1st Edition

Special Learners in School Understanding Essential Concepts

By Catherine Routley Copyright 2019
    102 Pages 26 B/W Illustrations
    by Speechmark

    Offering a wealth of photocopiable resources for use with individual children or small groups, Special Learners in School provides a step-by-step programme to help practitioners support children with a range of special educational needs, and develop the skills which are fundamental to their learning in the mainstream classroom.

    Competencies including active listening and observation skills, memory, comprehension of pattern and sequencing, positional and expressive language, body awareness and emotional intelligence are all key to ensuring a child’s access to the school curriculum. Recognising that these can be particular areas of difficulty for pupils with SEND, this book provides a range of activities designed to engage and gradually develop children’s use of auditory and visual memory, pragmatic and sensory skills. Easily accessible and differentiated for children at lower and upper levels of ability, practical examples and activities can be used immediately, or be adapted in line with students’ abilities and progress.

    This will be an invaluable source of inspiration and activites for learning support assistants, teaching assistants, teachers and SENCOs looking to support children in mainstream schools as they develop skills fundamental to their learning.

    Introduction

    PART 1: LEVEL 1 ACTIVITIES

    Section 1: Auditory memory

    Auditory programme Level 1

    Activity 1: Requesting objects by name

    Activity 2: Requesting objects by attribute

    Activity 3: Using prepositions in on under

    Activity 4: Using prepositions in on under (cont'd)

    Activity 5: Introducing behind and in front of

    Activity 6: Introducing beside and next to

    Activity 7: Introducing the preposition between

    Activity 8: Double request commands

     

    Section 2: Visual memory

    Visual programme Level 1

    Activity 1: Remembering objects

    Activity 2: Finding the same

    Activity 3: Recognising differences

    Activity 4: Card sequences

    Activity 5: Pictures and memory

    Activity 6: Recall of object placement

    Activity 7: Filling in the missing bits

     

    Section 3: Pragmatics

    Pragmatics programme Level 1

    Activity 1: (a) Using visuals (b) Without visuals

    Activity 2: What do you say?

    Activity 3: Asking the right question?

    Activity 4: Replying to a question

    Activity 5: Expressing preferences

    Activity 6: Expressing feelings

     

    Section 4: Sensory perception

    Sensory programme Level 1

    Activity 1: (a) Touch box activities (b) Outside the touchbox

     

    PART 2: LEVEL 2 ACTIVITIES

    Section 1: Auditory memory

    Auditory programme Level 2

    Activity 1: Repetition of sentences

    Activity 2: Questions relating to simple text

    Activity 3: Omitted words

    Activity 4: Giving instructions

    Activity 5: Following instructions

    Activity 6: Answering questions

     

    Section 2: Visual memory

    Visual programme Level 2

    Activity 1: Placing and finding objects

    Activity 2: Noting visual details

    Activity 3: Visual memory for words and letters

    Activity 4: Recognising identical images

    Activity 5: Reproducing images

    Activity 6: Missing numbers and letters

     

    Section 3: Pragmatics

    Pragmatics programme Level 2

    Activity 1: Logical ordering

    Activity 2: Predicting events

    Activity 3: Predicting reactions and feelings

    Activity 4: Asking simple questions

    Activity 5: (a) What’s the right word? (b) What's the right question to ask?

    Activity 6: Starting a conversation

     

    PART 3: ADDITIONAL IDEAS FOR WORKING WITH PUPILS

    Reading a new book

    Differentiation and comprehension

    Describing a picture

    Learning to read with symbols

    Inference skills

    Learners with significant behaviour/language needs

    Biography

    Catherine Routley has worked for over 20 years in the field of special needs, supporting individual children and developing training courses for Learning Support Assistants.