Menu

REACH - Reaching to educate all children for heaven

Our Mission — To foster an enriched ECE-12 system where learners of varying abilities thrive according to their unique strengths.

Inclusion in Elementary

 
Kindergarten
Prone to ear infections
Unusually late or early reaching developmental milestones
Delayed speech, may stutter under stress
Late in choosing dominant hand
Right/left confusion; difficulty with special concepts; gets lost easily
Struggles with gross motor activities, such as hopping, skipping, or jumping
Struggles with fine motor activities, such as tying shoes
Trouble memorizing (such as phone number, alphabet)
Mixes up sounds or syllables in long words
Difficulty differentiating between phonetic sounds
Difficulty with time sequencing; mixes up the order of events
Difficulty with directions that include more than one task
Poorly shaped letters when writing
Difficulty writing on a line or coloring within general lines
May have difficulty reading consistently from left to right
Elementary
Appears bright, highly intelligent, and articulate but unable to read, write, and spell on grade level
Inconsistent performance; may have discrepancies in test scores
Easily frustrated and emotional about academic work
Sings or chants to recite the alphabet in correct sequence
Fails to demonstrate proficient word attack skills; difficulty with phonics skills
Confuses similar letters and words (angel-angle, dream-drama)
Often makes the following mistakes with reading/writing: additions (baby – babey); omissions (plan – pan); substitutions (sin – sen); inversions (mom – wow); reversals (b-d , was - saw); numbers (37-73, 96-69); rotations (b-p, oiL -710); transpositions (girl- gril); repetitions (rat- ratt)
May use mirror writing
Auditory discrimination problems (difficulty hearing differences in similar sounds, e.g., b– p, o-u)
Difficulty recognizing rhyming words
Difficulty comprehending written material; may lose place when reading
Difficulty sequencing (such as events in stories)
Shows some directional confusion
Difficulty telling time, managing time, being punctual
Fails to complete reading/writing assignments
Difficulty with recalling previous lessons
Difficulty segmenting syllables in a word
Poor spelling, phonetic but inconsistent (e.g., book, bok, buk, boock)
Difficulty copying quickly and accurately (from chalkboard to notebook or book to notebook)
Difficulty reading printed music
Difficulty with organization or compulsively orderly
Seems to forget often (e.g., homework, papers, assignments)
Has difficulty remembering sight words
Difficulty remembering and following multi-step directions
Difficulty with independent activities that include reading and writing
Short attention span for reading/writing tasks
Seems to zone out or daydream often
Poor study skills
Poor work on timed or essay screening tools
Poor self–esteem
Hides or covers weaknesses with creative compensation techniques
Complains of dizziness, headaches, stomach aches while reading/writing
Falls asleep or shows signs of exhaustion while reading/writing
May seem to have difficulty with vision, yet eye exams don’t reveal a problem
Thinks primarily with images and feelings, not sounds or words
Mistakes and symptoms increase with confusion, pressure, stress, or poor health
Difficulty restraining talking
Discrepancy between verbal communication and written expression
Slow reader; may have to read and reread in order to comprehend
Understands auditory material more readily than written material
Difficulty with directions
Still confuses letters (such as b and d) especially when tires, stressed, or ill
Difficulty with foreign languages
Poor grades
High frustration level with schooling
  More information
Provide student with a “reader” or a taped copy of the text, i.e., Learning Ally
Use varying reading comprehension strategies
Avoid calling on a child to read aloud unless s/he has had time to practice the passage
Teach phonemic awareness
Alter size of assignment to challenge yet facilitate success, i.e., do even questions, instead of the entire page
Have students preview the chapter before reading
Assign questions at the end of the chapter before reading the text
Sit students in the front of the class with a study buddy
Give assignments in terms of time rather than required number of pages; set clear time limits (using a timer, watch, or other visible device)
Allow the use of assistive technology
Have a “reader” work with student to mark key passages in student’s text
Reduce the amount of writing, allow oral presentations, posters, comic strips etc.
Provide assignment notebook
Find a suitable paraphrase or condensed version of the book (e.g., Shakespeare Made Easy)
Allow students to use the Reading Pen
Utilize audio books
Provide a study guide and graphic organizers; orally review key points
Teach students to outline/map stories
Provide students with a purpose to read
Teach students to understand that they read differently for different purposes (to locate information, for pleasure, etc.)
Provide wait time for students to answer; allow note cards for presentations
Teach through hands-on experiences, demonstrations, experiments, observations, discussion, and visual aids
Talk slower and put notes on the board for the students to copy
Give students a copy of the notes, use a peer note taker or NCR paper
Allow students to highlight key concepts in text
Use questioning balls
Give un-timed assessments
Provide assessments that do not require rote memory recall; instead, test for conceptual understanding; use fill in the blanks (with a word bank), multiple choice, short answer, true and false (explain why it’s false), matching, etc.; vary the formats
Read tests to students; provide an audio recording; allow students to give oral answers
Provide personal dictionaries and word walls
Provide adapted reading material
Have high expectations; give generous praise for specific behaviors; strengthen the student’s self-concept
Provide a reading helper to help students keep their place while reading
Provide for individual pacing
Teach phonics skills through a repetitious, multisensory, hands-on-approach, i.e., Orton-Gillingham (see resources)
Give pre-reading experiences (e.g., stories, visitations, interviews, photos, videos)
Repeat step by step directions; check for understanding
Use prediction strategies before reading
Provide peer tutoring
Teach vocabulary words before reading
Select books appropriate to level of skill; utilize high-interest, low-level books
Give open-book, open-note tests to individual student
Teach organizational skills
Use an electronic speller such as a Franklin Speller
Allow students to use highlighting tape
Allow students to have an extra set of textbooks at home
Have students keep all their supplies in one place
Visualizing/Verbalizing Teacher's Manual
The V/V manual provides the theory and specific steps to develop concept imagery—the ability to image a gestalt (whole) from language. It describes the important questioning techniques that stimulate imagery so the teacher can learn to help students visualize language and verbalize what they have imaged.
RAZ-Kids
Online guided reading program with interactive ebooks, downloadable books, and reading quizzes. Books correspond with Reading A-Z print books. See http://tdec.nadeducation.org/subscription-resources/ for NAD pricing.
Reading A-Z
An online leveled reading program with downloadable books to print and assemble. See http://tdec.nadeducation.org/subscription-resources/ for NAD pricing.
International Dyslexia Association
The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping individuals with dyslexia, their families and the communities that support them.
Learning Ally
Formerly Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (textbooks on tape or CD; annual fee). Available only in USA.
Additional Resources
Reading Comprehension Strategies With Ready to Use Graphic Organizers And Work Sheets
Franklin Speller
NCR (No Carbon Required) Paper
Saxon Phonics Intervention, 4th-Adult (2006) By Saxon Publishers
Bring the Classics to Life Series