Dr. Emily Levy on the Dadyminds Podcast – Innovative Teaching Strategies for Special Education
You can listen to this full podcast HERE!
Students with learning disabilities often struggle with reading and writing. Learning effective research-based strategies to develop these skills can help students thrive in school. Try some of the ideas details below.
Reading comprehension
It is important that students with learning disabilities learn to be active and not passive readers. They need to engage with the text rather than just decoding words without processing the meaning of what they are reading. One strategy that can help them develop stronger reading comprehension and active reading skills is the tri-color highlighting strategy.
Start by teaching your child that when we read, there are three elements we should look for:
1. The topic, which is one, two, or three words describing the passage. Examples of topics might include: drinks, the beach, or the Civil War. Students should highlight the topic in blue.
2. The main idea, which is what the author is saying about the topic. For example, if the topic is “the beach,” the main idea might be, “There are many activities we can do at the beach.” Students should highlight the main idea in green.
3. The important details, which are salient details found throughout the passage. Students should try to highlight only words and phrases and not full sentences, and only information that is truly important. Students should highlight the important details in yellow.
When using this tri-colored highlighting strategy, students should select a passage and read it one time without highlighting, then go back and highlight the topic, main, idea, and important details. From there, you can even have them write a 1-2 line summary of the passage they read or create a written response describing their thoughts on the passage.
SQ3R Strategy
SQ3R is a reading comprehension strategy that stands for: survey, question, read, recite, and review.
S stands for survey; before reading a passage or chapter, students should try to gauge the main concepts that will be addressed. They should look at headers and subheaders, pictures and captions, graphs, and questions at the end of the chapter if relevant. This will help students preview the material they are about to read.
Q stands for question; before the student starts reading, they should turn each header into a question. For example, if a header is “Causes of World War I”, the student might ask, “What caused World War I?” then seek the answer to that question as they read.
3R stands for Read, Recite, Review. The student should read the passage, keeping the questions in mind that they created, and try to answer the questions as they read. They might create additional questions along the way and look for those answers as well. They can also jot down notes on the side of the page and highlight key information.
Next is recite; as the student reads, they should recite the answers to the questions they created. If they can’t come up with the answers, they may need to go back and reread the passage. Finally, the last step is review; the student should go back and review all of the questions they created and make sure they can answer all of them effectively. If they can’t, they may need to reread the information and continue this process until they have grasped the material. Using a strategy like SQ3R can help students become more active readers and can prevent them from trying to cram information the night before an exam.
Writing
Students with learning disabilities benefit from a structured, systematic approach to teaching writing, along with a great deal of repetition of new concepts. It is important that they first learn how to construct a basic sentence and then learn how to expand their sentences and write both compound and complex sentences.
Once the student has a solid understanding of how to construct a well-written sentence, they should learn how to write a simple paragraph, which is made of a topic sentence, three detail sentences, and a conclusion sentence. They should be given several examples of well-written simple paragraphs as models for what they should look like before being asked to write them on their own. There are four types of simple paragraphs they can learn: example, which gives examples, like “types of ice cream”; process, which describes a process, such as “how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich”; reason, like “why summer should be longer”, or compare/contrast, like “New York City verses Chicago.” They should also learn how to brainstorm, write, and self-check their writing in an organized manner.
Once students have developed proficiency with the simple paragraph, they can learn how to write an extended paragraph, which extends the simple paragraph by adding three supporting details sentences after each detail. Students can learn how to write example, process, reason, and compare/contrast extended paragraphs and should receive ample practice with each paragraph type. Finally, when students are ready, they can learn how to write a well-constructed five paragraph essay, which contains an introduction paragraph, three detail paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. They should learn how to write an opening, lead-in, and thesis statement, and should always brainstorm, write, and self-check their writing.
Learn more about a program for teaching a structured approach to writing at www.writingmasteryprogram.
As students progress through school, the reading and writing demands will increase quickly. Help your child excel by trying these strategies with them at home.
Learn more about how writing tutoring can help your child at https://eblcoaching.com/
Dear Dr. Levy, My son
received an excellent report card. I can’t say enough good things about his EBL
tutor. She has done a tremendous job helping him improve his reading and writing
skills. Most importantly, she is wise and kind. She is always patient with him.
Because of his tutor, my son writes with much more ease.
– Parent