Different by

Design

Interventions for
Struggling Learners

© 2014 Jael Penn

Hi, thank you for purchasing this resource! Allow me to introduce myself… I am an elementary
teacher. I am telling you this so you know that these ideas are coming from someone who
currently works with children; not a research guru who doesn’t teach. The majority of the
strategies presented have been used effectively in my classrooms over the past two decades. The
rest of the strategies have been found due to late night hours; researching how to help my
students. This manual is a teacher friendly resource you can refer to when you encounter students
with learning challenges. You don’t need to be a special education teacher to use these ideas. In
fact, most of these kids are in general education classrooms.

My goal is to share strategies and ideas to help you reach your struggling learners. This group of
learners includes the "bubble" kids, those who don't qualify for special education, slow learners,
and kids identified with a ' global learning difference'. Let me start by saying that, one size does
not fit all; hence the name ‘different by design’. It's important to figure out what the underlying
problem is and address that first with each individual child.

One program will not fix a child’s challenge. You will have to use multiple resources when
providing intervention. Children develop at their own rate. So, patience with yourself and the
child is essential. Move at the child's pace. When they are ready, they will soar. Will all of your
kids meet grade level standards in time for state mandated assessments? Many of your students
will surprise you, but all of them may not be ready in time. Depending on the intellectual
functioning of the child, it could take a few months to a few years for a student to catch up with
their peers. Don't be discouraged if it is taking the child a long time to learn some concepts. Look
at this opportunity as a journey and not as a race. Educate yourself on lots of different strategies
so you can reach every learner. Most importantly, address the 'symptoms' not the label and solicit
help from the reading specialist, intervention teacher, literacy coach, dyslexia teacher, or
diagnostician on your campus. It takes a village to teach our students. They need all of us to help
them be successful in school and in life.

As a teacher, the most important job is to build a relationship of trust and instill confidence in the
child. When you take the time to connect, the child will work for you. It’s embarrassing to
struggle in front of a teacher and peers. But, if you have built a relationship, then the child will
put forth the effort. They may break down and cry, pout, or refuse to work. Eventually, they
won’t do this anymore and tears will be replaced by smiles and anger will be replaced by hugs. I
hope that this information will help you teach smarter and not harder. Be blessed…

Jael
Area of Intervention: Vocabulary and Expression

Suzie doesn’t like to answer questions in class. But, when she does the words escape her
and she looks defeated. It always seems like she’s not paying attention in class. If her hand
is raised, it’s because she wants me to slow down.

Red Flags:
 difficulty when communicating (expressing oneself) in social or academic situations
 unable to organize ones thoughts
 unable to keep up with a fast paced conversation
 inability to find the right word or phrase when writing
 difficulty in understanding verbal information
 underdeveloped vocabulary
 appears to be inattentive
 rarely volunteer to answer questions in class

Teaching Tips:

 Use a signal to cue the child that it is time to focus and listen. Internalization of
vocabulary and concepts will promote confidence in oral expression.
 Tell the learner what to listen for ahead of time; e.g. key words.
 Ask the student to describe the word they are trying to pull from their memory bank.
 Provide graphic organizers for the student to use.
 Use interactive notebooks to minimize note-taking.
 Provide note-taking assistance through a peer by using carbon copy paper.
 Allow the student to audiotape the lesson.
 Provide written and oral directions.
 Rehearse communication; such as a project presentation. Allow the student to use cue
cards or notes when presenting to reduce anxiety.
 Allow the learner to speak without feeling rushed. Increase your wait time or come back
to them when they are ready to answer a question.
 Minimize auditory distractions; so they can discriminate the voice in their head from the
voices around them.
 Model good listening and speaking skills and require your students to do the same.
 Use pictures, illustrations, or gestures when giving directions or teaching vocabulary.
 Allow students to work in groups; so, they can discuss what they are doing and thereby
improve comprehension.
 Let kids practice and give them a warning before requiring them to speak in front of the
class.
 In the early grades, work on phonemic awareness and articulation skills by using a
phonics phone.
Area of Intervention: Long Term Memory

Jorge always forgets what I teach him. It’s like he is hearing the information for the first
time; every time we review for a test.

Red Flags:
 difficulty retrieving information
 inability to recall steps when solving problems, performing tasks, or completing
assignments
 trouble remembering important dates and deadlines
 forgets what was learned last week, month etc. as if you never taught the skill

Teaching Tips:
 Provide anchor charts to compensate for memory deficits.
 Teach in small chunks; i.e. mini-lessons and revisit the concepts throughout the year.
 Give the students visual cues with directions, project guidelines etc.
 Use multi-sensory, teaching strategies such as computer lessons, interactive smart boards,
listening to stories, and working with manipulatives.
 Limit the amount of information to be learned during each lesson.
 Enhance retention by teaching with acronyms and mnemonics.
 Teach the student how to verbally or mentally rehearse information.
 Associate new information with existing knowledge.
 Group information into categories on a content word wall; e.g. put all of the operations
together; measurement terms and tools together etc.
 Use visualization strategies such as anchor charts, diagrams, graphic organizers, and
illustrations when teaching.
Area of Intervention: Short Term and Working Memory

Mary needs the formula right in front of her when we work on math; otherwise she forgets.
Our schedule is the same every day. But, she can’t remember it from one day to the next.
If I send her to do something, she comes right back because she forgot what I said.

Red Flags:
 difficulty holding information in memory long enough to complete a task or solve a
problem
 following multi-step directions is challenging
 forgets what was heard, read, or seen within minutes or hours

Teaching Tips:
 Seat the student away from distractions.
 Gain eye contact before giving directions.
 Keep an interactive notebook or post anchor charts with key concepts and vocabulary.
 Present information in multi-sensory formats.
 Teach the student how to subvocalize and rehearse information in their head.
 Play ‘Scattergories’ or ‘Pictionary’.
 Keep rules and directions clear and concise.
 Apply mnemonic strategies.
 Determine the student’s learning style and teach the student how to rehearse the
information in that style.
 Provide a word bank for the student; as needed.
 Teach the student to write strategies on the back of their test as soon as they get the test.
Area of Intervention: Visual- Spatial Processing

Billy is unusually clumsy. His drawings lack detail and his words run together when he
writes. Every time we take a test and he has to transfer answers to an answer document; he
loses his place.

Red Flags:
 difficulty identifying, understanding, or thinking in patterns
 lack of visual detail when drawing
 problems with using a separate answer sheet
 loses place easily
 poor spacing when writing
 reverses letters or numbers when reading
 trouble seeing an image within competing background
 falls, stumbles, or is clumsy

Teaching Tips:
 Highlight important information.
 Isolate parts of charts, diagrams, and tables; then, explain each part.
 Use visual markers to show where to start, stop etc. when writing, solving problems etc.
 Divide work in quadrants or quartiles.
 Provide graph paper to line up numbers when calculating.
 Accompany visual information with an oral explanation.
 Use manipulatives to visually display information in a concrete way.
Area of Intervention: Auditory Processing

Zariel often complains that everyone is too loud. She always appears to be daydreaming
during a lesson. Reading has been a challenge because she can’t “hear” the difference in
the sounds that the letters make.

Red Flags:
 trouble hearing sounds over background noises
 misunderstands verbal directions and lectures
 trouble telling the difference between similar sounds or words
 can physically hear but has trouble listening
 asks you to slow down when speaking
 can’t take notes from a lecture
 remembers part of a sentence
 confuses number sequences
 completes a list of things to do out of order
 remembers only the chorus of a song or the end of a line in a poem or song

Teaching Tips:
 Face the student when speaking and speak in short phrases.
 Provide concrete examples of ideas, concepts, and vocabulary.
 Give a visual signal when you are ready to transition or give directions.
 Make sure that the rest of the class is quiet when you are teaching a mini-lesson. Remind
them that they will need to listen silently for 15 minutes; then they can turn and talk.
 Tape record information so the child can listen to the lesson multiple times.
 Elicit the help of the speech teacher because they will have teaching tips.
 Give the student a copy of the notes; so, they don’t have to write and listen at the same
time.
 Let the student play games on the computer that require him or her to focus and listen to
different sounds or repeat information.
 Teach how to subvocalize so the student can repeat or rehearse newly acquired
information.
Area of Intervention: Fluid Reasoning

Brenden reads very well for his age. But, he doesn’t understand what he reads. He’s also
knows all of his math facts. However, working on story problems has been a challenge. For
a child who is so bright; he doesn’t seem to be working up to his potential.

Red Flags:
 lack of direction when faced with novel situations or problems
 illogical answers to problems or questions
 generalizing is a challenge
 verbal and written directions are misunderstood; i.e. takes a rhetorical statement literally
 answers multiple choice and matching questions correctly but not open ended questions
 predictions are unreasonable
 unable to draw conclusions or make predictions

Teaching Tips:
 Provide practice tests and study guides similar to the real test that will be graded.
 Assign group or paired projects.
 Evenly weight grades between projects, tests, reading assignments, and daily work.
 Teach from the most basic, concrete level to a more rigorous, abstract level.
 Provide real life examples of a how concept or skill is used.
 Use graphic organizers for note-taking and/or assessments.
Area of Intervention: Processing Speed

Betty is always the last student to turn in her work. She prefers to work alone and is the
last person to line up. Whenever, we copy from the board, she gets upset because she can’t
keep up.

Red Flags:
 difficulty completing assignments in a timely manner
 inability to complete untimed assignments
 reluctance to participate in cooperative learning activities
 works unusually slow on tasks that should be automatic and rote in nature
 last to finish copying from the board
 extended wait time before answering questions; student may look up at the ceiling
 child dawdles and just can’t seem to get started
 child answers an initial question (you asked earlier)…after hearing additional questions

Teaching Tips:
 Allow extra time and shorten assignments.
 Use a cloze writing assignment rather than have the student write an essay.
 Let the student give you a signal when they are ready to answer.
 Gradually reduce the amount of time a student can work on a given task.
 Provide brain development games in the computer workstation to increase processing
speed.
 Point out where to start on the page.
Area of Intervention: Inattention/ Impulsivity

Poor Jennifer can not sit still. She is always up and about disturbing her classmates. But,
the funny thing is that she is the one who is distracted by other kids talking or moving
around. And, she overreacts to noises or smells in the classroom. She is good about starting
her work; but, she has trouble staying on task.

Red Flags:
 over-reactive to distractions
 difficulty focusing and sustaining attention
 easily distracted
 disturbed by noise or movement
 distracts children in their line of sight or the whole class
 begins but doesn’t finish assignments or tasks

Teaching Tips:
 Seat the student away from noisy or busy areas in the classroom.
 Assign a peer buddy to help keep the student on track.
 When appropriate, let the student wear headphones with classical music or white noise in
the background.
 Have the student demonstrate an understanding of instructions.
 Teach the student how to subvocalize and stop and think before reacting or moving.
 Allow the student to get up and move; perform brain breaks throughout the day to reduce
disruptions.
 Let the student be helper; so, they can walk around and pass out or pick up papers and
other materials.
Area of Intervention: Executive Function Problems

Cho loves to do projects. However, he always needs help with organizing himself and his
materials. He gets very upset when he’s corrected or can’t have his way. Everything has to
be the way he wants it; when he wants it. His desk is a mess!

Red Flags:
 sets unrealistic, unattainable goals
 inability to plan for projects, activities etc.
 cannot prioritize tasks
 extremely unorganized
 difficulty with sequencing skills and tasks
 time management is a major issue
 difficulty with transitions, changes in routine
 inability to self-monitor
 difficulty starting and completing assignments

Teaching Tips:
 Break down tasks and routines into manageable steps.
 Outline the steps needed to do a project or task.
 Warn the child ahead of time when a change is coming in their schedule.
 Teach the student how to set and achieve short and long term goals.
 Ask the five “w” questions, when a problem arises; i.e. Who? When? Where? What?
Why?
 Teach the student how to repeat main ideas, summarize key ideas, and use various
graphic organizers depending on the subject.
 Give the student a planner and teach the student how to make “to do” lists and keep track
of important dates and times.
 Use a sand-timer or stopwatch to teach the passage of elapsed time and how long
different activities last or should last.
 If the student becomes anxious because of a change in routine, have them do breathing or
relaxation exercises in a safe place.
 Teach the student how to use self-checking rubrics for self-monitoring.
 Let the student use a sand-timer so they will stay on task and complete a certain amount
of work within a reasonable time frame.
Area of Intervention: Written Expression

Cameron has such a way with words when she speaks and her vocabulary is high for her
age. She writes and fills up the page. But, there are so many mistakes and the writing is
unorganized. It always takes her a long time to get started when it’s writer’s workshop.

Red Flags:
 difficulty spelling, editing, or revising
 problems with semantics and syntax when writing and speaking
 prewriting skills such as brainstorming, prioritizing, and organizing are a challenge
 text structure is inappropriate for the writing genre
 great difficulty getting started when writing
 trouble answering constructed responses, open-ended questions, and writing essays
 may have problems with handwriting

Teaching Tips:
 Provide extended time for writing assignments.
 Let the student type their answers.
 Instead of copying from the board, give the student a copy of your notes.
 Scaffold writing assignments in different ways. Here are some examples.
1. During 1st nine weeks, write on index cards or half sheets of paper.
2. In the 2nd nine weeks, write on ¾ sheets of paper.
3. During 3rd and 4th nine weeks, write on full sheets of paper.
4. Only work on brainstorming or the thesis statement, on Mondays.
5. Write the main body of the paper on Tuesday and Wednesday.
6. On Thursday, write the conclusion and begin revising the paper.
7. Complete revising and editing on Friday.
8. Over the course of the year and depending on the grade level, move from writing a
sentence to one paragraph to three paragraphs to writing an essay.
 Offer a variety of writing tools to see what is comfortable for the child.
 Set realistic goals about how much writing you want completed within a certain time
frame.
 Determine if it is easier for the student to print or write in cursive.
 Let the student dictate compositions to a “scribe” or into a tape recorder.
 Allow the student to present information orally instead of in writing; a few times each
grading period.
Area of Intervention: Dysgraphia

Renee reads in the average range. She is having trouble with handwriting and spelling. The
words and letters run together. Her papers are a mess. When it’s time to edit; she can’t see
her mistakes.

Red Flags:
 illegible handwriting
 letters sit on top of each other or slide down the page
 poor spacing
 hands cramp or hurt often
 strong verbal but poor writing skills
 problems with directionality and sequencing
 syllable omissions
 random punctuation or no punctuation
 unusual grip
 writes unusually slow
 mixture of print and cursive
 omitted words or letters

Teaching Tips:
 For younger learners, strengthen hand muscles by letting kids play with clay.
 Practice writing in sand, gel, or shaving cream.
 Let the student use a stress ball when the student’s hand begins to hurt.
 Try the “Handwriting Without Tears” program.
 Let the student type their answers or give them orally.
 Reduce writing assignments in favor of typed or verbal responses.
 Refer the child to your school, occupational therapist.
 Solicit ideas from the school LSSP, literacy coach etc.
Area of Intervention: Reading

Monique reads very slowly in a monotone voice. She didn’t know all of her letters when she
entered first grade. Now, as a third grader, she is hesitant to read out loud. She is still
learning the first grade, Dolch list and confuses similar words like ‘was’ and ‘saw’.

Red Flags:
 reads slowly; one word at a time instead of in phrases
 expressionless when reading out loud
 inability to produce or choose rhyming words
 difficulty learning letter names or sounds
 lack sight word vocabulary
 two or more grade levels below in reading accuracy and/or fluency
 avoids reading

Teaching Tips:
 Require the student to work on the computer program, Lexia, for thirty minutes each day.
 Use the “Picture Me Reading” cards to teach sight words.
 Assign different ‘Learn to Read’ stories and games on www.starfall.com as homework.
 Watch the “Hunks and Chunks” video on www.youtube.com to teach phonics.
 Model how to read fluently during your read-aloud.
 Teach and assess the Fry reading phrases.
 Pair students and have them practice reading to each other with readers theater scripts.
 Improve the child’s comfort level with reading by having them read menus, t.v. guides,
kids magazines, product labels, appropriate comic books etc. This type of reading is not
as intimidating.
 Allow the student to use colored overlays.
 Break reading materials into smaller sections.
Area of Intervention: Reading Comprehension

Anisha is the best reader in the class. But , she doesn’t understand what she means. So, she
fails the benchmark exams. Her listening comprehension is very high. Even though, she is
in the top reading group, the class library is her least favorite workstation.

Red Flags:
 difficulty generalizing, paraphrasing, summarizing, or drawing conclusions
 listening comprehension is high while reading comprehension is below level
 avoids reading for enjoyment
 answers questions during a read-aloud but fails written tests
 difficulty putting new information into new categories

Teaching Tips:
 When introducing new concepts or vocabulary, teach a movement or show a picture as
part of the lesson.
 Ask multiple levels of questions on the same story as the week progresses. For example,
ask recall questions on Monday, synthesis questions on Wednesday, and evaluation
questions on Thursday.
 Act out stories in small groups.
 As the story is read, periodically stop and have the students draw or write what is
happening in the story.
 Use graphic organizers to summarize plots, identify story elements, or to show cause and
effect, make inferences etc.
 Teach and have the students practice a different comprehension strategy each week until
you have taught all of them. Spiral different strategies throughout the year as you
alternate between reading fiction and nonfiction books.
Area of Intervention: Math Reasoning/ Computation

Dwayne loves to read; ;but hates math. He always chooses the wrong operation when
working on story problems. When we take benchmark tests, he cries or gets really
frustrated. He doesn’t have “number sense” because his answers are either way too big or
too small. As a fourth grader, he is still counting on his fingers.

Red Flags:

 normal reading and language acquisition

 avoids doing math work or playing in the math center
 difficulty with multi-step problems
 consistently chooses the wrong operation when solving word problems
 can solve geometry, logic type problems but not problems with formulas
 difficulty with abstract concepts such as time and direction
 test anxiety
 poor mental math ability
 counts on fingers or draws sticks to solve basic problems
 lack of number sense and reasonableness
 trouble recalling basic math facts
 misalignment of numbers when doing addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division

Teaching Tips:
 Help students visualize the math problems.
 Provide real life examples of problems.
 Use graph paper or turn the paper vertically so the student can line up the numbers.
 Instead of using flash cards, let the student practice their math facts on the computer.
 Teach one step, then two step, and ultimately multi-step problems.
 Draw pictures to illustrate word problems.
 Break up the math test over a couple of days so they have less problems to solve.
 Put the child on a computerized program for remediation and to individualize instruction.
 Talk about numbers, patterns, measurements etc. in everyday contexts.