Teaching Strategies for Dyslexia

Written by Savannah Munholland

What Is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects the part of the brain that processes languages. People with dyslexia struggle with reading due to difficulty recognizing speech sounds and relating them to letters and words. These challenges can make it extremely difficult for students with dyslexia to succeed in school. Like students with ADHD, a dyslexic brain is physically and chemically different than students without dyslexia, which means they may not learn the same way. There is no cure for dyslexia, but there are ways teachers can help students learn to manage the disability that will lead them to lifelong success.

Dyslexia in the Classroom

School can be extremely challenging for students with dyslexia since most classrooms are not designed to teach individuals with a disability. Students with dyslexia may struggle to learn to read, write, and create connections between phonetic sounds and word pronunciations. In a classroom, students with dyslexia may need more time to complete assignments using these skills.

Not all students with dyslexia will present symptoms in the same way. Some students may clearly struggle, while others may mask their symptoms. Teachers should not wait until a student with dyslexia or their parents asks for help. An inclusive classroom will have instructional strategies for dyslexia to give students with learning disabilities as much chance for success as neurotypical students have.

Diagnosing Dyslexia

A licensed educational psychologist typically diagnoses students with dyslexia through a series of reading tests and reviewing reported symptoms. Since individuals with dyslexia can show a variety of characteristics, there is no uniform test for dyslexia, and testing results can be subjective. Some signs that a young child may have dyslexia are being late talkers, reading at a below-average level for age, having trouble connecting sounds to words, and showing difficulty learning the alphabet. For students with dyslexia, early intervention programs can help students, educators, and families formulate a plan based on the child's needs.

A formal diagnosis can help students with dyslexia get accommodations that are designed to help them learn in a school setting. While a proper diagnosis can be helpful, it can also isolate the student and make them feel different. Teachers should provide emotional support and make their classrooms inclusive for students with various learning styles. Having inclusive instructional strategies in place ensures that every student has a learning strategy that helps them succeed.

Inclusive Classrooms and Student Learning

All students have varying social, economic, emotional, and academic experiences that impact the way they learn. An inclusive classroom sets every student up for success, whether they have a learning disability or other experiences that impact their learning style. Designing an inclusive classroom eliminates the need for special education classrooms and provides an environment where all students learn together.

Inclusive classrooms help students combat the isolation that can come from being separated into a special education group while still providing necessary accommodations that the students need to succeed. In an inclusive classroom, students with a disability, learning or otherwise, participate in the same lessons and activities with other students in their class. However, class activities are modified to be more accessible to the needs of students with a disability. Implementing differentiated instruction can boost the confidence of a student with dyslexia and ensure they feel equal to their peers.

Classroom Accommodations for Students with Dyslexia

Ensuring a classroom has accommodations for students with a disability sets the students up for success, helps them feel included with their peers, and boosts their confidence. Some changes teachers can implement to provide classroom accommodations for students with dyslexia are:

• Hand out worksheets that use a large print.
• Provide number and letter strips on desks to aid students with reading and spelling.
• Provide color strips or bookmarks to help students focus on a line of text.
• Give extra time for reading and writing activities.
• Use text-to-speech and speech-to-text software to help with reading and writing.
• Keep a structured classroom routine and set visual schedules that the teacher will read aloud.
• Provide high-interest books for low reading levels (hi-lo books) and audiobooks.

Each person with dyslexia has different challenges. Classroom accommodations for one student with dyslexia may not work for the other students. To best help each student, talk with the students and their parents to learn which accommodations work best for them.

Visual Aids

Many students, including visual learners and students with dyslexia, benefit from increased visual aids in a classroom. Visual aids show a graphic or pictorial representation of the material being taught. Some ways that teachers can include visual examples in their classroom include:

• Breaking up presentations, lectures, and blocks of text with pictures and diagrams.
• Writing down key points on the board during class.
• Using colorful posters and letter strips in the classroom to help with dyslexia spelling strategies.
• Making mind maps to reinforce the content of a lesson.
• Having students visualize the main points of a lesson.
• Color coding all materials.

Assistive Technology

Assistive technology can provide phonological dyslexia strategies that help students with dyslexia succeed in the classroom. Because technology is prevalent in today's society, incorporating assistive technologies in classroom settings is easy. One way is to incorporate assistive technology with other reading strategies for dyslexia. Technology such as audiobooks, videos, and text-to-speech software are excellent resources that help students with dyslexia master reading skills. Additionally, assistive technology can provide great dyslexia writing strategies. Larger fonts, speech-to-text software, and spellcheck are great ways for students with dyslexia to strengthen their writing skills. AI-driven word-prediction software can correct phonetic misspellings and help students find the words they want to use.

Extra Practice and Time

Many students with dyslexia need additional time to complete assignments, especially assignments that are reading or writing-intensive. Since every student with dyslexia is different, it's best to work with the student and their parents to which types of assignments the student has the most difficulty with and set expectations for how much extra time may be needed for each assignment type. Teachers can include additional time in assignments by:

• Separating longer assignments, such as projects and essays, into smaller pieces with easily achievable goals.
• Providing extra lessons on reading and writing activities for students who need or want additional review.
• Giving extra practice as independent work, tutoring, or extra credit.

Individual Education Plans (IEP) are highly recommended for students with dyslexia, and teachers can develop them with the help of the student and their parent's input. By creating an IEP, teachers can establish the amount of extra time and practice that the student needs for assignments. Having an IEP will also ensure that the student is getting every opportunity to complete work and grasp lessons successfully.

Group Projects

Group projects are a great way to encourage the development of healthy socialization skills. In group projects, two or more students work together and use their strengths to complete an assignment. One advantage of collaborating in a group is that each student can take on a different role. Depending on the requirements of each role, some students in the group may not be doing an equal amount of reading or writing. Teachers can outline different roles for students in a group so that a student with dyslexia can participate without being required to complete tasks they struggle with.

In addition to healthy socialization, group projects teach students to work together and combine the strengths of multiple people. Learning to work together in a group with different talents is a skill that will help all students. Group projects embody the core values of an inclusive classroom by ensuring that students with disabilities can participate and interact with their classmates without feeling isolated or different.

Appropriate Sensory Environment

It's estimated that 3 in 10 children with dyslexia also have ADHD. Students with dyslexia often require structure and organization in order to succeed in a classroom setting, and that need is heightened when paired with ADHD. Creating a sensory-friendly classroom helps students with sensory sensitivities, such as students with ADHD, by limiting distractions and helping students focus on the lesson. There are a few simple changes teachers can make to ensure their classroom is sensory friendly:

• Put tennis balls on the bottom of chairs.
• Use muted colors.
• Have fidget toys available for students to use.
• Keep the classroom organized.
• Establish and post a classroom routine.
• Provide a quiet space in the corner of a classroom for students to read or complete other assignments.

Teaching Strategies for Students with Dyslexia

Designing an inclusive classroom and using inclusive instructional strategies will provide a positive learning environment for student with dyslexia. Teaching strategies for an inclusive classroom focus on clear communication and providing a variety of activities. There are many dyslexia teaching resources and strategies that teachers can add to their teaching style and lesson plans that will create immense change for students with dyslexia, such as providing clear instructions, varying project styles, being patient, using clear communication, providing support and encouragement for students, and showing students how to self-teach.

Provide Clear Instructions

Students with learning disabilities and dyslexia may have trouble understanding and following directions. One way to help students understand the directions and stay on task is to provide clear instructions multiple times and in many formats, such as verbally, in writing, and through demonstration. Teachers can also break down complicated directions into multiple smaller steps to make them more digestible. Students hear instructions one step at a time, and teachers can give the instructions verbally and by writing them down on the whiteboard or handout. This strategy prevents students from getting overwhelmed and keeps them focused on the task they are currently working on. Teachers can also ask clarifying questions to the entire class or to individual students in private to ensure that every student understands the written instructions. This also allows students to ask clarifying questions on any steps they don't understand.

Vary Project Styles

Including a variety of projects and assignments helps students with dyslexia think about concepts in different ways. It's easy for teachers to get used to giving a traditional reading and writing-based assignments, but these assignments may get exhausting for students with dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Assigning creative projects related to the lessons helps students with dyslexia visualize and grasp the concepts. Examples of creative projects include oral presentations, skits, art projects, videos, educational games, and story maps.

Have Patience and Good Communication

The best way to help a student with dyslexia is to create an open line of communication with the student and their parents about teaching and assessment strategies for students with dyslexia. Finding a learning plan that works for the student may take some trial and error; however, having open communication with the student and treating them with kindness and patience will help put the student on a path to success and limit feelings of failure or isolation. Maintaining open communication requires scheduling regular meetings with students and parents to evaluate the student's progress and assess areas of strength and weakness. Developing a set of strategies that best supports a student with dyslexia may take a lot of patience and communication, but watching them succeed will be worth it.

Support and Encourage

Students with dyslexia may get discouraged in school as they watch their peers easily grasp concepts that they struggle to understand. These challenges may cause students to lose motivation and believe that they are bad at school. However, students with dyslexia can still succeed with extra support and encouragement. Teachers play a pivotal role in the mental well-being and academic success of students with dyslexia by providing positive reinforcement, encouragement, and support students need. Teachers can watch students with dyslexia achieve academic and emotional success.

Encourage Self-Teaching

Many students advance their reading skills through self-teaching. Once students understand letters and basic phonetics, they can use those skills to puzzle out and eventually understand words they might not have encountered before. Unfortunately, this process is extremely difficult for a student with dyslexia since the chemical makeup of their brains makes it harder to link speech sounds to letters. However, there are dyslexia decoding strategies that can help students with dyslexia self-teach, such as:

• Help the child memorize sight words.
• Provide reading material with simple, single vowel words.
• Offer reading materials from a variety of levels so each student can find one that challenges them without discouraging them.
• Give frequent breaks.
• Encourage students to re-read their favorite stories.

Self-teaching using these dyslexia decoding strategies can help students with dyslexia improve their reading skills and help them gain confidence by setting them up for success.

Classroom Dyslexia Resources

A common misconception is that schools and teachers need a large budget to provide appropriate resources to students with dyslexia. Luckily, that is not the case. Adding a few simple, dyslexia-friendly resources to the classroom can make a huge difference for students with dyslexia. The following suggestions are easy and relatively cheap resources any teacher can add to their classroom to set students with dyslexia up for success without breaking the budget.

Book Selections

Large print, high-interest books for low reading levels (hi-lo books), and audiobooks are great options to bolster strategies to teach reading to students with dyslexia. Creating a small library of audiobooks may be a bit pricey, but teachers can look into library or online resources that provide audiobooks to children with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Large print books make it easier for students to read the words on the page, and hi-lo books allow students to read about interesting, age-appropriate topics in text written for students at lower reading levels.

Another strategy to teach reading to students with dyslexia is to encourage them to read books where pictures break up the text. Graphic novels are a great way for students to read interesting stories, learn new words, and gain confidence in reading. Many popular novels also have graphic novel versions that teachers can encourage students to read.

Graphic Organizers

While students with dyslexia may struggle with digesting large blocks of text, they can be strong visual learners. Encouraging students to use graphic organizers, which lay out concepts in an organized, digestible way, makes content easier for students with learning disabilities to understand. Some examples of graphic organizers are comparing two items with Venn Diagrams, organizing information in a tree format, creating cause and effect graphics, and using brainstorming webs. These tools can break text-based assignments down into main concepts and help students draw connections between ideas.

Note-Sharing

Students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, limited mobility, or other learning disabilities may struggle with taking notes during lectures. Note sharing is one of many dyslexia strategies for high school students that allow students to review content without being required to take notes in class. During lectures, teachers can assign a designated class note taker who will then distribute their notes to the class. Or, teachers can ask all students to submit their notes which the teacher can compile them into one document to share with the class.

Note sharing is a great way to engage students with dyslexia and include them in class collaborations. In addition, note sharing gives students autonomy and increased responsibility in the classroom, boosting their confidence and providing assistance to students who struggle with taking notes during a lecture.