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What are the 7 Root Origins of Poor Listening Skills?

It is easy for parents and even teachers to lose their cool when children do not listen to repeated directions. So, if kids aren’t making sense of what they hear, how can the learning process even take place? To solve this problem, it is necessary to uncover the root causes of poor listening skills. Then, one must find the individualized, cognitive-based culprits for each student. What are the Cognitive Skills Behind Listening? There are a number of core cognitive skills that support one's capacity to listen: Attention - Attention is the ability to tune into information, sensations, and perceptions that are relevant in the moment. Working memory - Working memory is a cognitive function that enables students to recall and use relevant information to complete an activity. It also enables learners to hold multiple pieces of information in the mind and manipulate them. Often described as a mental workspace, working memory helps students stay focused, block distractions ...

How to Teach Executive Functioning to Struggling Students

Many teachers are miffed when apparently simple tasks such as using an agenda or turning in an assignment is difficult for their students. Many of my own students have shared that some teachers impose very strict rules and regulations about both recording assignments and due dates. In fact, I have witnessed policies that are so rigid, a zero is divvied out if an assignment is even a minute late. Unfortunately, harsh punishments do not provide the attention and instruction that these students need to develop this skill. Instead, penalties and labels such as careless, lazy and unmotivated simply place these frustrated learners in a state of learned helplessness. In contrast, these students need structured routines, comprehensive instruction, and a scaffolding approach to planning, managing time, and organizing. 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...

How to Address Spelling Needs and Nurture Student Success

This week I am thrilled to share a case study of a fabulous teacher named Kim, from Cape Town in South Africa. Kim teaches a 3rd-grade class at a special needs school. The children range from 10-12 years old and most are bussed in daily from very disadvantaged areas all over the peninsula. Kim reported, "I was so thrilled to have stumbled across your website when I was drowning in a sea of unrecognizable words and paragraphs which were proudly presented to me by 8 out of my16 pupils." Kim knew they were capable, "as most of them could do math with the greatest of ease. So what was this?" How Could Kim Meet the Diverse Needs of Her Students? Kim signed up for my course: Spelling Instruction: Assessment and Focused Remedial Approach . She shared, "After studying your course, I realized that my student's brains were wired differently as far as language processing." Kim learned that her struggling students had different cognitive based weakness...

What are the 5 Important Steps to Navigating Dyslexia?

Navigating and then overcoming the challenges that many individuals with dyslexia experience is a process that requires both time and patience. What's more, a vital approach that tames the turbulence is revealing and addressing inherent weaknesses while embracing the many gifts that come with this diagnosis. What are the Five Steps to Navigating Dyslexia? You can also see the free dyslexia screener at Goodsensorylearning.com Thorough Screening and Assessment: The first step is to complete a free dyslexia screener , and, if needed, pursue a comprehensive psycho-educational assessment. This will help to uncover the specific areas of difficulty that need to be addressed and it will also define each student's "genius" qualities that can be fully realized and utilized. In-Depth Understanding: The second step is to have a comprehensive understanding of the unique strengths and...

How to Edit Google Documents with Free Text to Voice

Text to speech has been used as an accommodation for the blind and struggling readers, but did you know that it is a valuable device for writers too? In fact, I often teach all of my students how to use this technology to help them edit their essays and papers. What is Text to Speech? Text to Speech is a form of assistive technology that uses speech synthesis to convert text to a spoken, computerized voice. In other words, the computer reads aloud the text on the screen. How can Text to Speech Assist with Editing? Many students struggle to edit their own work because they often read their words as they meant to write them. Furthermore, some errors remain difficult to see. For example, simple letter and word reversals such as "was" and "saw," are often overlooked when visually scan text or using a spell checker. In addition, many young learners get confused by words that look similar but are pronounced differently such as loose and lose. Text to Speech allows...

How to Teach Writing - A Structured and Multisensory Approach

In my practice as a learning specialist and educational therapist, I have witnessed that students are receiving less and less writing instruction in school. In fact, it is an academic skill that is requested by most parents, homeschoolers, and young adults that come to see me in my practice. https://www.learningspecialistcourses.com/courses/color-coded-writing-a-structured-and-multisensory-approach-to-teaching-writing-skills What is my Experience Teaching Writing? Over the past 20 years, I have had enormous success teaching discouraged and struggling writers, and it has taken me much of that time to create all the materials and high tech solutions. This multisensory and highly structured approach works with all students from the gifted to those with learning disabilities. In addition, my methods work for students in elementary, middle school and high school. How Can I Learn to Be an Accomplished Writing Specialist? Now, I'm happy to share my approach with you! ...

6 Powerful Ways to Help Dyslexics Learn Foreign Languages

Federal law requires schools, colleges, and universities to provide reasonable accommodations for students who have documented learning disabilities such as dyslexia (commonly called a Specific Learning Disability). Many of these students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities need a foreign language requirement to be modified. A common accommodation is a foreign language exemption, waiver or modification. What are Foreign Language Exemptions, Waivers and Modifications? Over the years I have heard a few terms that have been used to describe foreign language accommodations in education. Here is a quick review: A foreign language exemption : Some state laws provide mandates that a student with a disability that adversely affects the ability to learn a language may be exempted from these requirements. A foreign language waiver : Some schools choose to "waive" a foreign language requirement and allow a course substitution that is approved by ...

5 Free Ways to Improve Visual Processing for Weak Readers

Visual processing is an important cognitive skill for students to master. It assists with the encoding of information into the brain, and it helps students make sense of the learning content. This skill often needs to be developed and exercised, and there are many engaging activities that can help. What is Visual Processing? Visual processing is a cognitive skill that allows us to process, interpret and find meaning from visual images. In other words, it is how we make sense of what we see. Why is Visual Processing Important? Visual processing is vital because it plays a key role in learning visual information from our environment. It is a fundamental skill for reading , math, and spelling. What Are the Different Types of Visual Processing? Visual processing involves a number of cognitive processing skills: Visual Construction Skills: organizing and manually manipulating spatial information to make a design. Visual Processing Speed: processing visual information...

Important Dyslexia Accommodations in the Classroom

Getting a school to recognize, test, and then accommodate your child with dyslexia can be an arduous and frustrating task. Although public school systems can accommodate the individual needs of our struggling students, many administrators don’t like to tap into the general education coffers for a single student. As a result, parents often have to rally and wrestle to obtain reasonable accommodations for their children with dyslexia and other disabilities that impact learning. The key to navigating this slippery slope is to understand the laws, the lingo as well as the menus of mandated accommodations and modifications. What are my Options? There are two options for acquiring accommodations: 504: A 504 is a formal plan that protects the rights of students with disabilities in school. Covered under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, this civil rights law gives students with disabilities access to services and supports in the general education classroom. There are no mandated...

Best Free Dyslexia Test Help and Treatment Options

Finding the best dyslexia test, dyslexia help, and dyslexia treatment can be challenging to locate and finance. I, too, had problems uncovering dyslexia resources when I first opened my practice 20 years ago. So, over ten years ago, to help parents, teachers, and therapists with this process, I created my site, Dyslexia Materials . This summer, I committed to redoing and upgrading the content, and the new site is up and running. At Dyslexia Materials you can now find all of the following FREE content: a dyslexia test or screener advice homework help schools for dyslexia colleges for dyslexia organizations serving dyslexia dyslexia manuals videos about dyslexia I also offer an ever-growing selection of fun, multisensory teaching, and remedial products for students with dyslexia under the following categories: Assessments Cognitive Remedial Executive Functioning and Memory Language Arts Reading Math Writing Discounte...

How Multisensory Teaching Works - Inspire Superior, Excited Students

When experiences tap into all our senses as well as a variety of ways that we can process and organize information, not only does it grab our attention, but it becomes extremely memorable. The term multisensory teaching has been around for some time, but the concept has matured and grown over time. What does multisensory mean? The term multisensory means that one is using more than one sense to perceive the world around them. When applied to learning, this means that learners use more than one sense such as sight, hearing, and touch to learn academic content. What is a multisensory approach to learning ? A multisensory approach to learning, multisensory teaching, or multisensory instruction, is a way of teaching that engages students by implementing lessons that activate more than one sense at a time. This has been a successful method used in popular Orton Gillingham reading programs for many years as well as many popular math methods such a...

Stop Copying! How to do Workbook Activities on an Ipad

Have you ever wondered if you could save paper and time by doing workbook activities on an iPad or computer? The answer is yes! What's more, if the original copy is in color, you can maintain the color activities for no added cost! So stop copying and let me show you how to make a printed document or digital image/activity even more enticing and interactive on a computer or iPad. Here is a flowchart that shows the steps. Written Steps: 1) Printed documents should be scanned or photographed to your computer or tablet. You can also send images or documents to your email and access them from there. 2) Save your image, Doc, or PDF to Google Drive, Dropbox, One Drive, PowerPoint, or Microsoft Word. 3) Select an app. I like to use either Zoom or Procreate . Directions for Zoom: 1) Find the document, pdf or image you want to use on your computer, and leave the window open so you can access it later while using Zoom. Please note that you can also access documents and ima...

Learning Specialist and Teacher Materials - Good Sensory Learning

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