As a teacher or reading specialist it is important to remember these tips when working with struggling readers. Feel free to add your own in the comment section!
Tip 1: Reinforce the positive aspects of students’ efforts.
Tip 2: Encourage students to outline their thoughts. It is important to get the main ideas down on paper without having to struggle with the details of spelling, punctuation, etc
Tip 3: K.I.S.S. Keep it simple sweetheart! Your students may do better with simple and concise directions for completing tasks.
Tip 4: Get creative! All children learn in highly individual ways. Children with learning disabilities simply process information differently.
Tip 5: Remember Orton-Gillingham principles help struggling readers flourish! Find an explicit, systematic phonics program.
Tip 6: Prioritize certain task components during a complex activity. For example, students can focus on using descriptive words in one assignment and in another, focus on using compound sentences.
Tip 7: Try to find books of interest for your students. They are more likely to focus for greater lengths of time on something that interests them.
Tip 8: Students with attention difficulties benefit from using a bookmark or other tool to help them track and keep their attention where they are reading.
Download a tracking bookmark for you to print and cut> (make sure you cut the window out of the center, that is where the text should be read.)
Tip 9: Have students dictate their ideas into a tape recorder and then listen and write them down later.
Tip 10: Remove “neatness” or “spelling” (or both) as grading criteria for some assignments, or design assignments to be evaluated on specific parts of the writing process.
Tip 11: Be patient and encourage students to be patient with themselves.
Special education and reading intervention can be enjoyable, rewarding and fun! Comment below and share your tips for 2011.