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.

Table of Contents

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