Prevention and Intervention of Writing Difficulties for Students with Learning Disabilities | LD Topics | LD OnLine

Many times I get requests from parents to help their child with writing skills.  LD Online has a great article on the prevention and intervention of writing.  Take a look by clicking on this link:  Prevention and Intervention of Writing Difficulties for Students with Learning Disabilities | LD Topics | LD OnLine

What do you think?

Accommodations, Modifications, & Interventions

Many times you will hear educators discussing accommodations, modifications, and interventions.  Often those terms will seem interchangeable.  But there is a difference between the terms.

Accommodations are changes made to instruction.  These changes are made to help students fully participate in the general education curriculum without changing the instructional content.  They do not change the learning expectations in regards to the goal being addressed.  Typically the student product produced using accommodations is equal to the student product produced without accommodations.  Some examples of accommodations would be providing more time to complete work, allowing oral responses instead of written responses, or providing a study guide before a test.

Modifications are changes made to instruction that changes or reduces learning expectations.  This can include rewording test questions, shortening an assignment (odd or even numbers only), or using a different grading scale.

Interventions are strategies that are used to teach a skill in a new situation.  They should include an assessment, planning, and data collection from activities of student achievement.  The interventions are to be scientifically research based.  Regular progress monitoring (example: once a week) should occur to determine skill growth and help shape instructional planning.  Examples of scientifically research based interventions would be S.P.I.R.E or Florida Center of Reading Research activities.

Interventions for students you suspect may have a language impairment.

There will be many different students in your classroom throughout the year. One type of student who may struggle academically may be language impaired. This does not mean the student speaks a different language and is having difficulty with English; this student will have typically spoken English all of their life and lived in an English-only speaking home. This student will have difficulty with vocabulary, possibly following directions, understanding meaning of words, and/or verbalizing their thoughts and ideas. Here are some interventions to attempt:

1. Explicit and systematic small group instruction within the general education classroom.
2. Break instruction down into manageable steps.
3. Emphasize important points with color by using highlighters, colored transparency strips, or colored reusable transparent tape.
4. Provide concrete, hands-on activities and manipulative so the student could actually experience the concept being taught.
5. Provide an outline or organizer so that the student need only fill in key words and phrases.
6. Don't let the child struggle for too long to find or recall a word. Give the child the word they are looking for after a few seconds. Then after the child finishes their thought, provide an additional verbal cue to help the child remember or practice the word again.
7. Read books that contain rhymes, predictable text, opposites, classifications, and repetitions.
8. Play category naming games: apples, oranges, grapes are all (fruits).

What are some interventions you have used in your classroom?

Reading Strategies: Read a Picture

There are many different reading strategies that can be used with students.  An activity that is good to use with pre-emergent readers is called Read a Picture.  

Materials:

You will need a  nonfiction picture book, dry erase board, and dry erase marker. 

Strategies: 

This activity will use prior knowledge to add meaning to text.  It will also have the student look at picture clues to predict story content.

Directions:

1. Write on the dry erase board 2-3 vocabulary words from a nonfiction story.  Select words that connect to illustrations in the book.
2. Show students each page of the book and have them use picture clues to predict information.
3. Ask how and why questions.
4. Read aloud and define the words on the board.
5. Have students use the listed words to describe the book illustrations.
6. Then read the story aloud.
7. Have students compare their predictions to the facts in the story.

Connect Families 2 School

Dear Readers,
I apologize for the brief break in posting. We will be returning to
our regular schedule of posting information beginning today. Please
check out the wonderful offerings that we have to share.

CONNECT FAMILIES 2 SCHOOL

A time for parents to connect with other parents, educators, and
specialists to enhance their knowledge, gain strategies, and increase social and emotional support.

When: Monday, March 9 from 6:30pm to 8 pm
(adults only if possible)

Where: John Pittard Elementary, Murfreesboro City Schools
Music Room

Topic: Sue Humphrey, Occupational Therapist, will be discussing
sensory needs in children. Mrs. Humphrey is an expert in recognizing and assisting families with children who have sensory needs. Come, listen, and participate as Mrs. Humphrey shares her vast experience with sensory regulation and our daily routines.

If there are any questions please call Lori Shea at Pittard at
615-396-0240