Is it really teaching, or are we being too loose?I have tested three comic book generating online tools: https://www.storyboardthat.com/comic-maker https://www.makebeliefscomix.com/ https://app.pixton.com/#/join?classCode=xjaph Storyboard that gives the widest range of features: backgrounds, characters, objects, shapes of speech bubbles, element editor (to change colour, size etc. of each element you drag and drop into your box), but the free mode does not allow download without a very visible watermark, and you have a limit to create only two quite short comic books. It's excellent if you require it every week because it's versatile in styles. Pixton is probably my favourite, because it's limitless withing a particular 'package'. If you are working on 18th century art, you may just buy that package, and you can create as many comic books as possible. It even gets the classroom feature, where the teacher, and the students she can invite, create a virtual classroom. So, it creates a community within the comic book space. Makebeliefs comics is the most artistic and unique one. It's limitless, but the options are not as rich as in the Storyboard. However, the artist created a lot of classroom-intended materials, downloadable e-books, and the aura of his particular style is embossed into each element. It is important to note that this website was created with the purpose to help the students with special learning differences, so the author really took into the account the emotional aspect of learning and growing up. All three are very easy to navigate and creating comic books can be very addictive, whichever you choose. I am sure there are more such websites, so I encourage you to do the research. In the meantime, let me explore the potential of using these in the classroom, especially looking from the lens of dyslexia-friendly approaches and techniques. Experiential learningEven the grandfather of education, J.J. Rousseau stressed the main method of learning at the very beginning of his canonical work Emile, or on Education: 'Don't teach, but let the child be instructed by experience'. This idea was carried on into the twentieth century and seriously developed by David Kolb, and has been developed and refined to date. What does that have to do with comic books? Well, until we can actually fly off with the aliens, meet the dinosaurs, or walk the streets of an imaginary town, we are confined to the interior of our classrooms, or the frame of our screens. And this is where the comic books pose a portal to the other reality. Creating a comic book provides a setting similar to experiential learning, because it contains design (thinking), creation (acting), characters, relationships, causes and consequences, as well as reflection and self-correction. It is a beta version of a possible reality. The students get to practice their skills embodied by characters. The biggest bonus is letting the imagination go loose, artistic expression, all in a funny and perhaps silly environment. Visual stimulationAnd how is all that relevant in an English class? Not only that the comic book caters to students with non-traditional learning styles, needless to say, it is highly visual. The images will imprint the verbal foreground more efficiently, as it will be a multi-sensory approach. We are also giving an opportunity to more creative students to show their talent off the 'pen-and-paper stage'. Working in pairs might be more fruitful if we pair up an imaginative student with a classmate who is skillful at writing, typing, or spelling. The 'comic duo' can shine even brighter if we give them a chance to share their work, after revision and editing, perhaps on the school notice board. The comic books can be quite simple, using familiar backgrounds, to enforce and practice vocabulary, for example. A simple series of 'indoor' house interior can help us practice daily routines, the rooms and furniture, or the prepositions. Possible activity ideas, that range from highly scaffolded and controlled, to creative and free, are:
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Which cognitive (and physical) faculties are involved in a writing process?
I have tried to create a writing process workflow, but I could never make it flow seamlessly. Instead, I have decided that the process of writing isn't as straight-forward as we would like it to be. We use some mental faculties at once, simultaneously, which is probably why most students with dyslexia find it exhausting. There are too many things to think about. However, we all agree that there are certain 'levels' or, for the sake of this metaphor, depths, of the writing process we can differentiate. Students face different challenges in each of these processes. For example, if the task is dictation, the student will have to hear the teacher, and differentiate the sounds, but if the task is to express original ideas, the student will have to listen to his own inner voice, and visualize different concepts. Tell me if you think the poster is missing some important challenges in the various depths of the ocean of writing.
And here is the interactive presentation of all these challenges, coupled with the suggestions of accommodation. Click on FULL SCREEN for best interactive experience.
What are the main points to keep in mind when planning reading and writing tasks?
How should we make it easier for the student who has a problem with reading or writing? The general accommodation principles apply, but there are some specific to these two types of skills, that are particularly challenging for students with dyslexia. This day has come, you are switching to online teaching!If you are apprehensive, there is not need. Actually, using technology is much more dyslexia-friendly than books, paper and pen.There are a lot of online tools that help students with reading and writing difficulties, and make their learning process much more enjoyable. In your online teaching environment, your students will have challenges with reading and writing, like in a traditional classroom setting. However, in the classroom, we were very much relying on the multi-sensory teaching, little objects, tokens, tactile stimulation and physical activity. This will mostly be absent in the online lesson, so you will need to compensate for it with interactive and animated tools, as well as your voice, exaggerated facial expressions, gestures, and your hands.
ReadingWhen it comes to reading, there are online features, add-inns and applications like changing the background color and an immersive reader option (like in the MS Word), giving the audio version of the written text. Remember to always present the text that is not black-on-white, with a large font, expanded character spacing, and line spacing of about 2. Use colours and coloured annotations as much as possible. WritingSome students will find typing much easier than writing, especially those that have poor hand-eye coordination. Typing even with spelling mistakes is less emotional, because it is easy to delete and there is no trace of the mistake on the page. Encourage students who suffer from severe spelling difficulties to use the 'dictate' feature in the word document. They can copy-paste that word in the chat box during the online lesson, or even use it to create their own text. The overall communication will be quite similar to the classroom setting. Remember to use your hands and arms to give the student clues and supplement your speaking, especially when giving instructions. Use the kinaesthetic approach as you would in the classroom. Constantly elicit feedback and student reactions. It's easier to get distracted when they are not with you in the room. This is a perfect time to take advantage of teachyourmonstertoread.com - an exciting application that the student may download on their phone or tablet. There are even digital phonics cards there which you can also use in the online lesson. I am including here a short list of some digital tools you may find useful when working with the students with reading and writing difficulties. Explore them and decide which works for you. Research the web to find some others that may be more appropriate for your students.
Some poor readers will really feel at disadvantage while writing. They will not be able to express their ideas or show their knowledge. It is crucial to decide whether the goal of activity is to show how much they have learned, or to actually physically write letters, holding a pen against a piece of paper. If it is the former, we might do the activity orally, or artistically, i.e. the student might give a presentation, draw or create something relateable to whatever he has learned. Another option is to record the answers to the question by voice recorder. Typing can also be an alternative to traditional writing. However, if the goal is to use the wrist motions and demonstrate handwriting, the teacher should not expect or even insist on perfect spelling. It might be helpful to provide a piece of paper, perhaps not white, lined with two different colours widely apart. Felt-tip pens are easier to maneuver than pens and pencils. A short finger/wrist/hand movement exercise before writing might prepare the student physically (see coordination). The cognitive preparation and encouragement will be in the form of scaffolding: giving a precise direction about the form, length, and even the sentence structure. In any writing task, it is of utmost importance to give instructions one by one. Only when the student has completed the first step, we will instruct him how to take the next one, and so on. In our child classes, the book provides some cut-outs and stickers at the back. I like to connect those with a writing task. For example, first step is to choose five stickers they like. The second one is to stick them in their notebooks in whichever arrangement they wish. Third step is to write one sentence about each sticker according to the template that I write on the board. If we are learning about animals, it will be: (name of the animal) can (verb) . If we are learning about clothes, I am/'m not wearing (a piece of clothing) . For paragraphs or even texts, similar scaffolding may be provided. We should focus on the preparation, making sure that the student has gathered all ideas and that he knows in which order he will present them. Using word processing software will make it less frustrating because there will be no visible traces of errors on the page. I would like to point out that the act of writing, i.e. moving the wrist, contributes to the enforcement of memory and development of hand-eye coordination. The writing is in a way a kinaesthetic approach to language learning, where the muscle movement enhances spelling as well as visual perception of the words being written. |
AuthorMartina Matejaš is a teacher of English and Yoga. She is keen on understanding the mind-body connection as well as cracking the 'code' of thoughts-emotions-behaviour matrix. Archives
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