{"id":13874,"date":"2023-02-13T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-13T15:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.allaboutlearningpress.com\/?p=13874"},"modified":"2024-01-19T01:13:59","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T07:13:59","slug":"struggling-learner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.allaboutlearningpress.com\/struggling-learner\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Tips for Reaching Your Struggling Learner"},"content":{"rendered":"\"a\r\n\r\n

When your child is a struggling learner, it can be scary.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

My son struggled with reading and spelling, so I know firsthand what that fear feels like.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

You feel responsible for making sure your child grows up being able to read and spell proficiently, because you know that your child\u2019s future options will be limited without those essential skills.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

You don\u2019t want to see your struggling learner blocked from reaching his full personal potential, and you would do almost anything to help him overcome his struggles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

What Is a Struggling Learner?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

A struggling learner has to work harder than others around him in order to accomplish the same task or learn the same thing. The child may be a year or more behind grade level in one area or in all subjects.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

There are many possible reasons for the child\u2019s struggles. He may have physical disabilities that affect sight, hearing, mobility, or coordination. Or he may have learning differences such as dyslexia<\/a>, dysgraphia<\/a>, or auditory processing disorder<\/a>. Interestingly, a struggling learner may be gifted in some areas, such as a child who is amazing with math but does not read.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

One very common reason for learning struggles is that the child has not yet been taught in a way that works for him. For example, he may need the structure and logic of a phonetic approach to reading, but he is being taught with a whole language approach.

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10 Tips for Teaching a Struggling Learner<\/h2> \r\n\r\n

There are very specific teaching methods that you can use to help your struggling learner succeed. One of the most important things you will want to do is to use curriculum and teaching strategies that can be customized<\/a> to meet his needs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Even if other methods have failed to work for your child, the ten tips that follow will help you reach your struggling learner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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    Teach Through Direct Instruction<\/h3>\r\n

    Direct instruction<\/span> is a proven method in which the child is taught exactly what he needs to learn. With direct instruction, the information is presented very clearly through well-tested materials that rule out the possibility of misinterpretation and confusion. And your child is shown exactly how to apply <\/span>the information, too. The explicit teaching of language rules and patterns means that your child doesn\u2019t have to guess or struggle to figure out how to read or spell a difficult word.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"Pages<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t

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    Choose an Incremental Approach to Lessons<\/h3>\r\n

    Incremental <\/span>means that lessons start with the most basic skills and gradually build up to more advanced skills. Each lesson builds upon previously mastered material, and gradually increases in difficulty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    Incremental instruction provides a \u201cno gaps approach<\/a>\u201d that allows your child to learn one new piece of knowledge at a time in a well-thought out, logical sequence. With this approach, kids can successfully climb to the top of the learning ladder\u2014step by step by step\u2014and reap the rewards of mastery in reading and spelling without <\/span>all the struggles along the way.<\/p><\/li>\r\n\r\n\t

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    Understand the Importance of Multisensory Instruction<\/h3>\r\n

    Multisensory learning<\/span><\/a> happens when sight, sound, and touch are used to learn new information. Children learn best when they can use all their senses. When children can see <\/span>a concept as it is explained, hear <\/span>about it, and then do <\/span>it with hands-on activities, it is easier for them to learn and retain the new information.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    In a multisensory spelling lesson, for example, your child can see a new word spelled out with letter tiles<\/a>, hear and see a demonstration of a related spelling rule, try out the spelling rule for himself by manipulating the letter tiles, and say each sound of the new word as he writes it out on paper. This combination of activities uses multiple pathways to the brain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"Image<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t

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    Give Your Child an Advantage by Teaching the 72 Basic Phonograms<\/h3>\r\n

    Kids who struggle with reading and spelling often have a misconception: they think that the key to reading and spelling success is memorizing strings of letters. But the fact is that it\u2019s very difficult for children to memorize words this way. They often just get frustrated and give up.

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    There\u2019s a better way. Teaching phonograms<\/a> helps kids see spelling as a doable task. A phonogram is a letter or letter combination that represents a sound. For example, CK is a phonogram that says \/k\/ as in clock<\/span>; OY is a phonogram that says \/oi\/ as in oyster<\/span>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"Child\r\n\r\n

    Each sound in a word can be represented by a phonogram. If your child learns the phonograms and which sounds they represent, reading or spelling the word will become so much easier. If he knows that the sound of \/j\/ at the end of a short-vowel word is spelled with DGE, the word bridge <\/span>becomes simple to read and spell.<\/p><\/li>\r\n\r\n\t

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    Teach Just One New Concept at a Time<\/h3>\r\n

    When you dump too much information into your child\u2019s mental \u201cfunnel<\/a>,\" your child\u2019s memory can only attend to a certain amount of the new information. Teaching one concept at a time respects the limitations of your child\u2019s short-term memory, and allows concepts and skills to be more easily stored in the long-term memory. And that means significant amounts of meaningful learning can occur.<\/p><\/li>\r\n\r\n\t

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    Teach Reliable Rules<\/h3>\r\n

    Children are really helped by knowing a few reliable spelling rules. For example, knowing the rules about doubling consonants at the end of words\u00a0can help them spell words like floss<\/span>, sniff<\/span>, and fill<\/span>. When your child learns trustworthy spelling rules\u2014like the Floss Rule<\/a>\u2014he\u2019ll have some guidelines to help him make the right letter choices.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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