Understanding and
supporting students with
dyslexia in school and the classroom
Some helpful information... • Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affect the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. (Sir Jim Rose 2009) • 6.3 million people (around 10% of the UK population) have dyslexia. • 1 in 6 adults has the reading level of an 11-year-old. (2017) • This leads to difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory of words and language and verbal processing speed. • These difficulties are directly linked to how quickly a student hears and follows instructions or takes part in discussion. • There is no medicine that will “cure” dyslexia.
Signs of Dyslexia
Top Strategies for Teachers Helping Dyslexic Students Achieve 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Help students to actively read, by questioning and testing their knowledge Provide coloured overlays, yellow exercise books Verbal instructions should be given individually & repeated as necessary Include planning and thinking time when posing questions , give students time to respond. Show how to work things out. For example use colour to help compare similarities or differences, create acronyms/ mnemonics to help student compensate for short term memory difficulties. Use mind mapping to helps students recall information in a student friendly way. 6. Look out for consequences of dyslexia. These students may be sensitive to criticism , frustrated, angry, have low self-esteem or become withdrawn because they feel they “can’t do”. 7. Use constant praise and support to build self-esteem. Believe in them. Praising even small achievements builds their self-confidence. 8. Provide a chrome book - helps students with getting their ideas down. 9. 25% additional time in Exams – students are formally tested for this access arrangement early YR10. 10. Provide a handout of your PPT / lesson –this immediately reduces anxiety and stress for dyslexic students.
The Dyslexia Passport Designed to Help You Include the Dyslexic Learner Gives more advice and strategies. In addition to High Quality Teaching, the teacher throughout the lesson should also check in with students to: Make sure that they understand the tasks Give them planning and thinking time so that they have time to formulate a response Make sure work is chunked to prevent memory overload
Use colour coding and highlighters Provide yellow books and overlays Make sure if you set research as H/W, students have the task modelled to them in advance Scaffold essays, provide sentence starters and a writing frame, Use WAGOLL Explicitly teach spelling rules
Three Tips to Take Away! 1. Give students extra thinking and processing time to answer questions, let them know at the start of your lesson if you are going to choose them to answer questions. 2. Text heavy lessons. Print off and give a copy of the PPT/ extract to the student the lesson before. 3. Have chrome books charged and ready for use if you are going to ask students to write for an extended period of time