Josie Mingay: The dyslexia-friendly classroom

[debbie]

Here is a very touching post from the experiences and perspective of an older learner with dyslexia (difficulties with words) - written by her teacher, Josie Mingay via her blog 'Literacy SENse':

https://josiemingay.wordpress.com/2014/ ... wish-list/

The Dyslexia-Friendly Classroom - One Student's Wish List

The 'wish-list' includes some very sensible and doable ideas that could make a big difference to learners who struggle to read and write quickly and competently.

The other issue why 'it does not have to be this way' is if learners with dyslexic tendencies really did receive the best possible reading, spelling and handwriting instruction.

I think it is also relevant that 'phonics' is still perceived to be 'baby stuff' and not the 'adult stuff' that it really is.

Are there Alphabetic Code Charts in classrooms where students are not yet fully conversant with the complex English alphabetic code - and this would include learners for whom English is a new language in an English-speaking context - regardless of age!

See the free, printable Alphabetic Code Charts here:

http://alphabeticcodecharts.com/free_charts.html

And if handwriting is an issue, see the free resources, patter and guidance (video footage and pdfs) here:

www.debbiehepplewhitehandwriting.com

[debbie]

Here is some recently received 'feedback' re using my joined handwriting style and technique to support a Year 9 pupil:

Hi Debbie,

I thought you would like to hear some great results achieved very quickly using your handwriting programme. I have a new pupil who is Year 9. We are working mainly on spelling. His main problems are with more advanced phonic patterns amd with suffixes and multisyllabic words.

However, when I assessed him I noted that he sometimes missed letters from the end of basic words or from a digraph - eg h from sh. This was using a dictation passages, so it is likely that he does he more in his own writing. He often self-corrected, as he had time to do so.

We've only had 4 lessons, going over the basics and lots of saying the sounds as he writes. I felt that encouraging him to use cursive would really help with missing the letters out, as well as being a good thing for writing fluently at speed in exams etc. So I introduced your handwriting programme at the end of last term.

I found it really easy to teach and as it is so straightforward, he picked it up really quickly. He already had good letter formation apart from the odd small issue (e.g. s looks like S). He had done some practice over the holidays and I asked if using the cursive writing was helping. He said yes and that he wasn't missing letters out of words now, especially the little words! I think this is a combination of the cursive handwriting and the phonics work has helped him develop that level of automaticity with basic words, which was missing. The only thing we are working on how is giving his letters 'breathing space', as he tends to cramp up the letters.

Now to move onto the more advanced spellings which he really needs!

I think it is ideal as a remedial handwriting programme for older learners.

I replied with some suggestions for including those 'breathing spaces' between letters that are often missing with joined handwriting:

Thank you so very much for that encouraging feedback.

Re the breathing spaces:

Ask him to intellectualise, and 'talk through' which type of join he needs between his letter shapes.

So, he always needs a 'diagonal join to half height' (or he could just say 'diagonal join' as long as he knows that this is always to 'half height') or he needs a 'washing line join' - and, as you know, he needs to sweep around for letter e accordingly.

For handwriting practice, then, he needs to slow right down in order to 'talk' the joins and embed them into his thinking and into his coordination.

I am so thrilled to hear of the success.

[debbie]

Kerry Hempenstall's blog - 'Older students' literacy problems':


http://nifdi.org/news/hempenstall-blog/ ... y-problems

Older students’ literacy problems: Who are they?

Fourth grade slump, and more.

Kerry Hempenstall RMIT University
First published Sep 11 2013


Reading interventions for struggling older students:

Is it hard? What does it take? What focus? How intense: How frequent? What duration?

What will I get for all the effort? How many will still make little progress?

Who are they?

“Older struggling readers fall into a wide range of developmental levels, presenting a unique set of circumstances not found in younger more homogeneous beginning readers (Biancarosa & Snow, 2004). These struggling adolescents readers generally belong to one of two categories, those provided with little or poor early reading instruction or those possibly provided with good early reading instruction, yet for unknown reasons were unable to acquire reading skills (Roberts, Torgesen, Boardman, & Sammacca, 2008). Additionally within these two categories, older struggling readers are extremely heterogeneous and complex in their remediation needs (Nation, Snowling, & Clarke, 2007; Torgesen et al., 2007)” (p.566).