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Graphic organisers can be a powerful tool for learners with dyslexia. They enable learners to plan and structure their ideas in a visual and accessible way. Focusing on getting ideas organised before navigating challenges with grammar and spelling can be a positive approach. The visual scaffold reduces working memory strain by keeping ideas clearly organised and structured. This allows more cognitive space for sentence construction and spelling, which might be challenging.
Tip or Idea: Explore different graphic organisers to see which work best for your learners. These might include mind maps, paragraph planners with sentence starters, storyboards, or flowcharts. Learners can use notes, drawings, or colours to record their ideas.
Learning Village resource: Our article Why use a graphic organiser? explores the benefits of using graphic organisers and offers a range of potential designs to try in your classroom. Use our free resource for a graphic organiser template.
We all learn in different ways. Helping your students to identify what works best for them is really important. Do they prefer visual aids, make links with existing learning or use movement and actions to help them remember things? Identifying their own personal preferences and effective practices will benefit lifelong learning and help your students to succeed.
It is widely recognised that young people and their families should be at the heart of their educational journey. The phrase “nothing about us without us” simply and powerfully reflects the need to include young people and their families in decisions that affect them. Pupil voice can provide crucial insights into the needs of young people with SEND. Parents can also provide a valuable overview of a child’s needs, strengths, and challenges. Using these insights to guide learning opportunities can enhance engagement, enjoyment and, ultimately, progress.
Sensory needs (considering lighting, noise, textures, smells etc.) are now being seen as a central part of school design. It is widely recognised that overwhelming environments can block learning or trigger distress. Each learning environment presents its own opportunities and challenges to reducing sensory overload. Luckily, there are lots of small changes that can make a big difference to your learners!