Teaching Geometry to Dyslexic Students [Premium]

Teaching Geometry to Dyslexic Students [Premium]

“Henry Winkler… got his diploma in the mail only after taking the same geometry class eight times in a row over the course of four years, during the summers and regular school semesters, and finally passing with a D-.” — Alia Wong, “The MisEducation of the Fonz”, Atlantic Monthly It’s surprisingly hard to find research publications on teaching geometry to dyslexic students. One reason, suggested by Kay and Yeo in their book Dyslexia and Maths, is that numerical difficulties are more common among dyslexic students than geometric ones. They cite one study of 92 students followed over four years in which 50% failed to meet standards in Number Work, compared to 27% who missed for “Measure, Shape and Space.” That being said, because geometry is […]

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What is ‘Explicit’ Instruction and Why Does It Help with Dyslexia? [Premium]

What is ‘Explicit’ Instruction and Why Does It Help with Dyslexia? [Premium]

If you look at almost any evidence-based guidelines for students with dyslexia, you’ll see the word ‘explicit’ in how instruction is delivered. Merriam’s Dictionary defines explicit as: “fully revealed or expressed without vagueness, implication, or ambiguity; leaving no question as to meaning or intent.” WHY IS EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION FOR DYSLEXIC STUDENTS? Remember that people with dyslexia tend to store information in explicit or declarative memory – with episodic memory areas being especially active. Activities that non-dyslexic people seem to acquire more effortlessly – like recognizing printed words, writing by hand, or retrieving math facts – are difficult if not impossible to learn without explicit instruction. For example, many non-dyslexic people may learn grammatical structure just through encountering different sentences when they are reading; dyslexic students, […]

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Don’t Do This: Dyslexia in The General Classroom [Premium]

Don’t Do This: Dyslexia in The General Classroom [Premium]

With all the demands that teachers face regarding classroom management, and the pressures getting students up to speed in reading and math, dyslexic students may find themselves experiencing additional stress from common classroom practices. We now know that as a group, dyslexic children are more emotionally reactive than their classroom peers (UCSF research). In addition, we know that over half of dyslexic adults experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder when returning to school settings as parents. In the the Dyslexia at School study from Dyslexic Advantage, 43% of parents surveyed reported that their student was punished because of dyslexia-related challenges. What were some the punishments recorded? – given extra homework – physical seclusion (work in hallway or closet) – singled out in classroom to do […]

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Should I Help with Homework? [Premium]

Should I Help with Homework? [Premium]

“His mother had read everything to him and in medical school his wife was reading aloud all books and references…there was some opposition to his continuance in medical school on the part of the dean and one other faculty member, but the opposition subsided… After his graduation a report came from a distant medical school hospital stating that this man was the best intern they had had for some time. He passed his American boards in internal medicine and became the head of a group practice clinic in a large city…” — Lloyd Thompson, Reading Disability Should you help with homework? The answer is YES. There is a qualifier on that – you should help but only to the point that you’re helping your student […]

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Math: Teaching with Physical Materials [Premium]

Math: Teaching with Physical Materials [Premium]

Almost half of all dyslexic student may have math disabilities (Wilcutt et al.2013), but math disabilities or dyscalculia are rarely recognized in public or private schools in the US. All the more important for tutors, teachers, and parents to be aware of dyslexia-related differences in learning better ways of helping information ‘stick’. One helpful example for how to support math for dyslexic students comes from the Sagonaska Demonstration School. They have completely embraced multisensory learning and have considered how reading and writing challenges can affect the way students learn and show their work.     Third Space Learning has nice graphics about this approach. Briefly, it involves introducing new math concepts with physical materials, then switching to the use of drawings (representations) to work problems. […]

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You Think in Words; I Think in Pictures [Premium]

You Think in Words; I Think in Pictures [Premium]

“…when I was a kid, my mother had often asked my father, ‘What are you thinking?’ He’d shrug and say, ‘Nothing’ — a response that irritated her to no end. (‘How can he be thinking about nothing?’ she’d ask me.) I’ve always been on Team Dad; I spend a lot of time thoughtless, just living life. At the same time, whenever I speak, ideas condense out of the mental cloud. It was happening even then, as I talked with my friend: I was articulating thoughts that had been unspecified yet present in my mind. My head isn’t entirely word-free; like many people, I occasionally talk to myself in an inner monologue. (Remember the milk! Ten more reps!) On the whole, though, silence reigns. Blankness, too: […]

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Memory Problems and Math [Premium]

Memory Problems and Math [Premium]

Many students and adults attribute difficulties in math to memory problems, but probing these difficulties further often leads to the realization that it’s not a simple matter of remembering or forgetting, but rather trouble defining, organizing, then retrieving what has been learned. PROBLEMS DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING ‘WHY’ First of all, if a student is struggling with remembering new information, it’s best to check and see if the definitions, procedures, and the why of procedures are clear. In fact, it may be a flipside of a strength in long-term memory that contributes to dyslexic students’ confusion with ambiguous terms. A good example of this James Tanton’s blog post: When fractions are introduced as pieces of pie, 3/5 + 1/5 makes sense to equal 4/5, but what […]

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Question: How to Help with Reversals [Premium]

Question: How to Help with Reversals [Premium]

Question: My middle grade student still has trouble with reversals. What can I do to help? Answer: Reversals can occur in different contexts, so understanding the different causes can help determine the best solutions. PERSISTENT LETTER REVERSALS Reversals can be a normal developmental finding up until the age of seven years. After that, severe difficulties with letter reversals may require intensive training or even therapy. Letter Recognition Persistent letter recognition problems are usually helped by a variety of multisensory sensory and mnemonic approaches. Programs like Zoophonics combine little memory associations and character drawings to help improve letter recognition. Hand visual mnemonics may help some children to distinguish between the letters b and d, as shown in the bed image: See more: Usually older students develop […]

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How to Survive and Thrive at Parent-Teacher Conferences [Premium]

How to Survive and Thrive at Parent-Teacher Conferences [Premium]

Some teachers find parent-teacher conferences the most stressful part of their job so it’s best to keep that in mind before you head off to the meeting. I remember we had “good” meetings and “bad”. The good ones seemed so easy – sit back and be presented with student work and positive comments. But there were also hard ones, frustrating ones, and depressing ones. People react to conflicts and crises in different ways – so that there can be psychological minefields for everyone involved in parent-teacher conferences – the parents, the teachers, and the students…and it all seems to go by so fast. BRING SOMEONE If you’re a single parent, bring someone with you – whether it’s a friend, fellow classroom parent, or relative. If […]

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