What’s the Connection between Auditory Processing and Dyslexia? [Premium]

What’s the Connection between Auditory Processing and Dyslexia? [Premium]

It’s not uncommon when we speak to groups about dyslexia that someone asks why we are mentioning auditory processing when they (mistakenly) believe dyslexia is only about reading. In fact, there is substantial research literature about dyslexia and auditory processing difficulties – sometimes the problems can present with difficulty in learning phonemes, but other times it may affect sensitivity to auditory distractions, trouble listening to rapid or foreign speakers, and problems hearing in the presence of background noise. People who are dyslexic themselves or live with people who are dyslexic may know all about this. It’s a good example of how simplistic definitions can confuse rather than help. There’s been extensive work about auditory processing differences found in dyslexic vs. non dyslexic groups. The figure […]

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New Ways to Hack Learning [Premium]

New Ways to Hack Learning [Premium]

Almost every structured literacy program uses letter tiles and flashcards. The reason for this is that there are so many word parts and whole words to learn and the use of tiles and cards can give students visual support as they focus on various letters, letter groups, and their sounds while building up reading fluency. Some students may have difficulty learning with tiles and cards if the lessons or demonstrations proceed too quickly, or if working memory is easily overloaded or motor challenges make hands-on activities more difficult than less kinesthetic ones. Activities like word sorts may also provide a little physical activity that help students stay alert and engaged whereas more passive study may have them drifting off. For college kids and adults, flashcards […]

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The Power of the List [Premium]

The Power of the List [Premium]

For many of us, hearing about a new technology, app, or software can result in mixed feelings. We may have hope about better organizing and simplifying our lives, but also have reasonable worry about a difficult learning curve, a complicated interface, or any number of problems that can prevent us from reaping the benefits of whatever thing we are hoping might help. Enter – the simple list. If you have a weak short term or working memory, but great long-term memory and you don’t like reading lots of extra text, then lists may be the perfect productivity tool for you. Putting something down on a list can offload your working memory, but also have the benefits of reinforcing the big picture, while never losing sight […]

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Teaching Punctuation [Premium]

Teaching Punctuation [Premium]

Learning punctuation can be difficult for many reasons – the challenges of reading, auditory and visual processing problems, symbol confusion, and working memory overload; but usually teaching punctuation explicitly and in manageable bits using multisensory and memory associations can help students master the rules and patterns. The symbols involved in punctuation are simpler than the range of marks found in math. When students are still learning, use color coding and allow students to work with a cheat sheet that has examples when they carry out their punctuation exercises. Holly at Teachstarter has a number of cute ideas for teaching punctuation. Giving the markers personalities personalizes the symbols making it easier to remember in what contexts the symbols are used and to distinguish them from each […]

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Auto-Correct in Foreign Languages: Installing Additional Keyboards [Premium]

Auto-Correct in Foreign Languages: Installing Additional Keyboards [Premium]

This morning, I was interviewing a dyslexic physician, Andrew Newman (we’ll share his full story in another issue) and he happened to mention when he was working through Duolingo foreign language learning app that a pop-up occurred and asked him whether he might want to install a foreign language keyboard to help with spelling in Italian. He had been racing through all the auditory and spoken parts of lessons, but was continually penalized for spelling in the written parts and not able to advance. Installing the Italian keyboard, auto-corrected his spelling and grammar in Italian, so now he’s able keep on learning without his dyslexia getting in the way. Over the years, we often found ourselves writing for or talking to schools to provide appropriate […]

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If Your Student Can’t Write [Premium]

If Your Student Can’t Write [Premium]

If your student can’t write, no matter what age – prepare yourself for the long haul because so much of schooling and even many aspects of hiring and work can require writing. When writing is difficult for students with dyslexia, it may be that they are having difficulty converting feelings and images to words, trouble retrieving words, or putting them in the correct order, then writing them down with correct spelling and grammar. A significant proportion of dyslexic students will also have dyspraxia, so have trouble with sequencing and fine motor control required for handwriting automaticity. Any added difficulties may also swamp working memory, causing students to get lost in what they want to say. For many dyslexic people, dysgraphia will present a greater problem […]

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More Free Leveled Texts and Reading Passages [Premium]

More Free Leveled Texts and Reading Passages [Premium]

The grand-daddy of them all is still probably Readworks, but if you like to change things up with leveled reading, check out News in Levels (alas Newsela is no longer free) or Tween Tribune, run by the Smithsonian.   If you do use Readworks, make sure you know about the slider at the bottom of the left sidebar that can help students select the correct reading level. One nice thing about News in Levels is that each new item includes either an audio track or video. If your students are assigned to conduct research on the internet, but may struggle with reading text they find due to their reading level, have them install Rewordify to reword difficult words or phrases or activate their browsers text-to […]

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