IN THE METHODOLOGY AND ACTIVITIES

GENERAL GUIDELINES TO HELP THEM LEARN BETTER IN THE CLASSROOM:

• Establish frequent visual contact with the child.

• Use short, clear and simple sentences to address him.

• Help them focus: Present the key concepts before you start the full explanation.

• Emphasize the most important information as you explain/talk.

• Use color codes when you teach them how to underline.

• Encourage them to make mental images and visualize what you are working on/explaining.

• Introduce drama/role play or any kind of kinesthetic representation of the concepts/ideas.

• Promote active participation, ask them frequently to help them maintain attention to oral information.

• Do not expect quick answers when you ask them. Give them time to answer or agree with them other ways to give you delayed answers.

GUIDELINES TO HELP THEM PERFORM BETTER AT WRITTEN TASKS

• Simplify instructions, give them directly to them and ask the pupil to repeat them before tackling them.

• Give them instructions for exercises, activities, homework, etc.; on writing with visual support.

• Combine monotonous activities with other more motivating and active.

• Asked them to show you the exercises as they are doing them: avoid the use of «all or nothing» correcting.

• Allow them choose topics, areas, activities, themes to stimulate their personal involvement and motivation. As possible connect with their interests.

• Reduce cognitive impulsivity directing them on how to review and use progressive correction of mistakes.

• Be sure it is more important to focus on quality and autonomy when doing their work than on quantity. And remember they always need more time and direct supervision than others to do what is expected of them.

IF A PUPIL WORKS SLOWER :

• Avoid unnecessary tasks (i.e. copying the question) that tire them and slow down even more their work rhythm.

• Fraction complex tasks and give them to the pupil one by one.

• Make them aware of time (i.e. timers, chronometers, verbal or visual sign agreed with the pupil, etc.)

• Choose the «best performance» of the pupil at difficult tasks for him and make sure your praise them ALWAYS for trying and especially when they improve their performance.

• Be very careful with your verbal expressions, such as: you are so slow!; goodness me, have you not finished yet?

• Adjust your expectations and be realistic, so you do not transmit the pupil the continuous feeling of failure, of never reaching the aim.

• Avoid asking them to finish at home what they have not finished in the class. Think that: parents are not trained teachers and have less strategies than you to help them with their work; the pupil will be more tired after school, more distracted and will work slower; doing that we reinforce the opposite to what we want them to learn, that is «Working at home does not make up for not working in the classroom».

IF A PUPIL IS DISORGANIZED WE CAN:

• Try to be methodical in your class organization.

• Make sure they know exactly how to do what they are asked to do:
  . What materials they need.
  . Use self-instructions to review the task steps.
  . Establish routines that help them «organize» their work.

• Make sure they have at hand ONLY WHAT THEY NEED for the task.

• Do not make them rub out all the time by monitoring their performance, do not wait to see how they do by themselves unless it is something they have already mastered

• Supervise they write on their diary what they have been asked to do (not what «they think» they have been asked) and use this as specific aim to learn with practice.

IF A PUPIL IS INATTENTIVE WE CAN

• Establish with them auditory or visual signs to call their attention (avoid calling by their name all the time).

• Organize tasks accordingly to their attention capacity.

• Make sure the pupil is paying attention before giving them the instruction, not the other way round.

• Avoid giving them complex instructions. More effective to give one at a time.

• Support their written work with manipulative, auditory, visual or kinesthesic materials.

• Use digital resources that help them focus their attention and give them visual support to verbal explanations and practice

• Give them individual short explanations after you give them to the class group, making sure the pupil «has listened and understood».

• Keep giving them positive feedback and praise their effort while they are working, do not wait till they have finished: “praise them when” you see they «have listened to you», «paid attention», «organized their work», «done first time what they were asked to do», etc.

IF A PUPIL GETS EASILY FRUSTRATED

• ¡Foresee the problem! And give guide and support before they abandon the task or they get angry.

• Avoid correcting EVERYTHING AT THE SAME TIME. Design activities that work on one difficult aim at a time and focus on it (e.g. if we want to work on «calculation» we do not work on «problem solving»; if we work on calligraphy we do not focus on grammar as well; etc.)

• Avoid negative verbal expressions (e.g. again!) or that imply «all/nothing» judgments (e.g. that is wrong!). Replace them for positive expressions (Ok, don´t worry, we will try again tomorrow!; It is better than the last time you did it, and we are going to keep working on…; try to do this a bit slower and check if it helps you to improve…)

• Praise verbal, affective and socially their success, SWOW THEM HOW MUCH YOU VALUE IT! (Great! Now you´ve got it!; I knew you could do it! I am so very happy that I need a cuddle! I would love to get a big clap for all the people that have managed to get this right today!...)

• Establish clear limits to their frustration oral expressions and agree with them and beforehand how you are going to punish if needed (e.g. you can complain but you can never hit a friend or classmate, and if you do so the consequence will be…)