Teaching
Students with Learning and Behavioral Differences:
Strategies for Secondary Teachers
Literacy Skills
Expanding a limited
vocabulary.
Strategies
Teach student to preview material to develop list of words that may cause difficulty.
Provide students with list of key vocabulary to be used in a lesson.
Help student to develop note cards with personal vocabulary list.
Extending limited comprehension.
Strategies
Teach key connecting words which cue relationships between ideas.
Provide summaries or simplified forms of novels or other reading material to augment understanding.
Suggest use of bookmarks to place above or below line to prevent losing place in text.
Provide practice in predicting and summarizing as students use RAP.
Model effective reading strategies including techniques such as previewing, highlighting and note taking.
Provide tape recording so students can listen while they read.
Provide opportunities for pairs of students to oral read materials.
Encourage students to use visualization and verbalization to support comprehension. For example, students can create a visual image of a character in a novel being read in order to support inference and understanding of relationships between characters.
Resolving confusion that results when there is too much print on a page.
Strategies
Consider altering the format of handouts to reduce the amount of material in the visual field For example, use underlining or shading to highlight important concepts, reduce the amount of print on a page, and construct tests with large amounts of white space.
Developing composition skills.
Strategies
Teach pre-writing activities such as organizers.
Provide opportunities for student to discuss topic and generate a list of words to guide written plan.
Consider the ideas as the principal goal rather than the form or style in initial stages of writing process.
Consider oral demonstrations of knowledge.
Allow more time for written assignments.
Teach students to proofread in pairs.
Provide teacher consultation for revision stages of the writing process.
Improving handwriting skills.
Strategies
Encourage students to use word processor.
Allow laptop computers for students to use in class.
Allow audio or video taped recording of assignment as an alternative to written.
Improving spelling and mechanics.
Strategies
Encourage the use of electronic spell-checkers.
Limit the weighting of spelling on the evaluation.
Assist student to develop a personal spelling dictionary to refer to when proofreading.
Model and teach editing skills.
Establish peer editing procedures.
Many secondary school students can benefit from the use of manipulative materials when studying math. The following illustrates the use of algebra titles.
Combining Integers
Numeration Skills
Mastering basic operations and calculations.
Strategies
Teach and encourage the appropriate use of calculators.
Connect all mathematical concepts to real life situations.
Model and encourage the use of manipulatives and multi-sensory objects or tools for math concepts (e.g. ruler, number line, soup cans).
Model a variety of ways to solve the same computational problem.
Provide immediate feedback about the process as the student works.
Encourage students to compare answers with a study partner as an alternate means of receiving immediate feedback.
Decrease the volume of questions without compromising the concept covered (this may be most appropriate with drill and practice type questions).
Provide alternate texts with less complex visual material.
Encourage the use of graph paper to ensure correct organization of numbers within columns.
Observe students' work for observable errors in strategy.
Developing problem solving skills.
Strategies
Recognize the complexity of mathematics as another language system and teach the symbols directly (i.e. 1/2 can mean part to whole relation, can mean a representation of a ratio, can mean finding a quotient).
Model a variety of problem-solving strategies.
Assist students to develop criteria for choosing a strategy
Apply reading comprehension strategies to problem solving (i.e. deciding what the main idea is and what information is extraneous to the problem).
Use simpler problems of the same type to model methods.
Encourage students to represent problem in pictorial or other visual form before attempting solution.
Focus students' understanding of algebraic symbols as representing real numbers or operations.
Permit extended time for problem solving, including pre-solution stage trial and error.
Teach prediction and estimation skills.
Consider the use of pictorial flow charts to plan strategies before setting up equations.
Performance on tests/exams does not appear consistent with understanding of concepts.
Strategies
Allow extra time to complete test.
Allow use of word processor or other technology .
Teach and review key test-taking vocabulary (e.g. list, compare, contrast, discuss).
Teach strategies for preparing for different kinds of tests.
Consider open-book tests or tests with use of notebooks.
Select question format carefully (e.g. consider use of multiple choice or matching items rather than requesting recall of specific facts).
Consider alternatives to objective tests (e.g. oral presentation, concrete application, AV presentation, graphic display).
Present test questions orally by providing a reader or a tape recording of the questions.
Allow student to take test or exam in an alternate setting.
Learning outcomes difficult to achieve.
Strategies
Provide adjusted timetable to assist student to succeed in course load (coordinate with counselor or appropriate personnel).
Consider providing a support block for learning strategies.
Consider further adaptations to the scheduling of required subjects (e.g. space high school requirements over an extra year, encourage intensive study in one required course over the summer by means of correspondence or summer school).
Difficulty taking notes form lectures, discussions and video presentation.
Strategies
Provide pre-designed organizers for note taking (e.g. overhead outlines, outline forms for notes).
Use NCR paper for peers to record notes.
Use old-fashioned carbon paper.
Photocopy from set of class notes prepared daily by student or teacher. This can also be used to catch up students who were absent.
Permit use of cassette tape recorders in class.
Use concept mapping or webbing for notes.
Use multiple column note taking format.
Provide list of key vocabulary in advance of the lesson.
Encourage students to develop their own abbreviations.
Provide models of good note taking.
Permit time for students to write information after listening.
Provide oral clues about what is key to write down.
Minimize copying of notes from board by providing handouts and use them as tools for tasks such as discussion or synthesizing.
Difficulty taking notes from texts or other written
sources.
Strategies
Teach strategies for note taking such as PQR3 (Preview, question, read, reflect, recite/write, review).
Model the use of various types of notes (e.g. demonstrate how to use written material to highlight key ideas, create an outline, a concept map).
Preview the material to bring prior knowledge and set a purpose for the note task.
Provide guided practice in writing summaries.