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Back to School: Planning, Time Management and Organization Instruction

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Many teachers can not fathom how apparently simple tasks such as using an agenda or turning in an assignment can be very difficult for some of their students. In fact, many students need comprehensive instruction and scaffolding to learn to plan, manage time, and organize. Executive functioning, which encompasses these skills is the last part of the brain to fully develop, and in actuality, does not reach maturation until students reach their early 20's.

How Hard Can it Really Be to Plan, Manage Time and Organize? I have to admit, when I first started working with students that struggled with executive functioning, I was surprised how challenging planning, time management, and organization could be for some of my young, bright learners. What seemed to be clear and obvious was obscure, taxing and problematic for them.

These Students are Often Misunderstood:
Instead of compassion and strategies, students that have difficulties with executive functioning are often intimidated, har…
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10 Free Ways to Improving Visual Tracking for Weak Readers

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While reading, tracking across the page from one line to the next can be tricky when the text is small, but for students with dyslexia or weak reading skills, it can be a problem regardless of the font size.  So why is this the case?  Perhaps one of the problems is poor tracking skills.
What Exactly is Tracking? Tracking is the ability for one's eyes to move smoothly across the page from one line of text to another. Tracking difficulties happen when eyes jump backward and forward and struggle to stay on a single line of text.  This results in problems such as word omissions, reversals, eye fatigue, losing your place while reading and most importantly it can impact normal reading development.  
Can Tracking be Improved? Tracking can be improved by strengthening eye muscles as well as getting your eyes and brain to work cooperatively.  There are three eye movements that need to be developed:   Fixations: The ability to hold one's eyes steady without moving off a target.Saccades: Th…
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Help for Struggling Readers: Creating Your Own Color Overlays

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You can create your own overlays by using whole sheets or cutting strips of transparent, colored report covers, dividers or overhead projector film.



Step one: Buy a variety of colorful transparent sheets. You can use -
color, transparency film color, transparent report covers (plastic) color, transparent dividers (plastic) All of these options can be found at office supply stores.

Step two: Everyone is different. Let your students try out the different colors and see which one they like the best. Step three: For some students, keep whole sheets so that students have the option of changing the background color of the entire page of text. Other students might like a thin strip of color, as it can help with tracking from one line to the next. I make them a variety of lengths and widths, and often let students decide for themselves. Note: The strips also make wonderful book marks.

Step four (optional): Place a plain sticker on the end of the overlay strip or the bottom of a whole sh…
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Remediating Dyslexia with Orton Gillingham Based Reading Games

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Students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities often learn differently and require an alternative approach to learning basic reading. In addition, most of these young learners are working full tilt while sitting in the classroom and by the time they get home and have to complete their homework, they are mentally spent. As a result, tagging on remedial reading lessons to a cup that is already overflowing can be enough to turn these kids off to learning altogether. How Can We Help These Students Learn the Core Skills Needed to be Successful Readers?
First, employ an individualized approach as each student has unique challenges and gaps in knowledge. If you need to assess the areas that require remediation be sure to use an assessment tool such as the Good Sensory Learning Reading AssessmentSecond, the process needs to be fun and engaging. Many programs require students to slog through boring lessons, complicated rules, and bland workbook pages. Many of these conc…
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Following Directions: How Do I Teach this Skill?

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It's easy to forget how challenging it can be to learn the complexities of linguistic skills. Following oral directives, interpreting the needed steps to complete assignments, understanding multiple choice questions, and discerning a teacher's written instructions are just a few instances of how young learners need to know how to navigate the subtleties embedded within our language. For many children, learning to follow directions is a complex task that requires explicit instruction, and the mastery of this skill involves vocabulary development, mental flexibility, attention to details, listening skills, receptive language skills, verbal reasoning, and expressive language skills.
What Happens When Kids Have Trouble Following Directions? When kids have trouble following directions, they often encounter the annoyance and frustration of others. In fact, a true misunderstanding can even result in ridicule and punishments that can leave the child confused and dejected.

How Can We Te…
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Multisensory Teaching Accommodates the 12 Ways of Learning

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Teachers are always trying to reach more learners and improve retention. One of the best ways to do this is to employ a variety of teaching methods. This involves integrating the 12 ways of learning into instruction. Here is an infographic that reviews the 12 ways of learning and provides some statistics on how learning improves when teachers implement multisensory instruction.
How Can I Learn Multisensory Teaching? The Eclectic Teaching Approach unites the theories of information processing, cognitive styles, multiple intelligences, and multisensory learning to reveal 12 diverse and unique ways of processing or encoding information. All of these learning modalities lie on a continuum and individuals have preferences based on their cognitive strengths as well as their exposure to each methodology. Eclectic learning helps teachers, therapists, parents and even employers to be more mindful of their instruction and work expectations. Then, by evaluating preferences with the contained Ecle…
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Why Copying from a Board is Ineffective for Dyslexics

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Having to take notes by copying from a board or projection while a teacher is lecturing is challenging for any learner, because it requires students to multitask and constantly shift modes of learning. The process demands students to read, listen and write while making sense of the material. However, for students with dyslexia this teaching method can be disastrous. How Has Technology Impacted Note-taking?
Before the rise of educational technology, students used to copy while the teacher wrote on the blackboard, however, with the use of devices such as the Smartboard and software like PowerPoint, the words just magically appear. As a result, many teachers lecture while the students are trying to read and write from the projected image, and what often happens is confusion, shoddy notes, gaps in knowledge, and frustrated learners. But what about students with dyslexia that are also dealing with weaknesses in language processing and memory? According to the British Dyslexia Association, …
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How Can I Improve my Executive Functioning?

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What is Executive Functioning?
Executive functioning, or what I like to call the conductor of the brain, is the process of the mind gathering together and making sense of all the information we receive from our instruments or senses. Helping us to create meaning from what we see, hear, touch, taste and experience, executive functioning also allows us to focus our attention, think about new information, and make connections to what we already know.
Many teachers and parents have trouble understanding how simple tasks such as remembering appointments, using an agenda or turning in assignments can be difficult, but unfortunately these and other similar tasks can be extremely challenging for some individuals. However, the good news is the part of the brain that manages executive functioning, which is called the frontal lobe, continues to develop through high school and college. Therefore, many kids that struggle with executive functioning can significantly improve their abilities.

 You Mi…
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15 Ways to Nurture a Growth Mindset in the Classroom

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How can we nurture resilient, active learners that embrace challenging academic material and become successful lifelong learners? Carol Dweck suggests that what we need to do is help students shed a fixed mindset and adopt a growth mindset. What's more, Dweck contends that developing a growth mindset will also result in less stress and a more productive and fulfilling life.
What is a Fixed and Growth Mindset?
In a fixed mindset, students believe that their abilities are dependent on fixed traits that can not be changed such as intellect or talent. Individuals that think this way, often cultivate a self-defeating identity, feel powerless, and many struggle with a sense of learned helplessness. In contrast, students with a growth mindset accept that abilities and aptitude can be developed with persistence and effort. As a result, these individuals are not intimidate by failure, because they realize that mistakes are a part of the learning process. They continue working hard despite …
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