1. Supporting learners with literacy difficulties in the secondary classroom

2. We’ve all experienced:
Class clown
Talking rather than settling
Not paying attention

3. What areas are affected?
Reading
Spelling
Writing
Memory
Concentration
Personal organisation
Self-esteem
metacognition

4. problems
Become discouraged very quickly due to lack of initial success
‘Inattentive / lazy’ – they may be working harder than everyone else
No new motivation – little experience of success
Lack self-confidence
Appear to avoid work
Disorganised
Lack stamina
Have a poor self-image

5. Before units / tasks begin
Provide equipment checklists
Send a list of upcoming vocabulary home to parents with explanations of meanings
Seat students near the board, out of direct sunlight, away from fluorescent lights

6. Starting out on tasks
Always write page and question numbers on the board
Encourage students to discuss the nature of tasks before starting individual work
Ask students to repeat what they have to do
Issue one task at a time
Make learning intentions clear
Provide models and/or templates for layout

7. Continuing through tasks
Have a series of mini-break activities students can opt into when they need to
Allow students to ask those around them for help
Provide print outs of notes
If there are a range of tasks, prioritise them if they don’t all need to be completed
Consider setting time limits

8. Getting to the end of tasks
Summarise what you’ve covered
Create opportunities to practice
Think of ways to create extra time – have an additional non essential task, hand out notes instead of copying
Don’t automatically set unfinished reading/writing as homework
Make sure homework is recorded correctly

9. Planning tasks
Plan activities which access a wide range of learning styles – use visual aids, move around
Handouts are varied in style – notes, mindmaps, charts, diagrams
Have a range of extension tasks for other students to allow those who need extra time to take it.
Make sure ict equipment such as laptops, headphones is organised

10. Accessibility not simplification
Differentiation
Accessibility not simplification
Presentation by :
The teacher
The learner

11. Reading
Decoding
Processing
Comprehension
Picking up where they left off

12. Reading
bigger text
Increased line spacing
Avoid shiny whiteboards & glossy paper
Large-print
Reinforcement material
Consider recordings
Advanced warning if they have to read aloud

13. Close reading passages
Problems with multiple choice
Finding key information in a passage
Need to reread information to understand it again

14. Support with close reading passages
Extra time
List of vocabulary required for cloze passages
Have a class revision session before a test
Text to speech
Identify instruction words
To find information:
Note down what you’re looking for, highlighting key words
Scan the page until they find these words

15. Checking readability Word Click the File tab, and then click Options.
Click Proofing.
Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, make sure the Check grammar with spelling check box is selected.
Select Show readability statistics.
After you enable this feature, open a file that you want to check, and check the spelling. When Outlook or Word finishes checking the spelling and grammar, it displays information about the reading level of the document.

16. Flesch Reading Ease Score – 100 point scale – the higher the number, the easier it is to understand
Aim for between 60-70
Flesch – Kincaid grade level score – rates text on a US grade-school level – i.e. a score of 5 means a 10 year old can understand it (5th grader).
Aim for a score of approximately 7 to 8
Don’t take out subject terminology – make sentences shorter

17. Try to avoid italics /underlining
Other tricks
Try to avoid italics /underlining
Key information should be separated and highlighted – e.g. in a box
Break up continuous prose with bullet points / numbers

18. Writing Don’t penalise for presentation/spelling
Encourage alternatives – ICT, recording
Rest time
Issue spelling prompts
Provide blank copies of charts / diagrams / tables for completion

19. Extended writing
Offer paragraph headings / opening phrases / suggested vocabulary
Allow rests
ICT
List key words / terms
Support to find their place in the process if they get lost
Accept alternatives – mind maps, diagrams, bullet points, recorded voice files

20. Note-taking Listening Delays in processing information
Inability to listen and write at same time
Inability to read handwriting
Copying
Copies rather than understands
Unsupported copying should never be the only source of subject information

21. Note-taking Provide skeleton notes in advance – key headings
Give full lesson notes which they can highlight while others are note-taking
Photocopy pages from a book so they can highlight it
Encourage to read 1st and last sentences of paragraphs
Consider recording the lesson
Specific teaching about how to store notes – dividers, order

22. Listening Delays in processing requests / information
Reluctance to respond
Missing important information such as page numbers

23. Listening solutions Summarise what you’ve said at the end
Repeat instructions several times / at key points
Use physical prompts – e.g. use fingers for listing tasks
Write page numbers down

24. Delays in processing lead to seemingly irrelevant contributions
Discussion
Delays in processing lead to seemingly irrelevant contributions
Problems with turn taking
Interrupting in case they forget

25. discussion Teach turn-taking explicitly, including cues
Encourage pupils to wait for responses before moving on
Ensure classmates respond appropriately

26. Organisation / coordination
Forgetting books, equipment, homework
Following the wrong timetable
Getting lost
Lateness
Taking a long time to settle

27. Organisation strategies
Provide checklists for books / equipment
Communicate with parents about timekeeping / homework
Try different timetable formats – different days in different colours
Keep in class til crowds disappear
Consider teaching laboratory/ workshop safety in a multi- sensory way so they use all of their senses to determine safety

28. Using ict Word processing Audio books Text to speech
Speech recognition

29. Supporting parents
Many parents only discover their own dyslexia when their children are diagnosed.
You cannot expect support to be readily available at home
Potential emotional impact: guilt, frustration, anxiety, exasperation
Reassurance
Use the homework diary as a two way tool