Reading Accommodations
 

• Allow students to access audio books (BookShare, Learning Ally, Hoopla, Libby, etc.) 

• Keep in mind that listening to a book takes longer than a fluent reader silently reading the book. If you assign a chapter thinking it will take most students 20 minutes to read, it will dyslexics longer to listen. 

• Make use of technology that allows worksheets to be scanned in and read aloud. 

• Check out free digital learning tools here:  Microsoft Digital Learning Tools

Testing Accommodations
 

• Extended time. It takes a student with dyslexia longer to read the test and to write down answers.  

• Shortened tests. If you cannot offer the student more time to take the test, shorten it in a way that the student can finish it in the amount of time allotted. To shorten without removing content, highlight the questions that the student needs to answer and grade only on the accuracy of those responses.  

• Offer oral reading of the test. If there is no one available to read the test orally to the student, the teacher can record the test, and the student can record their answers onto an audio tape.  

• Provide a study guide or sample test.  

• Conduct an in-class review session.  

• Avoid multiple-choice questions that require extensive, rapid, and accurate reading. The only difference between the right answer and the wrong on shouldn’t be a small word they might skip, or a word with a subtle meaning.  

• Accommodate dysgraphia. Avoid essay questions, or accept brief answers in the form of bullet points, and don’t mark down for spelling and grammar. Minimize the need for handwriting; matching format requires the least handwriting. Leave extra space for written answers.  

• Adopt a “no fail” policy. Allow students to comparable work in a different format to make up for points lost on a test.  

• Give frequent and smaller quizzes rather than only a midterm and final.  

Handwriting Accommodations
 

Most students with dyslexia also have dysgraphia, which makes handwriting slow and less intelligible. To accommodate for dysgraphia consider the following:  

• Eliminate copying.  

• Instead of copying from the board, have another student copy their notes, provide a teacher copy, or allow the student to take a photo of the board using a phone or iPad.  

• Instead of copying from the book, Xerox and enlarge the page.  

• Instead of copying resources onto index cards when doing reports, allow students to make a photocopy of the source then cut and paste it onto an index card.  

• Instead of copying definitions out of a dictionary have students look up words on a computerized dictionary, then cut and paste the definitions into a word document to print.  

• Eliminate note taking by providing a copy of the teacher’s notes to everyone, “If you would like to compare your notes to mine take a copy on the way out.” This allows the student to have an accurate copy of the information provided in class, without alienating them from the class. Another option is to consider providing the student with technology such as a Smartpen.  

One of the most important accommodations for a student with dyslexia is to not grade down on assignments for sloppy handwriting. Varying heights of letter characters as well as seemingly random capitalization of letters are some of the ways that students can distinguish certain letters from others that are graphically similar (i.e. “n” and “h”).  

Allow written assignments to be dictated by using talk to text.  

Foreign Language Accommodations
 

• Many colleges and Universities will accept a foreign language waiver, or American Sign Language as fulfillment of their foreign language requirements. For a full list visit: Universities that accept ASL as a foreign language  

• This site has ASL courses: Online ASL courses  

Written Expression Accommodations
 

• Assign alternative projects. Instead of a written report, allow students to illustrate a concept, produce a video, create a timeline, give a classroom presentation, produce a skit, participate in a panel discussion, or any other project that does not require extensive writing. 

• Make written reports a team project: one person does the research, one does the writing, one does the illustration, and one does the presentation, etc.  

• Direct the student to the correct paragraph or page to find an answer. 

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Spelling Accommodations
 

Traditional methods of teaching spelling do not work for many students, and especially those with dyslexia due to their lack of phonemic awareness, difficulty with long-term memory, and poor visual memory for words.   

Teachers should consider making the following modifications:  

• Do not grade spelling tests. Students with dyslexia cannot learn to spell by trying to memorize words each week.  

• Don’t mark down the grade on assignments for spelling. Grade the content rather than the spelling, grammar, vocabulary or handwriting.  

• Do not refer to the dictionary as a tool for checking spelling.  

• Allow students to type their assignments into a word processor in order to use the spell check option or allow thelm to use a Franklin Spelling Ace or a computerized version of the American Heritage dictionary. 

• Check out Structured Word Inquiry on the resources page. It will change your spelling instruction forever!