10 Strategies

1.      Visual Organizer- is simply drawings or formats used to represent information and to show relationships between ideas.

Example: Time line used for social studies 

To summarize and show the major events that led up to the Revolutionary War, you might choose a time line.

2. Advanced Organizer- can be an introduction to a new topic, with the goals of giving students an overview, connecting new information to what the students already know, and illustrating the organization of the new concept or information to be processed and learned. Advance organizer can be a task planner designed to orient the learner to a task by providing organizational cues, like a sequence of steps to complete the task or a list of components of the task, or by showing what a product should look like (LEARNet).

Example: Advanced or Graphic Organizers used for solving math word problems

This website has some good math graphic organizer diagrams to use with student when solving word problems.

www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/math

 

3.      3. Test Taking Skills- is giving students strategies that they can use before, during and after when dealing with a test.

Example: Test Taking Skills use that could be used in all core content class such as creating a study guide. 

Scholastic has a lesson on it website that offers test-taking strategies that develop vocabulary, reading comprehension, and language arts mechanics that would be a good tool test taking. 

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/test-taking-strategies-three-subject-areas

4.      4. Adapting Textbooks- is a technique that involves making changes to or adding to an existing text to make it more comprehensible for students with or without special needs (Vaughn).

Example: Study Guide used for all core content areas

5.      Adapting Tests- Teacher-made tests can be adapted for learning disabled students during the process of test construction (incorporating aspects of directions, individual items, and test design) or during test administration (fewer questions, open-book, teacher reads questions, open-notes).

Example: Adapting tests used during a spelling test for a young student.

The student circles which word they believe is spelled right. 

1. tail                  taile                   trail 

2. maine             main                  moan

 

3. sei                   soa                    say 

 

4.weat                 wait                  wat

 

5. away              awai                  awaiy

 

6.      Preteaching Vocabulary- before reading is an effective strategy to enhance students’ knowledge of word meanings (Vaughn). Preteaching provides students with background knowledge on the text that they will be reading.

Example: Preteaching vocabulary key words can be used in reading textbooks in social studies, math, and science.

Reading Rocket is one of my favorite websites for reading ideas for struggling students. This link is an article on "Introducing Text before Reading" gives teacher ideas on teaching comprehension.

7. Understanding in the classroom text in user-friendly- Teacher needs to evaluate the instructional materials they intend to use in teaching the unit to make adaptations so that  students can access the content. (Vaughn).

 

  Example: Understanding classroom text in user-friendly used in all core content areas

8.      Assessing Students’ Background Knowledge- Teacher need to assess student’s background knowledge when entering new content areas because this will determine how effectively students will comprehend and retain the information and vocabulary to be present. 

Example: Assessing students’ background knowledge used in all core content areas using semantic mapping.

 Visuword is an online graphical dictionary

9.      Homework Help- The key to success is to make assignments/homework appropriate in content, length, time required to complete, and skill level needed to accomplish the task.

Example: Homework Help use homework-completion skills whenever assignments are given can be used in all core content class.

10.  Study Skills Help- are a combination of skills that a student’s needs to learn to help them be successful in academics— organization, time management, concentration and motivation.

Examples: Study skills can be used in all core content areas

 

Strategy for writing papers maybe remembered by the acronym PLEASE

P-Pick your topic + writing format 

L- List in formation ideas to be used in writing.

E - Evaluate - Is the list correct

A - Activate the paragraph with a topic sentence 

S - Supply a supportive sentence 

E - End with concluding sentence, evaluate your writing.