Make Your Own Comics

In the long school holiday, as well as reading dyslexic children also need to practice their writing .Writing is usually the weakest skill of all in someone with dyslexia because it requires them to integrate many different skills – spelling, punctuation, handwriting, sequencing and organisation etc. Children with dyslexia usually hate to write, and it often takes significant encouragement to get them to write anything.!!As a result I am always on the look out for something which might motivate my child to want to write.

I recently found this great site called “Make beliefs comix” – where children can make on-line comics free.

You can create a comic strip fairly quickly.You can choose from a range of characters and their emotions, add thought or speech balloons and also add objects and prompts.It is very easy to use.

Comics are not saved on the site.As a result when your child finishes their story they need to print out or email their comic.

The site has some teacher ideas and also activities for families. For those struggling with writing ideas , the "Writer prompts" page is useful.

The comic strips can be written in different languages :English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German and Latin.

Bill Zimmerman the designer of the site is a prize-winning newspaper editor and author of 18 books.

Google and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) listed Make Beliefs Comix among "the world's most innovative web sites in fostering literacy and reading."

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/

Tar Heel Reader

With the long summer school holiday upon us I am trying to get my son to improve his English.I recently came across a useful site that could be used for dyslexic children to do some online reading and writing.

The Tar Heel Reader site is a collection of free,easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. The books can be read online or downloaded. They are all speech enabled.

The books are intended for teenagers who are just learning to read ,however many are also suitable for younger children who are beginner or struggling readers and also for English language learners. The books have very simple wording so they are suitable for dyslexic children.Books are also available in a number of different languages such as Spanish and German, as well as English.

Some of the books may be inappropriate for your child so it is best to create your own favourites page of the books suitable for your child.To do this you need to be a registered user.

Besides reading a book, students also have the option of creating their own books. They can make their own books using pictures from the Flickr collection or using their own photos. To create a book you will need to register for free.

This site is a result of collaboration between the Centre for Literacy and Disability Studies and the Department of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

www.tarheelreader.org/

NB Tar Heel is a nickname for the state and people of North Carolina.

Get your child to make their own books and put them online as this may help to encourage your child to want to write more !!

Please see the article I wrote about talking / audio books for dyslexics.

Sentence Expansion

Here in this dyslexia blog article are some tips on how to help your child improve their sentence writing.

Usually dyslexic children have problems with writing.They often find it hard and can’t write much.

Here is a way to help your child improve their sentence writing so that the sentences they write are more complexed and interesting.

First of all make up a number of simple or 'kernel' sentences which have a subject,verb and object

Eg The cat sat on the mat.

After, you can get your child to practise expanding these sentences systematically, by adding adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases and, clauses etc . ( not forgetting punctuation). Children in the end can build extremely long, yet well-formed sentences.

Kernel sentence:

The woman ran into the building.

Ask some prompt questions such as :

What kind of woman was she ?

What kind of building was it ?

How did she run into the building ?

Can you give some more information about the woman?

Why was she running into the building?

Expanded sentence:

The tall, well- dressed woman ran into the modern office building.

The tall, well-dressed woman ran hurriedly into the modern Office building.

The tall,well-dressed woman from the fourth floor,ran hurriedly into the modern office building.

The tall,well-dressed woman from the fourth floor,ran hurriedly into the modern office building, because she was late for a meeting.

BBC SKILLWISE

I find that often in Turkey topics covered on the school syllabus are often rushed through and not gone over in enough detail in order for all pupils to grasp the subject.

Children especially who have learning disabilities; such as dyslexia will generally take longer to learn new concepts. They need to be more given time to “over- learn “ subjects studied.In other words ,they need plenty of opportunities to practice skills which they have learnt until they are fully compenent .

Skillwise is a useful site for parents to use with their children to help them go over topics already learnt at school and to practice skills.

Skillswise is a BBC website designed to help adults who want to improve their basic skills in reading, writing and maths. The site is aimed at learners as well as tutors.

The site is geared for adults however it is also useful for children as well.

It contains different modules on a variety of topics such as spelling,grammar,writing, measures,shapes and space,fractions, decimals and percentages etc.

It includes very clear factsheets which explain the topic fully, also there are ready made worksheets with answers which can be printed out. In addition quizzes and games are available to test information learnt.

There are also some useful articles about teaching dyslexia and dyscalculia learners for tutors . They explain some of the problems they have with learning and how tutors can help them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/

School Projects and Assignments

This dyslexia blog article gives some tips and hints about helping your child with a school project :

Completing a school project can be quite a challenge for many students, in particular those with learning difficulties, such as dyslexia.They may have problems organizing themselves and getting the project done on schedule, plus they may struggle with writing and editing.On the positive side they may have a lot of creativity and inventiveness that they can put to good use in their project.

First of all make sure your child starts a project as soon as the teacher gives them out.

Work out with your child how long the project will take to complete and make a timetable which your child should keep to .

Remember that you will need to allow more time for your child to complete the project.

Your child will get more tired easily so it is best if they do a little bit of the project over several days rather than trying to complete it all at once.

Together read the instructions given by the teacher carefully.

After talk about the project and brain storm ideas for the project. Discuss what your child needs to find out and where they will obtain the information from.

Consider how they will present their project. Possible options include posters / booklets or brochures / a report/ powerpoint or an oral presentation.Some options may be easier for dyslexia students to do depending on their particular strengths – For example, a powerpoint presentation may be a better option because it involves writing short bullet points rather than lots of long sentences.If your child is good at art work then they may prefer to do a poster.

Make sure your child keeps on the subject of the topic ie if it is about trees don’t start talking about flowers in the project.

After selecting a Project topic do some online and library research. You may need to teach them how to do online searching.For a useful information about this go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/askbruce/articles/search/narrowersearches_1.shtml
Remind them to keep a record of books and websites they looked at to find information.

After this initial research your child may need to change his/ her project if they can not find enough information on the topic. Likewise if there is too much information they will have to narrow down the subject.

They will need to make an outline of the project before they starting writing - this is a kind of skeleton which will ensure your child keeps on track of the topic. The outline should include sub-headings. Make sure this outline sticks to the rules given by the teacher.For those at secondary and high school the outline should include a table of contents, introduction, conclusion and a bibligraphy.

Your child could use a graphic organizer to help students sort out their ideas. A graphic organizer is usually a one-page form with blank areas for the student to fill in with related ideas and information. Graphic organisers are good for visual learners.
You could use a 5 W’s chart ( who / what / when / where / and why to stimulate ideas.See this site for some examples : http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/index.jsp

There are all different types of graphic organisers; including mind maps .A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas or tasks linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. http://www.buzanworld.com/Mind_Maps.htm

Make a draft copy of the project based on the outline or mind map.For dyslexic children it would be best to do this on a computer as later it will be easier to amend.

Edit the project twice – once for content ( check that your child has covered the project requirements etc ) – secondly for grammar and spelling.If your child has used a computer then they can make use of spell check. It is also a good idea if a family member can do a final check for errors.

Collect all the materials required to start the project eg pictures, stationary etc .

The final stage is to consider how your child is going to display and present his/ her project. They should make sure their project looks neat and is eyecatching.Pictures mounted with a border can look impressive.Titles should be in larger writing .Pictures should be glued in carefully.

For a good powerpoint presentation about helping kids with projects see :

http://www.speld.org.au/files/2009ConferencePDFs/SamanthaHornery-UnravellingAssignments.pdf

COPYING FROM THE BOARD

In this dyslexia blog article here are some hints and tips about copying from the blackboard :

Many teachers ask children especially at the secondary level to copy information from the blackboard or whiteboard. They may also ask students to copy out pages from their textbooks etc. into their exercise books.

For a child who is dyslexic or has dysgraphia this can be a nightmare.In the first place they may have a problem reading from a shiny white board. In additon your child will get tired from the physical process of writing so much. Also they will have to exert lots of energy in concentrating on following the text . A copying task involves looking up at the board ,reading and then holding the information in their head and then writing it in their exercise books. All of this can be very tiring for a dyslexic person.

Initially they may be able to keep up with the task but later they will get tired and then they can easily lose their place and make mistakes.

They may miss out words, sentences or even big chunks of the information so that as a result the piece of writing may have lost it meaning and does not make sense. Their writing may worsen and become illegible.

Most often children will complain that there weren’t given enough time to complete the task as the teacher erased the writing from the blackboard quickly..

To be honest in the days of computer technology I think copying form the blackboard is a fruitless task for all children – it just wastes time . Wouldn’t it be better to give a handout ?? Teachers could check if the students have understood and read the information by asking the children questions or getting them to make a summary of the main points. A gap filling exercise would be another alternative.

Tips for parents

After such a task dyslexic students may come home frustrated and tired so parents need to be patient with them !!.Don’t make them do a lot of homework or writing in the evening if they are already tired.

If they have to copy from a book .Make a photocopy of the page and enlarge the writing.Cover the writing with a blank piece of paper so they can find their place easily.

Get your child to write for 10 minutes and then let them have a break .

Talk to your teacher and ask them to reduce copying tasks .Ask if the teacher can provide a handout as an alternative to copying from the board. Ask them for a “copying buddy”.

Hints for teachers

Make sure that dyslexic children can see the board easily by sitting dyslexic children at the front of the class.

Remember that all the children may write at different speeds so leave the writing on the blackboard long enough so that all children can finish copying !!!

Put homework tasks on the board early in the lesson not at the end - so that students won't have to rush to copy the homework down..

Use different coloured chalks for each line.

Number the lines so children can easily find their place.

Make sure the writing is clear and well spaced.

Copying buddy :Allow another student who is better at writing to make an extra copy using carbon paper which can then be given to the student who is having difficulties.

Provide the student with a copy of the text from the board so that he or she can fill in missing parts of his own notes.

Provide a partially completed outline so the student can fill in the details under major headings. As a variety, provide the details and have student fill in headings while listening.

CURSIVE WRITING AND DYSLEXIA

I have read quite a lot in the Turkish newspapers recently about parents and teachers discussing how children learn writing in schools.Since 2006 all primary children have been taught cursive writing from the first grade. Some teachers and parents complain that this style of writing is difficult for children to learn and also perhaps unnecessary in the age of the computer !!

Cursive writing can initially take children some time to learn. It is however generally recognized that for children who are dyslexic or have dysgraphia the continuous cursive style is the recommended method of writing.Both the BDA ( British Dyslexia Assoc) and the IDA ( International Dyslexia Assoc ) on their websites advise that cursive writing should preferably be taught to dyslexics and those with dysgraphia.

Reasons

It helps childrens’ writing to be clear, fluent,legible and fast.

All letters start on the line so there is no confusion about where to begin the letter.

Children are less likely to reverse letters which are typically difficult (like b/d ).

There is a clearer distinction between capital letters and lower case.

Dyslexics actually benefit from cursive as it flows .In cursive writing each letter is formed without taking the pencil off the paper – and consequently, each word is written in one, flowing movement Unlike in printing where they have to stop, and lift the hand for the next letter. Stopping can throw a dyslexic off track.

As the pencil does not often need to be lifted from the page this re-inforces phonic and spelling patterns.

Children can learn print through reading, so it's not essential to have them print.

Some Helpful Tips

Don’t give up – it may take some time..

Get your children to practice for short 15 minute intervals.

Begin with small/lower case letters first.

Print large cursive letters on a piece of paper and cover them with sticky back plastic.. Now have the child roll out playdough in a snake and have him or her trace over your letter, learning how to form the letters with the playdough.

You can get your child to use big fat felt tip pens on large paper to write on.

Fill a tray with wet sand and ask your child to write individual letters in the sand. Alternatively you could use rice or beans.Another fun thing to do is buy a can of shaving foam and spray it on your kitchen table – after get your child to write the letters you wish to practice. You can also use carpet squares ( with thick pile ) to write letters on.

In order to practice letter formation use dotted cursive letters which children can trace over.First of all make the letters quite big until they have become competent at forming the letter.

Writing in the air or writing the letters on the childrens backs helps the pupils internalize the motions involved in making the letters. Saying the sounds aloud reinforces the letter sound relationship and will help them as the learn to read and spell words.

Remember to be patient.

For an excellent video about teaching cursive handwriting see Teachers’ TV
Primary Special Needs - A Passion for Handwriting

http://www.teachers.tv/video/5416

EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

Developments in computers can be of great benefit to children with dyslexia.Computer programmes can be used to assist the learning process. While there is no substitute for individual tuition, computer programmes provide valuable reinforcement, variety and can increase motivation.They can be very useful for parents who are trying to help their dyslexic children.

There are now some cd roms available in Turkish which can be used to practice reading, writing and maths.

Below are a few I have used with my child :

Mine'nin Matematik Evi – Logomotif
3- 7 - Millie's Math House includes seven activities where kids explore numbers, shapes, sizes, patterns, addition and subtraction as they build mouse houses, create wacky bugs, count animated critters, make jelly bean cookies and answer math challenges.This has won some awards.

Akıllı Çocuklar- Logomotif
Akıllı Çocuklar 1, 3-7
NB Akıllı Çocuklar 2 ve 3 – for older age groups

Okumayı Çok Seviyorum- Logomotif

Aimed at supporting children who are just learning to read.Contains a variety of stories and games .

BİLBUL 4 İşlem – Kara Korsan’ın Hazinesi- Logomotif

A pirate game which involves correctly answering addition,subtraction multiplication and division questions to reach some buried treasure.

ALFABE – Eurosoft
For 3-7 aged children. It introduces children to all the sounds and letters of the alphabet It is in both Turkish and English.

I haven’t used this one – but it may be useful :
EL YAZISI - Konuşan Harfler - Eurosoft

For more information :

http://www.eurosoft.com.tr/

http://www.logomotif.com.tr/