1st Edition
Special Learners in School Understanding Essential Concepts
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.