SEN & Dyslexic tips for Oakfield Parents.

Note Taking Questions you may ask in discussion with student  Do your notes help you understand what I am saying?  Do you have everything you need to help you take notes?  Do they help you focus on what is happening in the lesson?  Do they help you remember what has happened in the lesson?  Are they a good/poor account of the lesson?  Do you leave space to add additional information when you are revising?  Do you store your notes in subject areas?  Are you able to read your notes?  Are they untidy?  Are they incomplete?  Does taking notes stop you listening in lesson?  Does taking notes prevent your for joining in and asking questions? Questions for the teacher following observation and discussion      

Have you any students in whom there is a marked difference between written work and oral contribution? When you look at the students notes are you disappointed with their record of the lesson? Do some students have difficulty copying from the board and listening to the explanation at the same time? Do you check on students notes and suggest alternatives for those who cannot listen, remember, write, understand and participate all at the same time? Do you make sure that poor note-takers have an alternative source of information for essay work and exam revision? Are some students too busy catching up on their notes to participate in the lesson?

Homework Why not? The student has to concentrate much harder than other students during the day and is therefore more tired It may take a disproportionate amount of time to do tasks- much more than the teacher realises Unreasonable tensions can be created at home because of frustrations not evident in school

Why? Homework is an integral part of coursework and assignments will not be completed unless there is time set aside at home to do them Pupils with dyslexia need a high level of repetition and overlearing to establish skills, some of which could be done at home Pupils with dyslexia may not have achieved classroom tasks and if these are an important part of planning they need to be finished

Difficulties arise because    

The student has not recorded what has to be done The student doesn’t understand what has to be done The student doesn’t have the notes/oral information they need to complete the task The student forgets to take home the text book needed to complete the task Remember- Some homework tasks are of limited value to pupils with dyslexia.

How can you remove the barriers?        

Homework is written in the book for the student Homework is given in plenty of time for the student to get it down Homework is given on a printed sheet Homework is printed on sticky labels and put straight into the book Homework is differentiated to reduce the level of recording Homework should be time limited Homework should be adapted so that there is less emphasis on written recording e.g could the student do a diagram, make a Power Point, prepare a presentation Homework should develop study skills Some schools have special arrangements and selected pupils only do homework for certain subjects as well as doing literacy homework set by Learning Support Department.

SELF ESTEEM Many pupils with Dyslexia will have low self-esteem. They focus on those things they do badly even when progress is evident to others. Discussion with pupils is essential to problem solve   

The areas that can be resolved by other people in the short term The areas the pupil can work on to improve in the short term e.g. how can he/she be better organised for lessons The areas that cannot be solved in the short term and need to be worked with until longer term solutions can be brought about Tried and Tested Strategies

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Listed hard and hear the feelings behind the words Demonstrate an understanding of the difficulties by the consistent use of effective support strategies Make positive comments that recognise the effort made by the pupil when tackling reading and writing tasks Remember to give equal weight to praise for performance in other areas of the curriculum Find the pupil interesting and tell them so Suggest alternatives rather than just giving advice Create an environment where it is alright to make mistakes as they are seen as learning opportunities Use positive marking approaches e.g. mark for success by ticking/highlighting words spelt correctly or the number of correct letters in a word Create lots of collaborative learning opportunities which draw on different strengths and skills Use peer support for reading and recording Use mind maps and alternative forms of recording like flow charts, storyboards as a choice for everyone Provide lots of scaffolding in the form of story starters and writing frames Make your classroom dyslexia friendly

MEMORY TIPS CHUNKING Don’t Swallow it whole ! When someone gives you a phone number to remember, use ‘chunking’ as a way of remembering it. Short-term memory is limited to chunking helps us process long bits of information in more easily digestible chunks. Most people can remember seven things, plus or minus two, which means that you’ll usually be able to remember between five and nine things at most. So when given a string of numbers to remember such as 12395700166, break it down! 12 39 57 00 10 66 or even 1239 5700 1066 (chunks of numbers). You may find it easier to chunk numbers according to something you find meaningful, like the age of someone you know, an address or a famous date (1066 Battle of Hastings). These attached meanings can then form a story to help remember a really long sequence. CRAMMING This doesn’t work !! Repetition and rehearsal can be useful as ‘practice makes perfect’. But psychologists have learned that it’s better to space out your learning than to mass it all in one lump. When practising a word in a foreign language, don’t repeat it over and over. Repeat it to yourself once or twice, then try something else (learn something else or just have a break). Then come back to it, and don’t cram for exams, things just won’t sink in. CUES Give us a cue If there’s something you have to do every day at a specific time and often forget, then this technique, called implementation intentions, should help and it’s very simple. Give yourself a cue to help your intervention to do something. Doctors use it to help people’s health behaviour. For example, say to yourself ‘whenever I have my first cup of tea in the morning, I will also take my pills’. Or ‘when The Archers finishes I’ll do my exercises’.

ROUTINE Give your memory a holiday Routine is a memory’s best friend. Make the mundane events in your life routine and forget about them. Always put your keys in the same place when you come through the front door. We’re inclined to pay little or no attention to mundane events and actions and this is why we can never remember where we put things that we use all of the time if we don’t have a routine. TEST IT Put yourself to the test to learn better It is often better to test yourself on something you’ve learned than to keep re-learning it. This is because in testing yourself, you can reflect on your progress, check how well you have learnt things, and fill in the gaps rather than re-learn everything again. After learning something, come back to it after a few minutes and test yourself on it. Try learning capital cities or lines for a play. WORD PLAY 30 days hath September… The more vivid the phrase, the better it will help you to remember. Exaggerate; use all of the senses, vivid colour and humour will help too. Wordplay includes the rhymes and abbreviations you learn at school. It’s particularly good for linking information that’s quite hard or complex. Popular ones: “thirty days hath September, April June and November”. Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain (Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) You can use mnemonics to help you remember the spelling of tricky words, the names of people at a dinner party or your children’s friends’ names. Rhyming mnemonics are especially good because the sound and structure helps keep words in the right order.

STUDY SKILLS STRATEGIES FOR SCHOOL  Make a copy of your timetable. Mount it on a card and cover with sticky backed plastic. Keep it in your pocket for quick reference. Have a list of the equipment you will need for each day written on your timetable.  Use a homework diary without fail. Write everything down. You may think that you will remember the instructions, but you won’t. If you can’t write down the instructions quickly enough, get a friend to help or ask your teacher to give you typed instructions.  Have a good supply of A4 hole-punched plastic wallets for storing handouts, to stop them getting crumpled or lost. Coloured ones are useful for quick identification.  Keep up to date with your notes. You will need them later for exam revision. If you are away or can’t read your own notes, try to get a photocopy of someone else’s.  Use subject dividers to keep notes organised.  School should teach notes the skills of skimming, scanning, note making, summarising and research, directly. Pupils will not know how to do these otherwise.  Teach memory skills.

STRATEGIES FOR HOMEWORK LONG TERM PLANNING.  Have a year planner on the wall, use different coloured highlighters to mark in holidays Exams Trips Revision, what subjects and when  Prioritise your work before you start, do important things first, and the rest if there’s time.  Make revision cards for each topic to save time later, Use KEY WORDS, and pictures or mnemonics where helpful.  Have a short break between subjects and do something active in them.  Look at your homework diary, before you go home. Make sure that you know what you have to do. Make sure that you have all the books you need.  Have a routine for when you will do your homework. STICK TO IT. It will be worth it in the end!.

 Work in a place that suits your learning style. Be honest with yourself. Where do you work most efficiently?  Make sure that you have the right equipment before you start (books, file paper, pens highlighters) Don’t waste time!.  Set yourself time-targets for each piece of work. You may not be able to keep to them, but they may stop you deaydreaming.  Instrumental music may help you concentrate.  WARM-UP  Sort out your books and arrange your pens etc Read all of your instructions carefully from your homework diary. Do the most important things first. CONCENTRATE It may be helpful to tell someone else what you think you will need to do before you start. Phone a friend if you are stuck. Revision guides can be helpful.  COOL DOWN Proof read your work. Test yourself. Assess how you think that you have done and how you could improve it next time.

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EXAMS. Have a timetable so that you know when your exams are and where. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. Which questions are worth the most marks, you will need to give more information for these. Check that you have enough pens, ink and other equipment in your pencil case the day before. Read your revision notes the day before but don’t work too late. Get some fresh air and an early night! Get up in plenty of time on the day and have some breakfast. DON’T PANIC!!!