’s because people with dyslexia learn differently. It’s important to remember that what we call “advantages” and “disadvantages” have meaning only in the context of the task that needs to be performed.
5 Things Every Child with Dyslexia Needs in the Classroom
1. Explicit and systematic phonics instruction.
This means that students are taught specific rules and patterns for letters/sounds and syllable types. This teaching needs to be done in a sequence that builds on previous learning and is developmentally appropriate. Check out our blogs on systematic and explicit teaching, which were both a part of our “Work SMARTER Not Harder” series!
2. Multi-sensory instruction.
This means using more than one of the 5 senses at the same time. This type of learning taps into more areas of the brain and makes remembering rules and information much easier. Check out our multi-sensory blog here!
3. The big picture in different content areas.
Students with dyslexia are global, big-picture thinkers. Therefore, getting the big picture before learning the details helps them to have a place to organize the details.
4. Time to process collaboratively.
Allowing time to have meaningful, reflective discussions about what they are learning can help students with dyslexia. The opportunity to share ideas collaboratively helps with organization and processing prior to tasks such as writing a summary or taking a test.
5. Accommodations.
Such as using visual resources (writing key facts on the board, providing graphic organizers to support note taking or summarizing, using letter tiles for word building exercises, personal word banks for writing assignments), providing access to audiobooks in the classroom, offering alternatives to writing papers or written tests to demonstrate mastery of subject matter, and additional time on tests or writing assignments are just a few that can make a world of difference for a student with dyslexia. For more information on accomodations, click here!