This winter has been filled with lots of snow and time off school for many parts of the country. Some kids may sit in front of a device or lounge in bed on these chilly days. Take advantage of snow days by helping your child strengthen their reading, writing, and math skills with the ideas detailed below.

Reading

To help your child develop their reading skills, try finding a snow-themed article from a newspaper or online source. This article could be a weather report on the anticipated snowfall, an article about snowfall affecting businesses, or a passage about post-snow hazards – really anything related to snow can work. Teach your child that there are three elements they should look for when reading: the topic, main idea, and important details. Have them take out blue, green, and yellow highlighters and explain to them that they will highlight each of these elements in a different color. A topic is typically one, two, or three words describing the passage, like snow, winter, or hot cocoa. They should highlight the topic in blue. The main idea is what the author is saying about the topic. For example, if the topic is snow, the main idea might be: one of the greatest snowfalls in recent history. They should highlight the main idea in green. Finally, they should look for important details describing the main idea, and highlight them in yellow.

Have your child read the passage first, then go back and highlight the topic, main idea, and important details. Next, ask them inference questions about the passage, like, “What do you think will happen after the snowstorm?” or “How do you think most people will prepare for the storm?” They can either tell you their response orally and you can have a discussion about it, or they can write their response in the form of a paragraph on a separate sheet of paper or on a computer.

Writing

Help your child build stronger writing skills during a snow day! Teach them the structure of a simple paragraph, which is comprised of a topic sentence, three detail sentences, and a conclusion sentence. Explain that when they write, they should start by brainstorming, then write, and finally self-check their work. Give them a topic, like: should schools be canceled tomorrow? Have them start by brainstorming their ideas and include three details on why school should be canceled (if that is their stance). For example, they might use web bubbles to write: safety, time with family, outdoor exercise. Then they should work on writing their paragraph using the information from their brainstorm webs. Their topic sentence should introduce their stance, like: School should be canceled tomorrow due to the snowstorm. Then they should write their detail sentences, ideally using transition words. For example, they might write: First, it likely won’t be safe to drive on the roads. Next, a snow day would allow me to spend quality time with my family, baking or reading together. Finally, I can get some exercise if I play outside in the snow. For the last sentence, they can wrap up their ideas with a sentence like: Since we will be getting a lot of snow, I feel strongly that schools should be closed. As a last step, have your child self-check their writing using the COPS checklist, which stands for capitalization, organization, punctuation, spelling.

Math

To build your child’s math skills during a snow day, try making snow-day word problems! Create problems like:

Hot chocolate costs $1 per packet. If there are four members in a family, how much will it cost for everyone to have a cup of hot chocolate?

or

Two inches of snow will likely fall each hour for four hours. At this pace, how much snow will we get?

When solving these math problems, teach your child to circle the key words, highlight the relevant numbers, then break down the problem into four steps. First, they should write down the relevant numbers. Next, they should choose which operation to use. Then they should write the number sentence and solve the problem. Finally, they should write their answer as a full sentence, using proper capitalization and punctuation.

Don’t let snow days stop your child from learning! Have fun with these activities, while still building your child’s reading, writing, and math skills.

EBL Coaching specializes in one-on-one in person and virtual tutoring for students in grades pre-K-12 with specialized learning needs. They use research-based, multi-sensory techniques, including the Orton Gillingham method, to develop students’ reading, writing, math, note taking, test taking, and executive functioning skills. Each student is evaluated and then receives an individualized learning plan to address their specific academic needs. Learn more at http://www.eblcoaching.com/.

Dr. Emily Levy, Founder & Director, is happy to hear from anyone who is in need for their child. You may reach her through her website, and mention you heard of her through MotherhoodLater.

The post Snow Day Activities That Build Reading, Writing & Math Skills appeared first on EBL Coaching.

The holidays are filled with festivities, treats, and loads of family time. However, the break from school is also a time when kids tend to do little if any academic work. As a result, the shift back to school in January can be a tough one for many students. Help your child have a successful transition back to school with the ideas detailed below.

Re-set routines

Before the holidays, your child may have finally settled on their school routine: each morning they woke up, got dressed, packed their backpack, ate breakfast, then came home from school and completed their schoolwork on a regular basis. Yet during the holidays, routines and schedules often go awry and your child may need some routine re-setting before school starts again. To help them, reset routines gradually. If they went to bed very late during holiday time, start setting their bedtime 15-20 minutes earlier each day for four or five days before school starts. You may want to also create checklists to remind them of their morning and afternoon routines before school begins. For example, a morning chart might include waking up at a certain time, brushing their teeth, eating breakfast, and packing their backpack. An afternoon checklist might include unpacking their backpack, having a snack, completing their homework, putting their finished homework in their backpack or turning it in online, eating dinner, and getting ready for bed. You might want to also try limiting screen time before school starts to help set the stage for a focused, organized return to school.

Academic activities during break

Your child may become accustomed to lazy, school-free days during the holiday break. To help them transition back into school-mode, start to integrate academic activities before school starts. For example, read with your child for 20 minutes each night and discuss the plot, characters, and setting with them. Ask them to create predictions about what they think might happen next or make inferences about certain events in the story to help engage them in the book. Older children can read independently for 20 minutes each night but ask them similar questions about their book even if you aren’t reading it with them, to make sure they fully comprehend the material. You can also do math exercises when cooking or grocery shopping with them, or have them write in a journal about their favorite activities during the holiday break. The more academic activities you can integrate now, the better!

Discuss expectations

Your child may be nervous about returning to school and may face similar jitters that they felt before the new school year started. Talk through these feelings with them. Are they nervous about their workload? Anxious about waking up early again? Worried about friendship issues? Whatever the issue is, be there for them – listen to their worries and help them come up with solutions to help ease these anxieties. You can also discuss any assignments or projects they may have coming up and help them create a plan for competing them in an organized fashion.

Executive functioning strategies

Your child likely wasn’t focusing on executive functioning strategies during the holiday break. They probably didn’t have to worry about organizing their school assignments, planning their after school activity schedule, or organizing their academic work. Help them re-integrate executive functioning strategies before school starts again. Make sure they have a dedicated homework space where they will complete their assignments each day, filled with all necessary supplies. Discuss with them what time they will work on their homework daily after school and keep that time consistent. Help them set up an assignment book, especially if they started using one at the start of the school year but then used it less and less in the fall. If they have lengthy homework assignments to complete, help them break the assignments into steps and put each step into their assignment book. For time management, have them predict how long they think each assignment will take to complete, then compare it to the actual time it takes. The more systematic executive functioning strategies you can integrate, the better, and if your child continues to struggle with these skills, executive functioning coaching can help them tremendously.

The holiday break should be a fun-filled time that all kids enjoy. Yet the transition back to school can be a tough one. Try using these ideas at home with your child to help them start the new year on a positive, organized, and successful note.

The post Help Your Child Transition Back to School After the Holidays appeared first on EBL Coaching.

As a parent, you might notice that your young child is struggling to learn the names of the letters and their corresponding sounds. They might have difficulty identifying and writing numbers. Other young children might have a quest for knowledge and yearn to learn new, more advanced academic skills. There is no official age when your child is too young for tutoring; it all depends on their individual needs and overall profile. The key to working with students as young as age 2 or 3 is to keep the sessions fun, engaging, and interactive. Tutoring can help your young child develop their academic skills in several areas.

Reading

When children are of preschool-age, the foundations of reading are being established. Learning key phonemic awareness skills can help strengthen their reading skills down the road. Tutoring can help your young child build phonemic awareness skills with targeted lessons, like the following:

The tutor might ask your child to name the first, middle, and final sounds they hear in the words mat, leg, pig, and so on. They might give the student two syllables, like “tall” and “est” and ask them what word is formed when they put the syllables together. Tutors can also work on rhyming skills by asking the student to name words that rhyme with mat, tug, pot, and other short words. From there, the tutor can work on teaching your child individual letter names using audio-visual flash cards with the letter on the front and a colorful key picture on the back. They might hold up the card to your child and say, “This is the letter a, like apple, it makes the sound /a/.” They can even take out a toy apple and ask your child to say the sound the word apple begins with. Later, once many sounds have been covered, the tutor can use magnetic tiles to work on blending sounds together to form words. The more multi-sensory and engaging the lessons are, the better!

Writing

Writing skills can also be developed at a young age. When introducing individual letter names, the tutor can also use a multi-sensory approach to teach students how to write each letter using specific formations. For example, for the lower case a, the tutor might trace the letter a in the sky, saying the formation out loud: around, up, and down. Then the child would trace the letter in the sky, first together with the tutor, then independently. Next, the tutor can take out a tray of colored sand and model tracing the letter in the sand. Then the student can do it on their own. When the child is ready, they can practice writing letters using dotted lines and eventually write them on paper without any assistance. A similar process can be used for learning to write numbers correctly: first in the sky, then in sand, then on paper.

Math 

Math concepts can be taught starting at a very young age. Tutors can use real-life scenarios to make math engaging and playful. For example, they can play “grocery store” while building math skills. The tutor can bring a set of pretend red and green apples to the tutoring session. They can tell the child that they are “buying” two red apples and three green apples. The child would take out the appropriate number of red and green apples. Then the tutor might ask the child to count all the apples and explain that two apples plus three more apples equals five apples all together. The tutor can even take out a mini whiteboard when the child is ready and write on the board: 2+3=5. The same exercises can be done with larger quantities of objects, and the tutor can teach subtraction in a similar way. For example, they might say, “If I started with three apples but ate two of them, how many apples would I have left?” Making the exercises fun and playful for the child will help them enjoy learning while building key skills.

When learning is approached in an engaging, interactive manner with shorter durations of activities, there really is no age that is too young to start tutoring.

The post Is My Child Too Young for Tutoring? appeared first on EBL Coaching.

For some children, the transition back to school is seamless. They look forward to the excitement of reconnecting with friends, meeting their teachers, and starting new after school activities. Yet for other students, especially those who are neurodivergent, the transition back to school can be challenging. Help your neurodivergent child start the new school year strong with the ideas detailed below.

Routines

For many children, summer is filled with free play, outdoor activities, and unstructured days. When the school year begins, however, routines become paramount. Rather than springing this transition on your child, start to integrate elements of their fall routine now, before the school year begins. You can discuss wake-up times and bedtimes with your child, both for school days and weekends. If they have been waking up closer to 9am in the summer but need to wake up at 7am during the week once the school year starts, have them set an alarm progressively earlier in the summer until they reach 7am right before the school year begins. The same applies to bedtime; if they have been going to bed later in the summer, have them start to go to sleep a little earlier each night. You can also create morning and afternoon checklists for tasks they’ll need to do once the school year begins. For example, their morning checklist might include getting dressed, brushing their teeth, eating breakfast, and preparing their backpack for school. You may want to come up with a list of menu items for breakfast and have them decide what they will eat for breakfast each day at the start of a given week, so you can prepare accordingly.  Their afternoon checklist might include having a snack when they get home, completing their schoolwork, turning in or putting away their homework in their backpack, eating dinner, and going to bed. The more structure you can integrate into your child’s day now, before the school year begins, the better!

Get organized!

Having strong organizational skills is a key component to school success, especially for neurodivergent children who may struggle with executive functioning skills. Shop for school supplies with your child as early as you can so you have plenty of time to organize them. You may want to color code items by subject. For example, you may select green for science, blue for math, yellow for social studies, and so on. For each subject, there should be a folder and a notebook in the color that corresponds to that class. Encourage your child to write down their homework daily in an assignment book when they are at school, and perhaps highlight the assignment for each subject in its corresponding color. You may want to designate one day per week as a “clean out my backpack and folders day” where your child cleans out any items or papers from their backpack that they no longer need to be carrying with them.

Distraction-free workspace

Neurodivergent students often become easily distracted when trying to complete their homework. Before the school year starts, set up a distraction-free work zone where your child will do their homework every day. This could be a desk in their room or a spot in a communal area, like a kitchen or dining room table. Make sure they have all the supplies they need for completing their homework, like pens, pencils, paper, a calculator, scissors, and highlighters. When the supplies run low, refill them right away to avoid having your child wander around in the middle of a homework session looking for more supplies. If they plan to work in a communal area, they can carry a portable supplies bin from their bedroom to their homework spot and back when they’re done, containing all the supplies they will need to complete their homework.

Connect with your child’s teachers

Most neurodivergent children have very unique needs. Before the school year begins or right after it starts, set up a meeting with your child’s teacher and their other service providers if relevant. Tell them about your child, including which techniques have and haven’t worked for them in the past, and set up a line of communication going forward. Perhaps you will check in with them once per month via email or set up regular phone calls to discuss your child’s progress. Additionally, you should consistently advocate for your child; while they may be doing well in school at one point in time, that could change quickly and their academic performance could take a downturn. Don’t wait for your child to struggle. Be proactive in helping them succeed and seeking additional support for them if needed. If the school year progresses and your child continues to struggle academically despite these interventions, you may want to consider private tutoring, which can be custom-tailored to your child’s needs and help them thrive in school.

The transition to the new school year can be challenging, especially for neurodivergent children. These strategies can help your child get excited for the new year and start school on a positive note.

The post Help Your Neurodivergent Child Prepare for the New School Year appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Going on vacation with a child who has ADHD can be overwhelming. There’s planning, packing, organizing, changing routines, and so many other factors that go into this process. Try some of the ideas below to help your child enjoy their time away and have a great vacation.

Before the trip

Visual calendars

Children with ADHD may be thrown off by a change in their daily routine and unclear expectations of the plans for the trip. Once you have settled on the details for your trip, create a visual schedule to help your child anticipate what is to come. Use a poster board to draw a large calendar and indicate on each date what you plan to do. You might include the departure date; specific activities like going to the beach, zoo, or a museum; and return dates. Tell your child where you’ll be staying (like a hotel or apartment-style unit) and where you will likely eat each meal. Perhaps you’ll have breakfast at the hotel, lunch at a theme park, and dinner at an outdoor cafe. Go over the plan for each day and make sure your child is fully aware of what to expect – though explain that there may be some unplanned deviations along the way.

Make lists!

Your child with ADHD may not know where to start when packing. What kind of clothing should they bring? What types of accessories? How many of each item? Help your child create a list before they begin packing. Will there be access to a laundry machine? If so, they may need fewer items, but if not, they need to plan the quantities accordingly. The list should include items like t-shirts, shorts, pants, sweatshirts, socks, sunglasses, goggles – whatever is appropriate for the trip you are going on. Write out each item along with the quantity needed and put a check box next to each one, then have your child check off the items as they put them in their suitcase.

Set expectations

Before leaving, discuss with your child the expectations for the trip. Will you be meeting up with family or friends? If so, make sure they know how to properly greet relatives and friends, engage in conversations, and be thankful for hospitality or gifts. You may even want to role play scenarios they may encounter, like greeting aunts and uncles, playing with cousins, or eating a meal with a large group.

During the trip

Maintain routines

While this may not always be possible, try to maintain your child’s routine as much as you can, since children with ADHD thrive on structure and routine. For example, while the daily activities may vary, for meals, if your child eats breakfast at 8am, lunch at 12pm, and dinner at 6pm, try to stick to that schedule. Of course, if they take medication, make sure you bring it with you on the trip and give it to them at their usual time. You can also try to have them wake up and go to bed around the same time to avoid disrupting their schedule and routine.

Integrate downtime

Children with ADHD can become easily overstimulated and sometimes need downtime. Anticipate that your trip will likely involve a lot of activity and movement, so try to build in some downtime. This could be an afternoon nap, reading time, or a window of time dedicated to listening to music. You can even bring fidgets for your child to help them relax and decompress.

Minimize decisions

Children with ADHD can sometimes become overwhelmed with making decisions, especially when they have too many choices. For example, if you go to a breakfast buffet at your hotel, your child may see so many items that look enticing, but they don’t know where to start or what to choose. You can avoid this scenario by pre-purchasing items you know your child likes to have for breakfast and eat breakfast in the room – or order from a restaurant menu with more limited items. You can also help your child choose the activities they will participate in, and if you plan to buy them something from a gift shop, minimize the number of items they can choose from to help make the decision easier and less overwhelming.

After the trip

When you get home from your trip, build in a day or two for your child to relax and decompress before going back to a structured activity, like school or camp. It can be stressful for them to rush back to their usual routine after a vacation. Also reflect on the trip with your child. What went well? Was it an enjoyable experience for your child and your entire family? Was there anything that could be changed or done differently for future trips? This reflection can help make your next trip be even better.

Vacationing with your child with ADHD doesn’t have to be stressful! Try these ideas to help ensure that you have an enjoyable, relaxing, and all-around great vacation.

The post Vacation Strategies for Children with ADHD by Dr. Emily Levy Founder & Director EBL Coaching appeared first on EBL Coaching.

In this podcast, Dr. Emily Levy explains what Orton Gillingham tutoring is and how the Orton Gillingham method works. She delves into what an Orton Gillingham lesson looks like and how this type of reading intervention can help struggling readers tremendously.

What is Orton Gillingham Tutoring?

Orton Gillingham is a structured, research-based, systematic approach to teaching. It integrates multi-sensory tools, such as audio-visual flash cards, whiteboards, and magnetic tiles, to help students develop stronger reading and spelling skills. All students can benefit from this type of instruction but students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities need this approach to effectively develop these skills.

What does an Orton Gillingham tutoring lesson look like?

When an Orton Gillingham tutor uses this methodology, they follow a systematic approach to teaching, integrating previously taught concepts as they introduce new concepts. If a student has grasped how to effectively read consonant-vowel-consonant words, words with blends, and words with consonant digraphs, for instance, they may be ready to move onto words with vowel teams. If they are learning the sound “oo”, the lesson might be structured as follows:

1. Review previously taught Orton Gillingham sounds and concepts.
2. Audio-visual card drill: Start the new lesson with an audio-visual card drill. The Orton Gillingham tutor would hold up a flashcard with the letters “oo” on the front and a key picture on the back, like “boots”.
3. Audio-visual card drill student practice: The Orton Gillingham tutor would say aloud to the student, “These are the letters oo, like boot, it makes the sound /oo/“ while flipping the card around, showing the letters, then the picture, then the letters again. The student would repeat that sequence with the tutor and then try it on their own.
4. Skywriting: The Orton Gillingham tutor would move onto skywriting; using large gross motor muscles, they would draw the two o’s in the sky, saying “around and around” as they form each letter. The student would then try it together with the tutor and then independently.
5. Sand or shaving cream writing: The Orton Gillingham tutor might move onto writing using colored sand or shaving cream. They would start by modeling the formation of the two o’s, then ask the student to do it with them and then on their own.
6. Orton Gillingham workbook practice: The tutor would then move onto Orton Gillingham workbooks that offer practice exercises using that vowel digraph.
7. Student practice: The student would practice blending sounds together to form words using magnetic tiles or flash cards. Finally, the lesson would end with the student reading words, sentences, or a story containing the “oo” sound and any previously taught sounds.

How Orton Gillingham Tutors Help with Reading Comprehension

Students with learning disabilities often struggle with reading comprehension in addition to decoding and need dyslexia tutoring or reading intervention in this area as well. A multi-sensory approach, such as the tri-colored highlighting strategy, can help with this skill as well.

To use this strategy, the tutor would explain to the student that when we read, there are three elements we should look for: the topic is one, two, or three words describing the passage, like winter, outdoor sports, or airplanes. The student would highlight the topic in blue. Next, the student should look for the main idea, which is what the author is saying about the topic, such as “There are many activities you can do in winter” if the topic is winter. They should highlight the main idea in green. Finally, the student should look for the important details, which are important pieces of information found throughout the passage describing the main idea. They should highlight the important details in yellow, trying to only highlight salient details, and only words and phrases, not sentences, if possible. The tutor may then ask the student to write a 1-2 line summary in their own words describing the passage or even produce a written response to the passage, detailing whether they agree or disagree with the information found in the passage and why.

Students with learning challenges thrive with a multi-sensory approach to teaching. Orton Gillingham tutors can help students develop much stronger reading and spelling skills and ultimately help them excel in school.

If your child is struggling with reading, contact us at www.eblcoaching.com to learn more about our individualized Orton Gillingham tutoring programs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who benefits from Orton Gillingham tutoring?
Orton Gillingham tutoring was originally designed for students with dyslexia but all students who are demonstrating reading challenges can benefit from Orton Gillingham tutoring. They tend to enjoy the multi-sensory approach, and Orton Gillingham is a highly effective method for building stronger reading and spelling skills.

Is Orton Gillingham only for students with learning disabilities?
Orton Gillingham tutoring is not only for students with learning disabilities! Students with learning disabilities, especially dyslexia, benefit from reading remediation using the Orton Gillingham method. However, all students who are having reading challenges can benefit from Orton Gillingham tutoring.

How is Orton Gillingham tutoring different from general tutoring?
Some tutors help students with homework or use generic lessons that may change from session-to-session. With Orton Gillingham tutoring, a structured approach is followed, starting with foundational reading skills and building upwards as students grasp concepts. Orton Gillingham tutoring sessions also integrate multi-sensory tools, such as colored sand, magnetic tiles, and white boards.

Dr. Emily Levy, the founder and director of EBL Coaching, has been helping students with dyslexia and learning disabilities for over 20 years using the Orton Gillingham approach.

You can listen to this full podcast HERE!
Learn more about Orton Gillingham tutoring at
https://eblcoaching.com/what-is-orton-gillingham-tutoring/.

The post Orton Gillingham Workbooks for Dyslexia and Reading Success appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Your child was diagnosed with a learning disability, and you don’t know where to turn. There may be some extra support your child’s school offers for building academic skills, but many students with learning disabilities benefit from specialized learning disability tutoring outside of school. What should you look for in a tutor for students with learning disabilities?

Specialized instruction

Students with learning disabilities typically need specialized tutoring, not generic tutoring or homework help. This tutoring should use research-based, multi-sensory methods and be catered to your child’s individualized needs. It is important that your child’s tutor learns about their diagnosis and areas of challenge and uses methods that are appropriate to their needs. Students with dyslexia, for instance, benefit from Orton Gillingham tutoring. Orton Gillingham is a research-based, multi-sensory technique that helps students develop their decoding and spelling skills. With this method, students typically learn the names of the letters and corresponding sounds using multi-sensory tools such as colored sand, audio-visual flash cards, and shaving cream. They then learn to blend these sounds together to form basic words. Later, they learn how to read and spell words containing blends, consonant digraphs, vowel digraphs, silent e patterns, r-controlled patterns, and so on, following a structured, systematic approach that integrates previously taught concepts as new ones are introduced.

Students with dyscalculia, or a math learning disability, typically benefit from specialized tutoring that is multi-sensory and integrates manipulatives specific to each concept, such as counters, base ten blocks, five frames, ten frames, fraction tiles, and so on. Those with dysgraphia, or a writing learning disability, also benefit from specialized tutoring catered to their needs – whether it’s learning to write a simple sentence, expanded sentence, simple paragraph, extended paragraph, or five paragraph essay. They should learn how to brainstorm, write, and self-check their work using a concrete, systematic approach, and should be given ample practice with each concept.

Structured plan

With learning disability tutoring, it’s important that a structured plan is in place. The tutor shouldn’t just help the student with homework or bring in random reading or writing sheets or workbooks. They should follow a systematic plan, starting with the child’s current levels and building upwards from there. For instance, if a child is able to read words with consonant-vowel-consonant patterns (like cat, rug, or mit), but struggles with words containing blends (like slug, frog, or blimp), their Orton Gillingham tutoring should begin with words containing blends and move upwards from there. Likewise, with other skills such as writing and math, the learning disability tutor should identify the starting point based on your child’s levels and come up with a structured plan to build their skills starting from where they are and moving upwards.

Review the child’s evaluation

Students with learning disabilities are typically evaluated in order to identify their diagnosis and specific needs. This may be an evaluation done at school or a more comprehensive private neuropsychological evaluation. For effective learning disability tutoring, the tutor should thoroughly read the child’s evaluation to gain a picture of their overall profile and academic needs in order to best help them. Many students with learning disabilities who have been evaluated have IEPs (Individualized Educational Programs) detailing their needs, goals, and necessary services. Others have a 504 plan detailing accommodations they should receive at school. The learning disability tutor should also read these documents and integrate any relevant information about the child’s profile into the tutoring.

Build a rapport

Having chemistry and a strong rapport is a key part of learning disability tutoring. Tutors for students with learning disabilities should get to know the child and their interests before delving into academic work. Many children with learning disabilities have experienced negativity surrounding school and their academic performance, so the tutor should try to be as positive and uplifting as possible when working with the child, building not just their academic skills but also their overall self-esteem.

Knowing what to look for in tutors for students with learning disabilities can be challenging, but using specialized instruction, having a structured plan, integrating information from the child’s evaluation, and building a strong rapport are key elements of successful learning disability tutoring.

Learn more about learning disability tutoring at

https://eblcoaching.com/tutoring/.

The post What Should I Look for in a Tutor for Students with Learning Disabilities? appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Multi-sensory approach

Orton Gillingham tutoring integrates a multi-sensory approach to teaching. This includes using tools such as colored sand, shaving cream, magnetic tiles, and white boards, among other related tools, as part of a structured instructional plan. For example, an Orton Gilliam tutor working on consonants and short vowel sounds with a student might start with one letter at a time and use the following multi-sensory approach: they might begin by showing the student a flash card with the letter on the front of the card (like f) and a key picture on the back (like fish). The Orton Gillingham tutor might say to the student, “This is the letter f (shows them the front of the card), like fish (turns the card around to show them the picture of the fish), it makes the sound /f/ (turns the card back to the front).” The student would repeat that sequence with the Orton Gillingham tutor and then try it on their own. Next, the Orton Gillingham tutor might move onto sky writing and model tracing the letter in the sky, saying the letter formation aloud as they trace it, like, “When we write the letter f, we move around, down, and across.” The student would perform that sky writing motion with the Orton Gillingham tutor, then independently, and then the tutor would move onto tracing the letter in colored sand or shaving cream.

The Orton Gillingham tutor would follow that same process for four consonants and one short vowel sound (card exercise, sky writing, sand or shaving cream writing), then practice blending those sounds together to form words using multi-sensory tools such as magnetic tiles and mini white boards. When the student is ready, the Orton Gillingham tutor can also have the student read word lists, sentences, and stories integrating the sounds taught.

Structured method

Orton Gillingham tutoring lessons should also be very structured. They should begin at the student’s current functioning level and then progress upwards from there in a systematic format. For example, if the student is struggling with individual letters and their corresponding sounds, the Orton Gillingham tutor should start by teaching letters and sounds, along with how to blend those sounds together to form words, as detailed above. Next, the Orton Gillingham tutor should move onto words containing blends, consonant digraphs, vowel digraphs, silent e patterns, r-controlled patterns, multi-syllabic word patterns, and so on, all following a structured, multi-sensory approach. Before a new lesson is introduced in an Orton Gillingham tutoring lesson, previously taught letters, sounds, and rules should be reviewed.

Individualized instruction

Orton Gillingham tutoring lessons should be individualized to the unique needs of each student. Some students are able to move quickly through new lessons, while others need more time to absorb and practice the new concepts taught. Some students can move quickly through certain concepts but need more time grasping other concepts. The Orton Gillingham tutor should move as quickly as they can but as slowly as they need to, individualizing the instruction and providing diagnostic and prescriptive Orton Gillingham tutoring to each student.

Research-based

Research indicates that using a direct, systematic, multi-sensory approach to teaching is imperative for students who struggle with reading, including those who have a reading disability like dyslexia. Orton Gillingham tutoring provides this type of instruction to students, helping them to immensely improve their reading and spelling skills.

Orton Gillingham tutoring can truly be life-changing for students who struggle with reading and writing. It can help them develop much stronger academic skills, self-esteem, motivation, and overall success in school.

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Reading is one of the most important skills for success in school. When students read regularly, they tend to perform better academically and demonstrate stronger comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, spelling, and writing skills – skills that affect nearly all aspects of school. For some children, the idea of reading is dreadful, especially when there are so many other ways to spend their free time. Help your child learn to love reading with the ideas detailed below.

Make it a ritual!

Start reading daily to your child when they are very young, even if you don’t think they will understand every word on the page. Just exposing them to books and language is a great start for developing a love for reading. Choose books that are colorful and engaging so your child enjoys the experience. When they are a little older and begin learning how to read, have them try to sound out some basic words in the books you read to them, including simple words like “in”, “mat” or “tub.” Later, you may want to bring in two types of books: shorter decodable books at your child’s reading level that they can read to you, and longer, colorful, more language-rich books that you read to them, which helps build higher level vocabulary and auditory comprehension skills. When your child is in elementary school and capable of reading on their own, have them read either out loud or independently for at least 20 minutes per day. You may want to encourage them to read right before bed, which creates a ritual and helps them wind down before going to sleep. Physical and electronic books are both great options; whichever one they prefer is fine, as long as they read consistently.

Let them choose the topic

Another great way to help your child enjoy reading is encouraging them to read books on any topic of their choice. Just about any topic can work – dinosaurs, rainbows, tornadoes, zoos – you name it! Help them find reading material on that topic and don’t just limit it to books; newspapers, magazines, and articles from the internet count too. Once they develop proficiency with reading material on topics they love, they will likely start to venture into other topics and begin reading a more vast array of books and reading material as their confidence and joy for reading improves.

Create a cozy reading space

Help your child set up an inviting, cozy reading space in your home dedicated to reading. Perhaps you can create a fort made out of pillows with a small seating area inside it. Your child can even decorate it with mini lights and pictures and maybe even keep a flashlight inside it for nighttime reading. Start a ritual that your child can look forward to, where at a certain time each day you crawl into this space with them and read together. Eventually they will likely start to read on their own in this space, finding comfort and joy in this uplifting and cozy spot for reading.

Family time!

When encouraging your child to read more, it’s important that you lead by example. It’s easy for adults to neglect reading and instead spend time on their phones or devices looking at social media or writing emails late into the evening. Instead, create a designated family reading hour – perhaps right before or after dinner or before everyone goes to sleep. During this time, all family members should pick a book or reading material of their choice and gather around a comfortable area. The entire family should read together at the same time. As an added activity, at the end of the reading hour, you can go around and have everyone discuss what they read and why they would or would not recommend it to others. If one hour is too long, try smaller segments, like 30 or 45 minutes, and if every day is too much, try starting with just two or three times per week. The key is making it a fun, comfortable, and consistent experience that your child will look forward to.

Go to the library!

The library is a great place, filled with wonderful books on so many different topics. Take a trip to the library with your child. Let them grab any books that call out to them and spend some time at the library either reading to them or letting them read to themselves. They can even just turn the pages of books and browse the pictures if they aren’t able to read. Let them check out any books they’d like and encourage them to read them at home before returning them and picking out new ones.

Reading is a key skill that affects nearly every aspect of school. The earlier you can foster a love for reading in your child, the more likely they will find confidence and academic success.

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A ChildNEXUS Podcast: Ep. 215, How to Support Students Who Struggle with Reading Comprehension

Highlighting

Many students are passive, rather than active, readers. This means that they are reading text but are not actively engaged in what they are reading and therefore may miss out on key information. Help your child develop stronger active reading and reading comprehension skills with a tri-colored highlighting strategy. Explain to your child that when we read, there are three elements we should look for: the topic, which is one, two, or three words describing the passage; the main idea, which is what the author is saying about the passage; and the important details, or salient information describing the main idea. They should highlight the topic in blue, main idea in green, and important details in yellow. Then select a news article or passage from a workbook. Ask your child to first read the article or passage without doing any highlighting, then go back and highlight the topic, main idea, and important details using blue, green, and yellow highlighters. You can even have them write a 1-2 line summary in their own words at the bottom of the page, summarizing what they just read. Developing stronger active reading skills can help your child excel in all subjects at school!

Reading Books

You can also teach your child strategies to help them become more actively engaged in the text when they are reading a novel. As they read, have them stop after every 2-3 pages and tell you a short summary of what they just read. Independently, they can also use a post-it note to write a 1-2 line summary of the information they read and stick it inside the book after those 2-3 pages. When they complete the chapter, they should write a one paragraph chapter summary in a separate notebook detailing what they just read, helping to ensure they grasped all of the events in the story. You can also have them fill out a character map at the end of each chapter when new characters are introduced, detailing the character’s name, a description about them and perhaps any good or bad qualities they noticed about each character and examples from the book that depict those qualities. Additionally, you may want to discuss with your child what they think may happen next in the story and why they think certain events may have happened. The more engaged they can be with the text, the better!

Visualizing

Learning to visualize information when reading is another important skill for reading comprehension success. You can help your child learn to visualize text starting with individual sentence visualizations. To do so, read a sentence to your child, like, “Dax was walking home from school when it started raining.” Ask your child pointed questions to help them form a visual image of the information in this sentence. For example, you might ask questions like, “How old do you think Dax is? What color hair does he have? Was he walking on a sidewalk or the street? Was he holding an umbrella? If so, what color was the umbrella?” Once your child has created a visual image of this sentence in their mind and has described this image to you, move onto the next sentence in the story and ask similar prompting questions. At the end of the story, have your child retell each sentence with all of the details from the visual images they created in their minds.

Tutoring

If your child continues to struggle with reading comprehension despite trying these strategies at home, you may want to consider one-on-one tutoring. This specialized tutoring can be targeted to your child’s individual needs and can help them develop much stronger reading comprehension skills, key for academic success.

Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills in school. Try these strategies at home to help improve your child’s confidence and overall academic performance

Read more about improving your child’s reading skills at https://eblcoaching.com/how-to-improve-your-dyslexic-childs-reading-skills/ and https://www.ldonline.org/ld-topics/reading-dyslexia/about-reading-disabilities-learning-disabilities-and-reading

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