This document discusses strategies for helping pupils with special needs achieve literacy skills. It emphasizes the importance of reading aloud to develop language and comprehension. Specific techniques are provided like playing language games to encourage talking in full sentences and using scatter maps to improve comprehension. Progress should be measured systematically using tools like Performance Descriptions that establish levels of achievement in reading and writing. The overall message is to set achievable literacy goals and surround special needs children with praise as they work to improve their skills.

2. Helping pupils with special needs
achieve their potential
Dee Reid
Series Editor
Consultant

3. What are special needs?

Pupils with special needs face unusual barriers to
their full and effective participation in society.

Those barriers could be physical or mental.

It is our responsibility to ensure that every pupil
with special needs achieves their potential.

4. What facilitates learning?
Research shows that learning is maximised when:

it takes place in a context of great meaning to the pupil

dialogue accompanies all learning

5. The route to literacy for the special needs child
Listening to the language of books
Following reading
Talking (from words to sentences)
Developing comprehension
Beginning independent reading
Beginning independent writing

6. Poor word
recognition; good
comprehension
Poor word
recognition; poor
comprehension
Good word
recognition; good
comprehension
Good word
recognition; poor
comprehension

7. The differing needs of children
Dyslexia:
good comprehension skills
poor word recognition skills
Autism Spectrum: poor comprehension skills
satisfactory word recognition skills
Downs Syndrome: slow comprehension skills
slow word recognition
ADHT:
slow comprehension skills
slow word recognition

8. Listening to the language of books
Reading aloud to children enables them to engage with
both the content of the text and tune in to the language.

9. Why read aloud to special needs children?
Reading aloud to children contributes directly to their
early literacy development.
It helps children develop:
 Listening skills
 Language skills
 Comprehension
 As well as giving them great pleasure

10. Why read aloud to special needs children?

The act of listening to the language and ‘voice’ of the
author provides an important background for
children’s own language development.

It also helps develop children’s ability to concentrate.

11. What are the benefits of reading aloud?
It develops vocabulary
Book language is not the same as everyday
conversation. The context of a story provides the
meaning of a word and that way children acquire new
vocabulary.

12. What are the benefits of reading aloud?
It helps children develop imagination
Through hearing stories, children’s creative
imagination is enhanced as they visualise scenes,
actions and characters.

13. What are the benefits of reading aloud
It helps children develop empathy
As children engage with the story they experience
feelings of joy, wonder, fear and hate.

14. What are the benefits of reading aloud?
It helps children anticipate what is going to happen
next
The ability to see links between things and the causal
effects of actions helps children make sense of the
world.

15. What are the benefits of reading aloud?
‘The single most important activity for building the
knowledge and skills eventually required for reading
appears to be reading aloud to children.’
‘Beginning to Read’
Marilyn Jager Adams (1994)

16. The route to literacy for the special needs child
Listening to the language of books
Following reading
Talking (from words to sentences)
Developing comprehension
Beginning independent reading
Beginning independent writing

17. Shared reading

Shared reading is an adult reading aloud to a group of
children where children also have sight of the text.

They follow the text as the adult reads and they begin to
make associations between words and symbols.

18. What are the benefits of Shared reading?

When we read aloud to children and they can see the text
it helps children learn concepts of print such as
directionality – where to begin reading on a page.

Children begin to locate known words and develop an
understanding of one-to-one matching of words.

19. The benefits of Shared reading
‘Reading to children not only anticipates the reading
instruction but also is part of the process of learning the
characteristics of written language and, therefore, an
integral part of the reading instruction.’
Margaret Clark ‘Young Fluent Readers’ (1976)

20. The route to literacy for the special needs child
Listening to the language of books
Following reading
Talking (from words to sentences)
Developing comprehension
Beginning independent reading
Beginning independent writing

21. Developing spoken language
Talking - from words to sentences
Realistically, spoken language will be the only means by
which some special needs pupils will communicate.
What can we do to encourage clear communication?

22. Playing language games
What colour is it?
Activity: Providing language accompaniment to action
Ask the child to pick up a square of coloured card.
Say to the child: “You have picked up a blue card.”
Progression 1: One word answers
Ask the child “Is this a blue card?”
Child answers, “Yes” or “No”
Progression 2: Answering in a full sentence
Ask the child to pick up a card and say: “This is a blue card.”

23. Playing language games
I Spy
Adult: “I see something yellow.”
Child: “Is it the book?”
(If they just say ‘book’, model the correct form of the
question.)
Adult: “No, it is not the book. Look again.”
Child: “Is it the ball?”
Adult: “Yes, it is the yellow ball.”
Progression: Child starts the game.

24. Playing language games
How are you feeling?
Use cards with faces each showing a different expression:
(e.g. sad, happy, worried, scared, lonely)
Point at a card and say: “Are you feeling happy?”
Encourage child to answer: “Yes, I am feeling happy.”
Progression: Ask the child: “How are you feeling today?”

25. The route to literacy for the special needs child
Listening to the language of books
Following reading
Talking (from words to sentences)
Developing comprehension
Beginning independent reading
Beginning independent writing

26. Developing comprehension
We should help pupils to have an understanding of
what they are going to listen to before a text is
read to them.

27. Developing comprehension:
guessing
I am going to read to you a text about earthquakes.
It describes what happens on 12th January 2010
when an earthquake hit Haiti.
Can you guess:
1. How long the earthquake lasted?
2.
Whether it was safer to stay inside or get out of a building?
3.
Why aid couldn’t get to the people of Haiti?

28. Tuning in to reading
On 12th January 2010 an earthquake hit Haiti.
The earthquake lasted around 30 seconds
and the capital city of Haiti was destroyed.
Houses fell down and thousands of people
were trapped.
People ran into the streets but were hit by
glass and bricks.
People from around the world wanted to help
but the airport was destroyed.
Rapid Plus Stage 4 “Tornadoes”

29. Developing comprehension:
Scatter maps
Give pairs of pupils words/pictures from the book.
Ask children to connect items on the map.
Challenge pupils to say why they made the
connections.

30. Scatter maps
people killed
roofs blown off
damage
speed
Tornadoes
danger
120 mph
twist and turn
spirals of wind
Rapid Plus Stage 4 “Twister”

31. The route to literacy for the special needs child
Listening to the language of books
Following reading
Talking (from words to sentences)
Developing comprehension
Beginning independent reading
Beginning independent writing

32. Physical skills of writing
In order to be able to write children need:
 Fine and gross motor skills
 Hand-eye coordination
 The ability to be still
 The ability to control the muscles of the body

33. Physical skills of writing
Muscle control generally develops from the top of the
body downwards and from the centre outwards which
means that the fingers are one of the last muscles a
child will have good control over.

34. Measuring progress of the
special needs child

35. Performance Descriptions (UK)

Performance Descriptions give guidance on how to
improve provision for pupils with special educational
needs and/or disabilities or learning difficulties.

The Performance Descriptions outline early learning
and attainment in eight levels (Performance Scale 1 –
Performance Scale 8) from simple reflex responses to
early skills in reading and writing.

The Performance Descriptions not only measure
progress but also inform teaching.

36. Performance Descriptions (UK)

The Performance Descriptions for P1 to P3 are
common across all subjects.

They outline the types and range of general
performance that pupils with learning difficulties
might characteristically demonstrate.

The Performance Descriptions for P4 – P8 indicate the
emergence of skills, knowledge and understanding in
English: Speaking and Listening; Reading and Writing
(these could easily be adapted to Arabic).

37. Accessing Performance Descriptions (UK)

The Performance Descriptions can be downloaded
from:
www.education.gov.uk

38. Summary
Every child has the potential to improve
 Be ambitious for the progress of special needs
children


Set short-term achievable goals
Track progress systematically
 Record overall development and achievement every
year


Involve the parents in their child’s literacy progress

Surround these children with praise