A weakness in a specific achievement area can impact how well a child is able to demonstrate academic skills in the classroom or on tests. In particular, if a learning disability is present, then formal evidence-based interventions and accommodations in the classroom may be warranted.
General | Reading | Math | Writing
| General | |
| Differentiate instruction for different types of learners | Example of how to differentiate math instruction 4 Types of Differentiating |
| Play games for building various academic skills | Jeopardy for Teachers Academic Games |
| Reading | |
| Decoding | |
| Teach the child how to group words into syllable segments to assist with decoding (e.g. fan tas tik) | Games for Syllables |
| Make a list of basic phonics rules for the child to reference | Examples: short vowels vs. long vowels and single vs. double consonants, such as a double consonant in the middle of a word often maintains a short vowel sound in the vowel preceding the consonant, such as bitter vs. biter |
| Assist confidence in reading aloud through learning rules for vowel sounds and syllable emphasis/word stress | Word Stress Rules |
| Consider using audiobooks | Learning Ally Audio for Books Bookshare |
| Sight-word Recognition | |
| Use word walls | How to Make a Word Wall |
| Select 3 to 5 words each week for the child to find in the environment each day (e.g. on billboards, cereal boxes, street signs, etc.) |
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| Teach the child to recognize visual patterns of words (e.g. ear, hear, near, fear); ask the child to write as many words as s/he can using a specific letter pattern and try writing the pattern in a color | Examples: ear, hear, near, fear Catch-A-Star workbook |
| Group words by vowel teams (e.g. –ea, eat, please) and consonant blends (e.g. wh, when, why) | Workbooks |
| Play word matching games, such as Sight Word Memory Game | Sight Word Memory Game |
| Fluency | |
| When reading stories to the child at home, have the child follow along in the book, so the words can be seen and heard at the same time | |
| Pull out challenging words from stories to learn in isolation, then present the words within the phrase used in the story, then return to the story to apply reading the phrases | |
| Engage in repeated readings | Repeated Reading Examples |
| Comprehension | |
| Preview subheadings or chapter titles to obtain an overall sense of information | |
| Determine questions to think about prior to reading and then discuss | Examples: What is the main purpose? What are 3 key points? Why is the information important? |
| Write or dictate notes while reading to summarize the information using more straightforward wording | |
| Create a chart when reading to note names of people, sequence facts, and link information | Inquiry Charts |
| Make a list of things to do for improving reading comprehension | College Reading Strategies |
| Math | |
| Math Facts | |
| Use a number line and manipulatives for assisting with developing concepts of addition and subtraction; associate with calculations on paper | |
| Consider the Touch Math method for calculations | Touch Math |
| Play games to practice math facts |
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| Formulas | |
| Understand the concepts behind formulas | |
| Access tools to review formulas | |
| Application | |
| Develop math concepts through concrete applications |
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| Increase number sense | |
| Writing | |
| Spelling | |
| Play games that provide clues with how many letters are in the word and to draw attention to the middle letters of a word (e.g. hangman, Wheel of Fortune, Boggle Jr.) | |
| Distinguish heterograph (too/two), homonym (wheel tire, fatigue tire), and heteronym (desert region, desert me) | Create a list to reference |
| Use the Cover & Copy method for spelling: practice copying words to help establish the visual pattern | Example: Write a word, then ask the child to copy the word, then cover the words and ask the child to try to write the word from recall) Cover, Copy Compare article |
| Editing for Punctuation & Grammar | |
| Encourage the child to read papers aloud when editing to assist with placement of punctuation and with revising phrasing | |
| Provide examples to reference for various sentence structures and use of punctuation | |
| Review verb tense for singular (one person or one group) vs. plural (more than one person or group) | Examples: The scientist is, the scientists are, the army is, the armies are Use Guide books |
| Content | |
| Journal writing may assist with elaborating upon ideas in written form; do not correct for spelling on this type of task as the purpose of this task is to encourage fluency and development of ideas | |
| Make a list of words to use for adding detail (e.g. color, size, texture, emotions, actions) or fluidity (e.g. transition words, such as ‘therefore’, ‘finally’, ‘afterwards’) | |
| Complete written papers in segments; for instance, create an outline, then rough draft with general ideas, then add details and supporting information, then edit for punctuation and spelling | |
| Create a template (see Writing Template under the Downloads) | |
| Create a Story Board in which the child draws pictures to assist with developing ideas and writing each paragraph | Storyboard That |
| Basic Letters | |
| Laminate an alphabet strip with pictures to assist with connecting the sound to the letter or letter pair and use as a reference when reading and spelling Example: PAL-II Talking Letters | Examples: Letter Pairs Flashcards Phonics Flashcards |
| Laminate a card with specific numbers and letters that the child struggles with to assist with letter formation, so can refer to the card at work space (e.g. a, b, d, j, q, z, 1, 3, 7) | |
| Walk the alphabet, put the letters on big cards and then play like hopscotch | |
| Handwriting | |
| Consider using a writing program | Handwriting Without Tears |
| Practice keyboarding skills to easily use computer for lengthy written assignments, particularly when revisions will be necessary | Type to Learn app |
| Use technology for writing | Writing Software |
| Use technology for note-taking | Note-taking apps |