Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

 Literacy Belief Statement

At Gawler Primary School we believe that a consistent whole site

approach to the teaching of Literacy is essential to improving
learner outcomes and life opportunities for our students.

Effective literacy skills are the foundation of lifelong success.

Being literate builds confidence and self-esteem, and enables
greater opportunities to participate, function and develop as
lifelong learners.

We believe that student outcomes will improve when site

leaders, teachers and curriculum planners share a common
vocabulary and common pedagogy for the explicit teaching of
Literacy skills. This common vocabulary and pedagogical
approach is continually developed through a commitment to
high quality ongoing professional learning.
At Gawler Primary School we are committed to providing a
differentiated and balanced curriculum for our diverse range of
students. Differentiation is based on the ongoing collection and
analysis of a range of data that informs the teaching and learning
cycle for our staff and our diverse range of students. It provides
multiple entry and exit points for students, and caters for the
wide learning styles and preferences that exist in our students.

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

Whole Site Approach to Literacy Teaching and Learning

PURPOSE
High expectations Family Partnerships &
Beliefs and values that
for all staff & Connections
underpin teaching and
students
learning decisions
Sharing & Performance
Collaboration Development PRACTICE
Consistent Assessment FOR
Common pedagogical
Implementation of OF & AS
Learning (Dylan agreements
Whole Site Literacy agreement Professional
Approach Wiliam) POLICY
Learning
Assessment Map Agreed literacy programs
Literacy Block
TLCs school wide
CULTURE
Monitoring
Text Type Explicit Teaching Gradual Release of Building a collaborative
of data
Map and Learning Responsibility culture through shared
Common
Terminology professional learning, team
structures, performance
Differentiation ASSESS, PLAN,
management and
TEACH
development that promotes
collegiate sharing and
TfEL learning

Student Learning,
Engagement &
wellbeing
 Expectations of the Literacy Block- The Non-Negotiables
 Uninterrupted block - 90 min minimum, 4 days a week.
 Planning informed by data and assessment
 Comprehending and Composing will be taught explicitly
 Common agreements i.e. Oxford sight words
 A daily reading block will include independent, guided and shared reading
 Comprehension strategies explicitly taught, practised and modelled daily.
 Oral language and vocabulary will be explicitly taught
 Daily structured writing opportunities
 A spelling program will be taught daily and mapped across R-7.

 The Literacy block will be systematically planned, scaffolded and explicitly

taught
 A sequential grammar program is explicitly taught R-7.
Samples of the English block

15 mins Spelling Groups

15 mins Modelled / Shared Reading

20 mins Guided / Independent Reading

10 mins Sharing Time

15 mins Modelled / Shared Writing

20 mins Guided / Independent Writing

10 mins Sharing Time

Explicit Shared Reading – focus text

15 mins Teaching
Reading Comprehension – focus text (Think Aloud, Questioning)
Modelled/Shared Writing (Text deconstruction, Spelling, Text
20 mins
Reconstruction/Joint Construction)
20 mins Consolidation Small Group Reading/Guided Reading groups (differentiated)

30 mins Guided / Independent Writing (differentiated)

Spelling (small group/individual) opportunities for consolidating
15 mins
spelling knowledge
10 min Sharing Time

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)
Comprehension strategies
Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read and is built through the explicit
teaching of comprehension strategies. To become purposeful readers, students must have control over a
range of strategies and skills to assist with comprehending text. Teaching reading comprehension is an
active process of constructing meaning and is interactive (it involves not just the reader, but the text and
the context in which reading takes place), strategic (readers have purposes for their reading and use a
variety of strategies as they construct meaning) and adaptable (readers change the strategies they use as
they read different kinds of text or as they read for different purposes). Comprehension involves
combining reading with thinking and reasoning. http://www.readingresource.net/teachingreadingcomprehension.html

Comprehension and comprehension strategies are relevant to all aspects of the curriculum and can be
found through all learning areas, general capabilities and cross curriculum priorities in the Australian
Curriculum.

Comprehension strategies to be explicitly taught across all year levels. Refer to Comprehension
Scope and Sequence (in appendix) for aspects of strategies at specific year levels.

An on-going awareness of the quality of the processing of text. It is the

Monitoring
continual realization that a text is or is not making sense and it is being
Comprehension aware of the thought processes occurring when reading.
Connecting prior knowledge and experiences with information from a text
Making Connections (text to self), information from other texts (text to text), and information
about the world (text to world).
Requires asking and answering different levels of questions to assist with
Questioning understanding information being read. They help to clarify and deepen
understanding.
Creating meaning through mental images. Visualising helps readers engage
Visualising with text in ways that make it personal and memorable.

Determining
Involves sorting out the key ideas and identifying the main idea in the text.
Importance
Involves being able to read between the lines and figure out the meaning
from the clues in the text. Inferring involves using prior knowledge and
Inferring information from the text to draw conclusions, make critical judgments and
form interpretations from text. Inferring can occur in the form of
conclusions, predictions or new ideas.
Involves students being able to determine what is important in what they
read and put it into their own words. Instruction in summarizing helps
Summarising students to identify or generate main ideas, connect the main or central
ideas, eliminate unnecessary information and remember what they read.
The skill of putting information together and seeing it in a new way
(creating). Thinking evolves through a process and readers’ thinking
Synthesising changes as more information is gathered from the text. New information
makes the reader re-evaluate their thinking and form new thinking.

Reflecting/Evaluating Making judgments about what is read and to explain why.

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

 Text Types and the Australian Curriculum
In the Australian Curriculum: English, texts can be classified as belonging to one of three
types: imaginative, informative or persuasive, although it is acknowledged that these
distinctions are neither static nor watertight and particular texts can belong to more than one
category.

Imaginative texts – texts whose primary purpose is to entertain through their imaginative
use of literary elements. They are recognised for their form, style and artistic or aesthetic
value. These texts include novels, traditional tales, poetry, stories, plays, fiction for young
adults and children including picture books and multimodal texts such as film.

Informative texts – texts whose primary purpose is to provide information. They include
texts which are culturally important in society and are valued for their informative
content, as a store of knowledge and for their value as part of everyday life. These texts
include explanations and descriptions of natural phenomena, recounts of events,
instructions and directions, rules and laws and news bulletins.

Persuasive texts – whose primary purpose is to put forward a point of view and persuade
a reader, viewer or listener. They form a significant part of modern communication in
both print and digital environments. They include advertising, debates, arguments,
discussions, polemics and influential essays and articles.

TEACH
PLAN
So what will we do to get there?
What do I want them to learn?

ASSESS
How will I know
if they got it?

Key Ideas
 A range of text types can be identified as having a particular purpose

 Some text types are more complex than others eg explanations are more complex than procedures

 Each text type increases in complexity through the years of schooling eg a sequential explanation should
be taught earlier than a causal explanation

 Teachers need to understand the structure and language demands of the text types in order to effectively
scaffold student language and literacy learning.
Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)
 Text Types and their purposes
Students need to understand the purpose of different text types, their structures and their
specific language features.

Text Types Purpose

Imaginative Texts
Narrative To entertain or amuse.
Literary Recount To retell a series of events.
Informative Texts
Information Reports – To provide factual information and describe one type of
Descriptive/Compositional thing eg. an animal, place or event.

Classifying report To describe and give information about sub groups within
a class eg deciduous and evergreen trees.
Comparative report To describe two or more things by comparing and
contrasting different aspects eg 2D and 3D shapes.
Explanations
Sequential Explanation To explain why things are as they are.
Causal Explanation To explain how something occurs or works e.g. how rain is
made.
Descriptions
Factual Description (Generally focused To describe the characteristics or features of a thing or a
on in Early Years as a preliminary step phenomenon eg several sentences about a koala.
before Information report)
Literary Description To describe the characteristics or features of a thing or a
(This text type is often embedded phenomenon eg setting, mood, character in imaginative
within other texts) texts.
Recounts
Personal Recount To retell a personal experience.
Biographical Recount To provide information about the life of a particular
person.
Historical Recount To recount a particular event or period of time.
Response/Review
Literary Response/Review To respond to, retell or summarise a visual, written or
performed work.
Procedure To instruct someone on how to do something.
Persuasive Texts
Argument To put forward a point of view(e.g. persuading that certain
action should be taken)
Debate Oral exchange of point of view
Discussion To present information for both sides of an issue
(e.g. arguing ‘for’ and ‘against’)

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

 Text Type Map
Term R (F) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 Recount Recount Recount Persuasive Persuasive Persuasive Persuasive Persuasive
Persuasive Persuasive Persuasive Description Description Description Description Description
2 Description Description Description Narrative Narrative Narrative Narrative Narrative
Recount Narrative Narrative Information Information Information Information Information
report report report report report
3 Procedure Procedure Procedure Explanation Explanation Explanation Explanation Explanation
Explanation Explanation Explanation Procedure Procedure Procedure Procedure Procedure
4 Information Information Information Response/ Response/ Response/ Response/ Response/
report report report Review Review Review Review Review
Response/ Response/ Response/ Poetry Poetry Poetry Poetry Poetry
Review Review Review

Major Minor

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

 Reception/ Year 1 Year 1/2 Year 3/4 Year 4/5 Year 6/7
Recount Personal Recount Personal and/or Literary Literary, Biographical, Historical, Biographical, Historical,
Personal/Factual Personal Personal
Description Factual, Literary Factual, Literary Factual, Literary Factual, Literary Factual, Literary
Information Report Descriptive Descriptive Descriptive Descriptive Classifying
Classifying Classifying
Narrative Narrative Narrative Narrative Narrative Narrative
Procedure Instructional recipes Instructional recipes Instructions Flow charts Instructions
Directions Directions Instructions
Diagrams
Persuasive Texts Opinion with reason Argument Argument Argument Discussion
Debate
Explanation Sequential Sequential and/or Causal Causal
Causal
Response/Review Oral retell Personal response Response/Review Response/Review Response/Review
Poetry Rhyming Rhyming/Poetry Poetry Poetry Poetry

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

 Text Type Scope
Major Focus: 1, 2, 3, 4 e.g. Minor Focus: 1, 2, 3, 4 e.g. Expose: 1 e.g.

Refer to the Teaching and Learning Cycle (page 8) for explanations of the number references above (1, 2, 3, 4) as these refer to the expected teaching stages of the cycle.
Reception/Year 1 Year 1/2 Year 3/4 Year 4/5 Year 6/7
Persuasive texts Opinion with reason Argument Persuasive text Persuasive text Persuasive text -
Expose - mostly Oral Expose – Oral and - Argument - Argument Discussion
Written - Debate - Debate
Recount Personal Recount Personal and/or Literary Literary, Biographical, Historical, Biographical, Historical,
Expose and Teach Expose and Teach Personal/Factual Personal Personal
Narrative Narrative Narrative Narrative Narrative Narrative
Procedure Procedure, Instructional Procedure, Instructional Procedure Procedure Procedure
recipes recipes - Instructions - flow charts - Instructions
- instructions
- diagrams
Information Report Info Report Info Report Info Report Info Report Info Report
- Descriptive - Descriptive - Descriptive - Descriptive - Comparative
- Classifying - Classifying
Explanation Expose – mostly Oral Sequential Sequential and/or Explanation - Causal Explanation - Causal
Causal
Description Description Description Description Description Description
– Factual – Factual – Factual – Factual – Factual
- Literary - Literary - Literary - Literary - Literary
Response/Review Response/Review – Response/Review Response/Review Response/Review Response/Review
mostly Oral retell
Major and Minor Text Types are the focus as per the Map above, however exposure to all the Text Types will occur incidentally across the other curricular areas.

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

 Text Types and the Explicit Teaching Cycle
Teaching and Learning Cycle
1. Building the Field 2. Deconstruction 3. Joint Construction 4. Independent Construction
(Comprehending) (Comprehending) (Comprehending/Composing) (Composing)
What What What What
 Establish prior knowledge  Select texts to deconstruct  Expand and build field knowledge  Continue with development of
 Talk about shared  Examine purpose, text specific to topic field knowledge specific to topic
experience eg hands-on structures and linguistic  Jointly construct text following the  Opportunities to apply learning
activity, excursion, play, use features of Text Types structure using appropriate language in independent writing
of concrete/visual/ audio  Identify author intent choices and grammatical structures How
materials  Discuss relationship between  Discuss language choices in co-  Independently sequence
 Discuss, read, view, listen to stages of a text constructed text jumbled text
extend understanding of How  Reconstruct a text from main
topic & vocabulary  Reconstruct text from main content content words
 Use different & appropriate How words  Support the writing process –
Levels of Questioning  Sequencing and labelling  Plan writing together organisation, information,
How stages of texts  Jointly research topic, conduct planning, drafting, conferencing,
Identify participants (nouns),  Identify participants, experiments editing, reviewing, publishing
circumstances (how, why), processes circumstances, processes in  Brainstorm participants, circumstances,  Independently label
(verbs) appropriate to topic text processes related to topic diagram/picture/drawing/etc
 Exploring everyday and  Cloze exercise focussing on  Co-construction of new texts using the  Construct oral text from given
technical vocabulary and verbs/conjunctions/etc following: field knowledge, text information
visuals to build  Discuss new vocabulary, purpose, text structure, language  Use frameworks, guides, rubrics
understanding names, colloquialisms features, intentionality
 Explore and build word  Explore sentence structure  Students collaborate in groups to draft
knowledge  Build understanding of paragraphs/sections of text & discuss &
 Discuss new vocabulary, reference items (pronouns) & edit to improve their joint construction
names, colloquialisms noun groups  Use knowledge of how visuals support
 Appropriately select and  Explain purpose of visual the purpose of different text types
explain purpose of visual diagrams to support text type  Appropriately select and explain
diagrams to support text purpose of visual diagrams to support
type text type

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

 Teaching Strategies Resources
Reading Groups
Oxford Literacy – we don’t have much of
Independent, guided and shared these Guided Reading/Reciprocal
reading  Big Books text types (genre) Reading
Cross-Age Tutors  Guided Readers
Explicit Instruction  Team X  Informed by reading data
Oxford Word Lists  Reading text at instructional
Differentiation
IWB Programs * Jolly Grammar books 1-5 level
Guided Reading  Explicit teaching of
Non-Fiction Big Books
comprehension strategies
 Flexible grouping
Reading  Guided reading needs
teacher to model this
Comprehension practise, gradually model
Strategies
Monitoring Comprehension
at GPS and equip students for
guiding reading groups.

Making Connections
Questioning Assessment Outcomes
Visualising
Determining Importance Running Records - Alpha Students
Inferring assess or Read, Record,  Are fluent readers
Summarising Respond, fluency  Use a wide range of comprehension skills
Oxford Sight Words  Read for different purposes
Synthesising SPAT  Understand the mechanics of reading and apply them
Reflecting/Evaluating PAT-R  Are critical readers
Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)NAPLaN  Read with prosody
Concepts of Print
 Teaching Strategies Text Types Word Knowledge
 Oral language instruction precedes Narrative Information Report Sight words (Oxford word list)
written work Recount Explanation Phonics
 Explicit teaching and learning cycle Text specific vocabulary
 Build field knowledge Poetry Procedure Persuasive
Grammar
 Text deconstruction Response/Review Description Tense
 Joint construction
Word meanings/definitions
 Independent
 Vocabulary and word knowledge
 Revision and consolidation
 Gradual Release of Responsibility
 Modelling
Writing Spelling
 Teaching structure of different Jolly Phonics
text types Oxford Word Lists
 Opportunities for creative writing
 Daily handwriting minimum 5 mins
at GPS Word Walls
Using data from assessment tools

Handwriting Assessment Outcomes

Students will:
Fine motor skills Oxford Sight Words  Write to the national minimum year level standard/NEP
Pencil grip Student writing samples goals
Formation of letters ESL Scope and Scales  Show understanding or and use structures of a range of
Writing on lines Decoding text types
Highlighted lines to guide Using data to inform planning practice  Use correct spelling and grammar
NAPLaN  Produce well edited, quality pieces of written work
Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)  Be able to write for a range of audiences and purposes
 Transfer their writing skills to other curriculum areas
Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)
Assess, Plan, Teach

ASSESS Assessment is an integral part of the teaching and learning cycle and
should be central to ongoing classroom practice.
There are three key types of assessment:

 Formative assessment records development in progress, rather than completed development.

It is an ongoing part of classroom activity, it is cumulative and provides information which
informs teachers’ future planning. This forms part of ongoing teacher assessment in the class.

 Summative assessment summarises completed learning. This type of assessment usually takes
place at the end of a period of teaching, such as at the end of a topic, the end of a year or the
end of a key stage. Summative assessment statements may be compiled using information
from formative assessments in addition to formal tests taken at given points within students’
school careers.

 Assessment for learning, an extension of formative assessment, is the process of seeking and
interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in
their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there. It should be ongoing and part
of effective learning and teaching. Assessment for learning uses assessment in the classroom
to raise pupils’ achievement. It is based on the principle that pupils will improve most if they
understand the aim of their learning, where they are in relation to this aim and how they can
achieve the aim.

PLAN Deciding what to teach next based on assessment data and information
and how to teach it by using students’ specific strengths to help address
their needs.

TEACH Execute the plans developed and students learn. The cycle continues.

 An effective teaching practice is to reflect on the data collected to plan for

explicit instruction to improve student learning and increase student
engagement. This is then implemented in daily teaching practice.

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

Effective Pedagogy

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

Gradual Release of Responsibility Model – From Teacher to Student

Modelled
Teachers explicitly teach & Shared/Guided
model Teachers scaffold & support
(“To/for” students) (“with” students)

• direct instruction • teacher supervises and assists

• modelling with think alouds students Independent
• small groups Students independently
• specific skills
• other students work (“by” students)
independently
• students practise the
strategy on their own

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)
 Data Pyramid
PAT-R
Annually NAPLAN
ESL Scaling
Performance
2-4 times Development related to
per year site priorities
Phonological Awareness
(SPAT)
Oxford Wordlist
Once per Student reports/interviews
term Pre and Post writing sample for Text
Types

Twice per
Running Records
term Writing Samples

Weekly Formative Classroom Assessments eg. observations, reading

responses, self-assessment, monitoring understanding

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

 Assessment Schedule
Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4
R-2 R-2 R-2 R-2
Running Records Running Records Running Records Running Records
Phonological Aw. Concepts of Print Phonological Aw. Concepts of Print
Concepts of Print Concepts of Print
R-4 R-4 R-4
R-4 Oxford Word List Oxford Word List Oxford Word List
Oxford Word List ESL Scope and Scales
3-7 3-7 3-7 3-7
Running Records Running Records Running Records Running Records
NAPLaN ESL Scope and Scales PAT-R

R-7 R-7 R-7 R-7

Pre and Post writing sample of Pre and Post writing sample of Pre and Post writing sample of Pre and Post writing sample of
Major and Minor Text Type Major and Minor Text Type Major and Minor Text Type Major and Minor Text Type

Gawler Primary School Reading Targets

Reception (4 Terms) Level 8-12

End of Year 1 Level 18-20

End of Year 2 Level 24-26

End of Year 3 Independent

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)
Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)
What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by
difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding
abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of
language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of
effective classroom instruction.

Most people with dyslexia have been found to have problems with identifying the separate
speech sounds within a word and/or learning how letters represent those sounds, a key factor
in their reading difficulties. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading
comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary
and background knowledge. There are many famous and highly successful dyslexics in the
world, ranging from Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Leonardo Da
Vinci.

How can I best cater for my dyslexic student in the classroom?

Each individual with dyslexia is unique, but the multisensory approach is flexible enough to
serve a wide range of ages and learning differences. A multisensory approach can be
valuable to many; to the dyslexic child it is essential. The expertise of the teacher is the key.
The important thing to remember is that through providing a multisensory approach, not only
will students with dyslexia and dyslexic type learning needs (DTLN) be able to demonstrate
their full understanding and potential, but this approach also benefits students without these
learning preferences, and gives them opportunities to ‘think outside the box’ and stretch their
learning.

Some challenges that students with dyslexia or students with DTLN include:

 Difficulty with remembering simple sequences such as counting to 20, naming the days
of the week, or reciting the alphabet
 Difficulty understanding the rhyming of words, such as knowing that fat rhymes with cat
 Trouble recognizing words that begin with the same sound (for example, that bird,
baby”, and big all start with b)
 Pronunciation difficulties
 Trouble easily clapping hands to the rhythm of a song
 Difficulty with word retrieval (frequently uses words like “stuff” and “that thing” rather
than specific words to name objects)
 Trouble remembering names of places and people
 Difficulty remembering spoken directions

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

 Resources and material accommodations in the classroom that
will support students with dyslexia or DTLN:

 Clarify or simplify written directions. Some directions are written in paragraph form and
contain many units of information. These can be overwhelming to some students. The
teacher can help by underlining or highlighting the significant parts of the directions.
Rewriting the directions is often helpful.
 Present a small amount of work. Only present work that is being covered at that time,
rather than presenting a large amount that may be over whelming for them.
 Block out extraneous stimuli. If a student is easily distracted by visual stimuli on a full
worksheet or page, a blank sheet of paper can be used to cover sections of the page
not being worked on at the time.
 Use a dyslexia friendly font. Fonts including this font, century gothic and Comic Sans
are fonts that are easily read. Larger and wider spaced lettering can be helpful in
assisting students to distinguish individual letters and symbols. Buff or pale blue or
yellow paper helps students distinguish the text from the paper, and highlighted text
can assist students in reading text easily.
 Highlight essential information. An overwhelming amount of condensed text can be
distracting, by highlighting the essential information, students are able to focus in the
text that is relevant to them.
 Provide additional practice activities. Recommended practice exercises include
instructional games, peer teaching activities, self-correcting materials, computer
software programs, and additional worksheets.
 Provide a glossary in content areas. Students often benefit from a glossary of content-
related terms.
 Use of assistive technology. Assistive technology products such as tablets, electronic
readers/dictionaries/spellers, text to speech programs, audio books, and more can be
very useful tools.
 Use of coloured overlays. Coloured overlays help students distinguish the text on paper
easily. We have blue, purple, red, yellow and green coloured overlays, please take the
time to see which colour is most effective with your student.

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

 Physical accommodations, with a specific focus on teacher
instruction include:
 Use explicit teaching procedures. Teachers can include explicit teaching steps within
their lessons (i.e., demonstrate the skill, provide guided practice, offer constructive
feedback, set up independent practice, monitor practice, and review).
 Repeat directions. Students who have difficulty following directions are often helped by
asking them to repeat the directions in their own words. The student can repeat the
directions to a peer when the teacher is unavailable. If directions contain several steps,
break down the directions into subsets. Simplify directions by presenting only one
portion at a time and by writing each portion on the whiteboard as well as stating it
orally. When using written directions, be sure that students are able to read and
understand the words as well as comprehend the meaning of sentences.
 Maintain daily routines. Many students with learning problems need the structure of
daily routines to know and do what is expected.
 Provide students with a graphic organiser. An outline, chart, or blank web can be given
to students to fill in during presentations. This helps students listen for key information
and see the relationships among concepts and related information.
 Use step-by-step instruction. New or difficult information can be presented in small
sequential steps. This helps learners with limited prior knowledge who need explicit or
part-to-whole instruction.
 Simultaneously combine verbal and visual information. Verbal information can be
provided with visual displays (e.g., on an interactive whiteboard or handout).
 Write key points or words on the whiteboard. Prior to a presentation, the teacher can
write new vocabulary words and key points on the whiteboard.
 Use balanced presentations and activities. An effort should be made to balance oral
presentations with visual information and participatory activities. Also, there should be
a balance between large group, small group, and individual activities.
 Use mnemonic instruction. Mnemonic devices can be used to help students remember
key information or steps in a learning strategy. An example of this is the Mnemonic
strategy to remember North, South, East and West being Never Eat Soggy Weetbix.
 Emphasize daily review. Daily review of previous learning or lessons can help students
connect new information with prior knowledge.

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

 Physical Accommodations, with a specific focus on student
involvement include:
 Change response mode. For students who have difficulty with fine motor responses
(such as handwriting), the response mode can be changed to underlining, selecting
from multiple choices, sorting, or marking. Students with fine motor problems can be
given extra space for writing answers on worksheets or can be allowed to respond on
individual whiteboards.
 Provide an outline of the lesson. An outline enables some students to follow the lesson
successfully and make appropriate notes. Moreover, an outline helps students to see
the organization of the material and ask timely questions.
 Encourage use of graphic organisers. A graphic organiser involves organizing material
into a visual format. To develop a graphic organiser, the student can list the topic on
the first line, collect and divide information into major headings, list all information
relating to major headings on index cards, organize information into major areas, place
information under appropriate subheadings, and place information into the organiser
format. Many different formats for graphic organisers can be found at:
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/ these are also found in the staff drive,
staff  Graphic organisers.
 Place students close to the teacher. Students can be seated close to the teacher,
whiteboard, or work area and away from distracting sounds, materials, or objects.
 Use cues to denote important items. Asterisks or bullets can denote questions or
activities that are particularly important. This helps students locate essential information
easily.
 Design hierarchical worksheets. The teacher can design worksheets with problems
arranged from easiest to hardest. Early success helps students begin to work.
 Allow use of instructional aids. Students can be provided with letter and number strips
to help them write correctly. Number lines, counters, calculators, and other assistive
technology can help students once they understand the mathematical operations.
 Display work samples. Samples of completed assignments can be displayed to help
students realize expectations and plan accordingly.
 Use peer-mediated learning. The teacher can pair peers of different ability levels to,
read aloud to each other, write stories, or share ideas. Also, a partner can read
worded problems for students with reading difficulties to solve.
 Use flexible work times. Students who work slowly can be given additional time to
complete written assignments.
 Provide additional practice. Students require different amounts of practice to master
skills or content. Many students with learning problems need additional practice to
learn at a fluency level.
 Use assignment substitutions or adjustments. Students can be allowed to complete
projects instead of oral presentations or vice versa, or they could record their project
using school ipads and programs such as social stories, show me or dragon dictation.
 Have assistive technologies readily available across learning opportunities. Students
should feel that they can access assistive technologies at any time to support their
learning. Incorporating these into as many learning opportunities as possible will reduce
the stigma of students using these as being ‘different’.

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)

Adapted from the international dyslexia association www.interdys.org.

Prepared by : Jo Button, Jane Lawrence and Robyn Haywood (2014)