Catering for Dyslexia in the inclusive literacy classroom

Multisensory Learning

 

“If a child is not learning in the way you teach,

change your teaching strategy

and teach the child in the way he learns!” (LRC, 2015).

 

 

 

 

Multisensory learning teaches children with dyslexia to learn through all their senses, which has proved to be a more effective way of leanring (SES, 2015), opening up doors to spark student creativity, exploration and discovery ‘beyond the traditional boundaries of sight’ within the classroom (Stone & Staley, p. 242, 2012). Multisensory teaching links listening, speaking, reading and writing through the actions of visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and tactile sensory modalities. Teachers should ensure that their pupils with dyslexia are seeing, saying, hearing and manipulating materials during learning time (SESS, 2015).

 

VISUAL LEARNING:

• Text and/or pictures on paper, posters, models, projection screens, computers or flash cards

• Use of color for highlighting, organizing information or imagery

• Graphic organizers, outlining passages

• Student created art, images, text, pictures and video

 

AUDITORY TECHNIQUES:

• Audio books, peer assisted reading, paired reading and computerised text readers

• Video or film with audio

• Music, song, instruments, speaking, rhymes, chants and language games

 

KINESTHETIC METHODS:

• Clapping/Tapping when spelling words.

• Building words with letter tiles, or something similar.

• Walking while reviewing work.

• Actions such as drawing and writing, in the air, on the ground and on paper.

• Games involving clapping or other movements paired with activities while counting and singing songs related to concepts.

• Any large movement activity for students involving dancing, bean-bag tossing or other activities involving concepts, rhythmic recall, flash card races and other learning games.

                       (LRC, 2015)

 

TACTILE METHODS:

• Painting, drawing, felt story boards.

• Board games

• Sorting letters, numbers words and objects

• Sand trays, raised line paper, textured objects, finger paints and puzzles to improve fine motor skills

• Modeling materials such as clay and sculpting materials

• Using small materials called manipulatives to represent number values to teach math skills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An example of multisensory learning:

 

The majority of dyslexic children often confuse the direction of the “b” and the “d”. To ease this confusion a teacher might create a tactile memory by getting the students to draw the letter b on the carpeted floor, or if you have Montessori sand paper letters you would get the student to follow the outline of the letter. For further tactile memories you may even get the student to build the letter with plasticine or the crafts around the room.

 

Trick 1:

To help students learn “b” and “d” is to show the students’ the word bed, with this word you can draw a bed on top of the letters with the letter “b” becoming the head of the bed and the letter “d” becoming the end of the bed, you can also draw a person sleeping to create a deeper visual image.

 

Trick 2:

To practice "b" and "d" make two fists with your thumbs up, picture it as a bed. This hand trick is great for students as it can become a helpful reminder during class and can be done discreetly from their peers. 

 

Trick 3:

To practice "p" and "g" make two fists with you thumbs up and flip your thumbs down, then you have put a pig under the bed. 

 

The net result of these activities will be that a child has a visual memory from seeing the letter, an auditory memory from hearing the sound it makes, a tactile memory from writing the letter, in the air, and from touching the sandpaper letter, and a kinetic (body movement) memory from having drawn the letter really large on the carpet. Altogether a multisensory experience! (Bradford, 2007)