5 Ways to Prevent Writing Difficulties for Students with Special Needs

While in my experience no two students with special needs are alike, there are certain things that they do seem to have in common. One of these is the fact that written tasks and assignments cause the most difficulty. They’re a lot harder to teach and have students succeed in than more interactive subjects like listening, speaking, and reading. Unfortunately, writing is an integral part of early education. It has a huge impact on a child’s success in later years. It’s almost impossible to do well in any other subject if a child can’t sit and write answers well, which is why…   Read in browser »

Capture All of Your Notes with AudioNote 2

AudioNote has been around for a long time and works similarly to the Livescribe Echo SmartPen in that it syncs what is being written with what is heard in the classroom, doctor’s office, etc.. When you want to hear what was said the moment you wrote a particular sentence or doodle on the page, you simply hit Play, and then touch the word, mark, or picture with your finger/stylus. You can then go back and fill in the notes you missed if you desire.

Pictures of PowerPoint slides, white board info, or other photos can be inserted to bring even more meaning to your notes.  You can use typing, your finger, or a stylus for input and save all of your documents in a nice folder/sub-folder system.  The notes can be saved as pdfs and emailed, printed, and uploaded.  The audio recordings can also be saved, emailed and uploaded.   Continue Reading...

Keeping Parents Informed - Evidenced Based Practices in Education Evidence-based Practices for Teaching Writing

Writing is a complex task! It is a complicated process that requires planning, drafting, editing, and revising until one has a finished product.Many kids who struggle with writing try to avoid it altogether. John Hopkins University has published research for parents and teachers to learn more on how to use effective writing practices that can help struggling writers. Click here to see the research and learn more about to help your child become a better writer.

Try This Technique for Helping Your Child with Description and Written Expression

Does your child have a learning disability in oral expression or written expression? Perhaps a language impairment affects your child’s ability to describe things in an organized way? Maybe your child is just a reluctant writer who struggles with how to get started? The expanding expression tool may be helpful for you. Meet the Expanding Expression Tool The expanding expression tool (EET) is a kit developed by a speech-language pathologist from Michigan. It is a multi-functional, tactile tool to help with language and writing development. It can be used for oral expression and written expression. The tool uses a color-coded chart to help a student describe an object by…  Read in browser »

Writing Strategies for Students with Special Needs

Special-education teacher Kira Miller describes how she uses National Novel Writing Month and peer editing to teach writing to students with special needs. In this final of four blog posts on writing, she discusses how NaNoWriMo builds students' writing confidence and voice, and offers details on the resources and classroom structures she uses for peer editing.   KQED.org (7/12) 

Writing to Learn Strategies

These four writing strategies help students learn to make predictions, build connections, raise questions, discover new ideas, and promote higher-level thinking. Here’s the step-by-step on how to use these strategies in your classroom.  http://www.ldonline.org/article/39928/

Writing

How can we build kids’ writing skills, beginning in pre-K? What does the research tell us about effective strategies for teaching writing? And how can parents support their children’s development as writers? Dip into these resources below to learn more. For examples of real student writing (pre-K to grade 3) — and advice on next-step instruction — check out our Looking at Writing resource. To see all of our writing resources, including the video library, visit Topics A-Z: Writing.

6 ways to help students with ADHD succeed on writing assignments

Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder often struggle with writing tasks, academic writing instructor Tracy Collins writes in this blog post. She outlines six common problems these students face during essay writing assignments and suggests ways to help students overcome them. Edutopia.org/Literacy blog (4/21) http://www.edutopia.org/blog/writing-strategies-students-with-adhd-tracy-collins

IPAT Blog: iReadWrite- A nice app for reading and writing support

iReadWrite is the latest assistive technology app available from Texthelp. The company is best known for Read and Write Gold, a software package used for a variety learning disabilities to include aids to help with reading, writing, and research. iReadWrite is an application that aids in reading and writing skills for the iPad.  http://ndipat.org/blog/ireadwrite-a-nice-app-for-reading-and-writing-support/?goback=%2Egde_149741_member_251387113

Use Yours Words: Free Dictation Solutions

 

With dictation software, a user is able to speak into a microphone and have it written out on their computer or mobile device. This feature can be a great tool for an individual with a disability that restricts the ability to write or type on a computer. This could be because of a physical difficulty or it could be from a learning disability like dyslexia. Dictation is not perfect for example, in order for it to work well the user must have a clear voice and be able to pronounce every word very carefully. Also, dictation tends to have a hard time with certain accents. So what do you do if you're not sure if dictation will work well for you? Luckily, most new devices like computers tablets and smartphones include some form of dictation built-in. Let's talk about a few of these solutions you can find on a device you might have right now. Find information on Windows & Mac computers, iPad & iPhone & Android devices at: http://www.pacer.org/stc/news.asp#nine 

Digital writing resources for students with disabilities

Joan Green, author of The Ultimate Guide to Assistive Technology in Special Education, recommends the digital Livescribe Pen and WordQ software for helping students with disabilities improve their writing skills. Debra Bauder, president of the Special Education Technology Special Interest Group of the International Society of Technology and Education, suggests graphic-organizer software, Inspiration as well as the free Google Scribe. Education Week Teacher (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (10/13)

Strategies to help Students Write Well

When children with learning disabilities struggle with writing, they need guidance from their teachers & parents. Read the article "Writing Strategies to Help Students: Guides for Teachers, Tutors, and Parents." Find out the reasons for their trouble & learn some tried-and-true techniques that really work to improve writing. http://weta.convio.net/site/R?i=6oGUYaMS4SXMPRC-cGcDAw..

Go to Writing & Spelling and Teaching Writing for more information. Writing & Spelling: http://weta.convio.net/site/R?i=lvELUDagMj1bB-_A2w1dfA.. Teaching Writing: http://weta.convio.net/site/R?i=J6nDzTDPj_K6Hjrd5PMw-w..