Dyslexia Awareness Week has just flashed by. Here are some tips for teachers teaching dyslexic pupils.
- Assess skills and understanding before you start, so you can identify difficulties and measure progress.
- Use structured programmes of work so pupils can succeed at every level.
- Adapt the pace of progress to the pupils.
- Use multi-sensory methods and resources.
- Make activities short and successful.
- Provide age-appropriate reading materials to boost self-esteem.
- Use contexts that are relevant to learners, such as football or TV series.
- Allow lots of varied practice, revisiting the same skills through different activities.
- Monitor whether pupils are failing to progress. If so, the teaching is moving too quickly or not allowing enough over-learning.
- Conclude lessons with what has been learned and start them with a reminder of what was learned previously.
- Intersperse lessons with short games (not necessarily educational, just fun).
- Try to work cumulatively, referring along the way to what has been learned.
- After a while, show pupils evidence of progress.
- Reward effort in ways that are meaningful to pupils.