Students with Learning Disabilities

Students with Learning Disabilities Devan Whitaker Jessica Grandlinard Phylicia Kelly

Definitions • Federal: a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological process involved in using language, spoken or written, which may impact ability to listen, think, speak, read write spell, or do mathematical calculations • National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities: a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities

Learning Disability: • A disorder characterized by difficulty in learning because of a central nervous system dysfunction. • Problems in reading • Problems in writing • Problems in math • Problems in speaking • Problems with thinking

Activities: What is it like to have a learning disability? • Reading Disability (Visual Processing Disorder and Dyslexia) • Activity: Reading activity • Activity: Story activity

Identification • Traditional approach = IQ-achievement discrepancy • Now, use Response to Intervention

Characteristics of Disabilities • Reading • Writing • Speech • Math • Overall

What Teachers Need to Do! • Understand how children learn and develop • Provide learning opportunities that support the intellectual, social, and personal development of each learner • Use a variety of instructional strategies to encourage critical thinking, problem solving and performance skills • Make the aspects of subject matter meaningful for students

Differentiated Activity For Students with Writing Disabilities RAFTS • Why use RAFTS? • Includes writing from different viewpoints. • Helps students learn writing skills. • Teaches to think creatively about responding to writing prompts. • What are RAFTS? • Role of the writer • Audience • Format • Topic • Strong Verb

Example of RAFTS Bear Park RangerLetterBear KillingsOutraged Dear Park Rangers, I am outraged with the amount of Black Bear killings that have occurred in the last few months. Altogether thirty eight bears have been killed by hunters, drivers, and in the last two months in Banff National Park alone. That is not counting the other three hundred forty three in the rest of Alberta and the other seven hundred forty five in British Columbia. In the next three months I am expecting the some sort of action or I will be forced to take legal action. A concerned Black Bear

Modify • Role playing • Choose topic of your choice

Example of Concept Sort: Science Flowers Leaves Water Gardens Weeds Forest Air Trees Sunlight Soil Roots Stems Categories: Types of plants Parts of Plants Where Plants Grow What plants need to grow

Differentiated Activity For Students with Reading Disability Concept Sort: Vocabulary • Why use Concept Sort? • Introduces new vocabulary students will see in a text. • Provides teachers information about what students already know. • What is Concept Sort? • Teach a concept through a set of cards with vocabulary words printed on them. • Learn what they already know • Teach what they need to know

Modify • Use pictures along with the words. • Use large letters that make the cards easily readable. • Have students work in pairs or small groups. Flowers • http://www.starfall.com/

Differentiated Activity For Students with Math Disabilities • Blocks • Why use blocks? • Meets needs for students who have a visual processing disorder. • Helps students who struggle with operations of problems by physically seeing it. • Gives hands on learning. • Modify the use of blocks based on student’s learning level • Teaching addition, subtraction, multiplication, division • What are blocks?

Resources • Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special EducationI; Hallahan, Kauffman, Pullen • http://helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities.htm • http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/word_maps • http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/raft • http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/concept_sort • http://www.starfall.com/

Students with Learning Disabilities