Working as an SLP in a middle school setting, I see many students struggling with both language skills and academics. I am going to provide you with a few of my favorite go to’s to help increase both academic skills and language skills.
1. Visualize!
*If your child is reading a text, help them picture what is happening. You can do this by reading a short passage and then helping your child picture what the character looks like, feelings, perspective of characters, smells, etc.
2. Pair a new vocabulary word with a picture or motion
*If you connect a new word with a way to remember it, either by drawing a picture, finding a picture, or pairing a motion to the word (ex. If the word rotation is new you can have them say rotation while moving their finger in a circular pattern). This will help make connections in the brain stronger, increasing the vocabulary retention.
3. Highlight important information
*Texts can be overwhelming, especially for students with learning disabilities. Highlight the important pieces of information, so that it is easier to see where the focus should be.
4. Draw out math story problems
*These are notorious for catching our students with learning difficulties, especially when there are language disorders paired with learning difficulties. Have your child draw out their story problem so that it is easier to visualize what the question is asking.
5. Map it Out!
*Prior to writing a story, story map it. I will link some good examples to this blog for you to use. You can also use them after reading a passage to retain the important pieces of information.
file:///Users/headquarters/Desktop/StoryElementsGraphicOrganizer%20(2).pdf
file:///Users/headquarters/Desktop/StoryElementsGraphicOrganizer%20(1).pdf
file:///Users/headquarters/Desktop/StoryElementsGraphicOrganizer.pdf
As always, your dedicated SLP,
Dayna Sanders, MA, CCC-SLP
