• Information for Teachers
     
     

    Instructional Accommodations for Students with Dyslexia

    • Use explicit teaching procedures
    • Allow students to repeat directions in their own words
    • Maintain a daily routine
    • Provide a copy of lecture notes
    • Provide graphic organizers to be filled in during presentation
    • Use step by step instructions
    • Combine verbal and visual information
    • Write key points / words on board
    • Use mnemonic instruction

     

    Information provided by International Dyslexia Association

     

      

    Introducing New Vocabulary

     

    Semantic Impressions

     

    • Choose 5 – 20 words that are central to the plot.
    • List words in order they appear in the story.
    • Briefly discuss – find out what students already know about the words.  Refine concepts and supplement definitions.
    • As a group, students compose a sensible story based on the words.  The story will have a beginning, middle, and end.
    • Rules –
    • 1) Words must be used in order.              
    • 2) Once a word is used, it can be used again.             
    • 3) The form of the word can be changed.
    • As students create their story, write it on the board where they can see it.
    • As an extension, students can edit, illustrate, and publish the story.

     

     

    Word Expert Cards

     

    Students are responsible for learning and teaching 2 – 3 words assigned by the teacher.  Students are given the page number from the text to locate their words.

     

    Student Directions:

    • Select a sheet of construction paper for each word and fold in half to form a card.
    • Use page number to locate the word in your text.
    • Copy the sentence containing the word inside the card.
    • Use a dictionary to look up definition; discuss meaning(s) with others if necessary.
    • On scratch paper, write the part of speech and definition in your own words that matches the use of the word in your text.
    • On scratch paper, write your own sentence using the word.
    • Get definition and sentence approved for accuracy by teacher.
    • Copy the approved definition, part of speech and sentence onto the inside of the card.
    • Write the vocabulary word on the front of the card in big bold letters.
    • Illustrate the vocabulary word neatly and creatively.
    • Write your name on the back.

     

    Peer Teaching:

    • Students work in pairs for 7-10 minutes.
    • One student is the Word Expert and teaches one word to his/her partner by sharing the outside of card and asking partner to determine the meaning of the word from the illustration.  The Word Expert reveals information on the inside of the card, step by step, asking partner to try to determine the meaning from the student’s original sentence, then from the sentence from the text, and finally from the definition.
    • Students reverse roles.
    • Students rotate to another partner and repeat the process.

     

    The unit of study can begin after one day of peer teaching with ten minutes of daily paired vocabulary learning.  Students gradually learn all the words from their peers while encountering the words in their texts.

     

    by Margaret Richek, The Reading Teacher, February, 2005

     
     
Last Modified on October 17, 2013