Boosting Learning in the Primary Classroom: Occupational Therapy Strategies That Really Work With Pupils

Boosting Learning in the Primary Classroom is your one-stop practical guide to understanding the physical development of children and how this affects their ability to learn. Not only does it explain the reasons behind the theories but provides over 75 practical tips that really work in the classroom.

The book is based on a successful five-step approach to help children acquire the skills needed to manage at school and daily life. It works by being able to pinpoint a problem, assists others in recognising the impact that difficulty is having to the child and then provides strategies to develop that child’s specific skills. Using the latest medical research and established occupational therapy techniques to obtain great results, this approach provides teachers with the tools to use different knowledge and strategies to engage children in the learning process.

• Key ideas explored include:
• Exploring the reasons for poor handwriting
• Increasing Disability Awareness
• The link between body posture and concentration
• Dyspraxia in a school setting
• Play develops learning
• Understanding sensory behaviour

By providing teachers with an understanding of physical child development and the impact this has in the classroom, this book demonstrates how teachers can use this knowledge to boost the learning of their primary-aged children. It encourages teachers to identify improvements in the child’s progress of not just educational learning targets but also in physical motor development, using real life case studies, latest theory and tried & tested occupational therapy methods to help every child improve.

Table of Contents

1. Exploring the reasons for poor handwriting
2. Increasing Disability Awareness
3. The link between body posture and concentration
4. Dyspraxia in a school setting
5. Play develops learning
6. Understanding sensory behaviour

"A practical, positive and realistic book… Sheilagh Blyth acknowledges the pressures on teachers, but is able to work within those demands and offer excellent strategies to support these children in the classroom setting."
- Gill Dixon, Vice-chair, The Dyspraxia Foundation.

"All primary teachers will find this title of value, adding to good classroom practice and enhancing learning opportunities for all pupils, with a particular impact for those with motor development issues. Primary school SENCOs should add this to their library and share it with colleagues."
- John Perry, Nasen Special