Strategies to Support Students with Reading Difficulties

by Leisel Pereira & Deirdre Westerhout

 General Reading Difficulties can affect 20 – 30% of students.

 Specific Learning Disorder –Dyslexia is estimated to affect around 10% of

the Australian population (Australian Dyslexia Association)

Strategies to motivate and support readers

Examples of Reading Support Programs
 Pick an area of interest to the student  Reading Recovery
 Use ICT and mobile devices to gain greater on-task focus  Mulitlit
 Consider rewards as reinforcement and motivation  Language Experience Approach
 Give students more time to achieve success  Multisensory Approaches (VAKY – visual,
 Allow students to achieve success
auditory, kinaesthetic, tactile)
 ICT computer programs and apps
Ways to encourage readers – Primary  Repeated reading and the Impress Method
• Multi-sensory experiences: puppet books, pop-up books etc.
 Cloze Procedure
• Book themes / Book Week
• Cross curricular activities (dress-up, art and crafts, songs etc.)  Reading Rescue
• Reading corner  QuickSmart
• Reading buddies  Success for All
Dyslexia
• Dyslexia is characterised by difficulties in the
encoding and decoding of single words, and poor
phonological processing.
• Dyslexia is not a symptom of low intelligence.
• Reading Improvement can be gained through:
 One to one tutoring
 Using a multisensory approach
 Careful development of phonemic
awareness of phonological coding
 Various methods to teach the fundamentals
of reading (i.e. explicit and systematic
instruction, phonics, etc.)

Ways to support readers – Secondary ICT to support students’ reading

 Streaming (matching students to texts)
 Focus on vocabulary instruction
 Explicit teaching of comprehension strategies
 Focus on oral language
 Build the student’s self image and confidence
 PLD Literacy (Diana Rigg Founder & CEO) : pld-literacy.org
 Spelling City : https://www.spellingcity.com/
 Reading Eggs : https://readingeggs.com.au/
 Study Ladder : https://www.studyladder.com.au/
 abc PocketPhonics : http://appsinmypocket.com/pocketphonics-stories/
Ways to support students with Dyslexia (and general reading difficulties) International Dyslexia Association www.dyslexiaida.org
 Provide additional practice activities.
 Use an audio recording device.
 Use of assistive technology.
 Use explicit teaching procedures.
 Repeat directions.
 Maintain daily routines.
 Give extra time to complete tasks
 Provide help with taking notes (provide a handout)
 Give work assignments that are modified
appropriately
 Use taped tests or allow students with dyslexia to
use alternative means of assessment
 Access to audio books
 Use text reading and word processing computer
programs
 Clarify or simplify written directions.
 Present a small amount of work.
 Block out extraneous stimuli.
 Highlight essential information.
 Provide a copy of lesson notes
 Provide students with a graphic organizer.
 Use step-by-step instruction.
 Simultaneously combine verbal and visual
information.
 Write key points or words on the whiteboard
 Use balanced presentations and activities.
 Emphasise daily review
 Change response mode i.e. underlining,
selecting from multiple choices, sorting, etc.
 Provide an outline of the lesson
 Encourage use of graphic organizers
 Place students close to the teacher
 Have students turn lined paper vertically for
math.
 Design hierarchical worksheets.
 Allow use of instructional aids.
 Use peer-mediated learning.
 Provide additional practice.
 Use assignment substitutions or
adjustments.
Resources / References
• Literacy Australian Dyslexia Association
dyslexiaassociation.org.au
• Reading Rockets:
http://www.readingrockets.org/literacyapps/dyslexi
a-and-learning-disabilities
• Understood
www.understood.org
• Australian Literacy Educators’ Association:
https://www.alea.edu.au/
• Williams, J. A., & Lynch, S. A. (2010). Dyslexia:
What teachers need to know. Kappa Delta Pi
Record, 46(2), 66-70.
doi:10.1080/00228958.2010.10516696
• Winch, G., Johnston, R. R., March, P.,
Ljungdahl, L. D., & Holiday, M. (2014). Literacy:
Reading, writing and children's literature (5th
ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford
University Press.
• Westwood, P. S., & Ebooks Corporation. (2007).
Commonsense methods for children with
special educational needs (5th ed.). Abingdon,
Oxon [England]: Routledge.