A very high rate of adults cannot read or write as much as they'd like to be able to. It can be very isolating for people who cannot read signs or maps, can't make their own appointments and don't know how to fill out forms. It can be a life-changing experience for people in this situation to improve their literacy so that they can have more independence. This blog has some information about how people can find educational courses to improve your literacy, as well as some tips on the best ways that you can support adult learners in your family.
Students with auditory processing disorder (APD) often find classroom learning tiring as they have to exert a lot of extra energy to focus on the teacher and the activity and block out other stimuli, especially auditory stimulus. This can lead to them losing confidence in their ability to do school work and achieve success in the classroom. Here are some activities that can be incorporated into the classroom to allow students with auditory processing disorder to have fun and learn.
Visual memory games
Children with APD often have a strong visual memory to compensate for difficulties in absorbing auditory rules (they can often even struggle with their own mental voice running through sequences). 'Find the match' games where students find matching cards in a group of face down cards can be a great way to teach students some words in early childhood education in a fun way, rather than the pressured environment of 'flash cards' and rote memorisation.
Story-based maths
Kids with APD can find maths quite boring when taught as numbers on a black and white sheet. A fun activity is to take maths problems and turn them into stories. Each child can develop a story about the number problem (for example, mum has made 12 cupcakes and Andy eats 4 and Ella eats 3, which leaves 5 for mum). These story-based maths techniques can be more relatable and interesting, while still teaching the same math skills as standard teaching techniques.
Colour-based writing
Many students with APD also find writing and the construction of sentences (and later paragraphs and essays) challenging. Some find that swapping pens and using different colours for verbs, nouns, adjectives and joining words, such as prepositions, can be helpful. This can also provide a visual guide to the students to see if they need to be using more of a certain kind of word (such as seeing that there is not much red and associating that with adjectives or verbs). Colour-based systems can also make it easier for students to understand the construction of sentences (such as needing a subject and a verb).
By integrating activities into the classroom that play off the strengths of students with auditory processing disorder, you can help them to gain confidence while still making sure they can achieve the normal learning outcomes for their year level. These activities are also of course appropriate for students without APD and can help them learn in new ways.
Share