Classroom Project: Activities to improve senior students’ Reading Skills with Dyslexia

FIRST MID-TERM EVALUATION Career: Pedagogy of National and Foreign Languages Subject: Prácticas Preprofesionales II Project name: Activities to improve senior students’ Reading Skills with Dyslexia Authors: Ortiz Joleidy and Orrala Melanie Teacher: Mgt. Perlaza Marjorie Esmeraldas, 2023

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this project is to address the educational needs of senior high school students with dyslexia. Therefore, we will investigate different approaches, strategies and techniques to create activities that improve the reading skills of high school students with dyslexia.

According to Ainscow (2002), inclusion is a set of processes aimed at eliminating or minimizing barriers that limit the learning and participation of all students. Its scope encompasses culture, policy, and practice. Everyone has the right to receive a dignified education, to learn and develop in favorable environments that ensure meaningful learning. For example, individuals with disabilities, such as those with dyslexia, have the full entitlement to be included in classes, especially English language classes, to adapt activities to their conditions, and to seek the necessary strategies for them to acquire the language.

Dyslexia is a very common learning disorder, it consists of difficulty in reading, it occurs in all ages and is not due to lack of vision, hearing or intelligence; students who have this disability find it difficult to identify speech sounds, so when reading they confuse letters and words a lot.

PROBLEM STATEMENT In the city of Esmeraldas there are many students who suffer from dyslexia, currently teachers and parents know how to identify students with this disorder from an early age and can have good academic performance with the help of special educational programs and adaptations to the curriculum.

However, there are many students at higher levels (senior students) who never received help or were not detected in time about this disability; being more difficult for them to learn a new language; and in turn it is difficult for teachers to carry out the lesson.

The following question arises from this problem:

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Which Activities may be useful to improve senior students’ Reading Skills with Dyslexia?

OBJECTIVES General objective •

To design activities to improve reading skills with students who suffer from dyslexia.

Specific objectives •

To identify the main characteristics of students who suffer dyslexia.

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To determine the content to the included in the activities.

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To plan different actions and procedures to develop the activities.

DEVELOPMENT Inclusion in the English class involves adapting pedagogical strategies or activities and providing appropriate support to ensure that all students, including those with the disorder, can participate meaningfully in learning activities. Educators play a fundamental role in creating an inclusive environment. Understanding the individual needs of students with dyslexia and implementing flexible pedagogical approaches is crucial for fostering academic and social success.

Additionally, the involvement of parents, educators, and specialists, if necessary, is essential to create personalized support plans for the specific needs of each child. By learning English, they develop their intellectual abilities and improve flexibility, memory, and brain function (Arnaiz, 2003).

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How to identify students with dyslexia?

Signs of dyslexia are usually identified when the child starts school, as this is the age when they begin to read, and teachers are almost always the first to notice. However, there are some early signs such as delayed speech, learning words at a slow rate, problems forming words, reversing the sounds of words or confusing words with similar sounds.

Main characteristics of students with dyslexia: ▪

A low age-appropriate reading level.

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Problems processing what he/she hears.

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Difficulty finding the correct word or answer to a question.

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Difficulty seeing and hearing similarities and differences between letters and words.

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Trouble spelling and pronouncing unfamiliar words.

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Takes a long time to complete activities that require reading or writing.

(Mayo Clinic, 2022)

ACTIVITIES DESIGN Strategy finds the decodable Books (practice in class and at home) Decodable books are designed to align with a reader's current phonics knowledge, allowing them to practice and reinforce their understanding of phonetic principles. It is essential to choose books that match the reader's current skill level and gradually increase in complexity as their reading abilities improve.

ACTIVITY 1 (15 MINUTES)

Talking about the meaning of the text with students We will start by having students retell what they read from the decodable text.

And we will ask comprehension questions to encourage them to think more deeply about the text. We want students to make the connection that the whole point of sounding out the words is to understand what the text is saying.

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Multisensory Approach ACTIVITY 2 (20 MINUTES) Students read short books emphasizing sight words, word families, and short/long vowels. Students underlined with marker the focus words such as all the short “a” word, etc. Printable books are perfect and easier to students.

Flashcards with identifying pictures (15 minutes) Students learn with repletion, flashcards provide repetition. That being said, flashcards do not have to be boring. We can ask to the students their preferences in the topics; in this way it will be more effective. If students cannot create a mental picture while they are reading, flashcards with pictures will provide a hint or clue.

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CONCLUSIONS

Dyslexia is a disorder that we often ignore or think that it is not serious and cannot influence much in people; unfortunately, many people of different ages suffer from this disorder, there are adults who were detected late with this disability, people who live being excluded by others, who cannot get a job for having dyslexia and grow up with prejudices of society.

The school is one of the fundamental spaces for the professional and personal development of all individuals, teachers are the first to notice when children have special educational needs, they are the ones who realize when the student has dyslexia because they cannot read correctly. Thanks to scientific, technological and educational advances, there are several special educational programs, resources and teaching and learning strategies to help students with these problems from an early age.

During the execution of the activities, teachers should be attentive to the students, dedicate the necessary time to them, and provide assistance if needed.

Qualities such as patience, empathy, and affection are also required. Bringing the necessary resources and materials is crucial; this way, students can learn successfully, exercise their brains, and internalize the connections between letters and sounds, which is essential for overcoming dyslexia-related challenges and developing muscle memory, among other aspects. These strategies are valuable for improving the reading and writing skills of students with dyslexia, as that is precisely the goal to be achieved.

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REFERENCES Arnaiz, P. (2003). Educación inclusiva: Una escuela para todos. Ediciones Aljibe.

Mayo Clinic. (2022, October 25). Dyslexia. Retrieved from Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/es/diseases-conditions/dyslexia/symptomscauses/syc20353552#:~:text=Descripci%C3%B3n%20general,y%20las%20palabras%20(d ecodificaci%C3%B3n).

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