Addressing Dyslexia in the Classroom: Practical Tips & Resources for Teachers

Discover practical strategies and helpful resources for supporting students with Dyslexia in the classroom. Learn about the characteristics of Dyslexia, effective intervention techniques, and supportive accommodations to create an inclusive learning environment that fosters reading success for all students.

Dyslexia affects approximately 20 percent of the United States' population, meaning that one out of every five students in your classroom may have a language-based learning disability. As an educator, understanding Dyslexia and knowing how to support students with this condition is crucial.​

Dyslexia is a brain-based learning disability that hinders a student's ability to read accurately and fluently. It is characterized by an unexpected difficulty in reading, unrelated to other cognitive abilities, despite receiving effective Tier One classroom instruction. 

The neurobiological nature of Dyslexia indicates its hereditary influence, making students more likely to have Dyslexia if it runs in their family. The main challenge lies in the student's struggle to identify individual sounds in spoken language and connect them to corresponding letters in print, known as phonological processing. This difficulty often impacts speaking, reading, spelling, and second language acquisition. 

​You can grab my Dyslexia checklists HERE to learn more about what Dyslexia looks like

However, with appropriate interventions, the majority of students with Dyslexia can become proficient readers. Reading experts estimate that 30 percent of students will learn to read regardless of instruction, while 50 percent will benefit from high-quality Tier One instruction in foundational skills. The remaining 15 percent, including students with Dyslexia, will require additional time and support to reach their reading potential, which necessitates intervention.

Effective interventions for Dyslexic students should be explicit, systematic, and more targeted than general education instruction. They should provide extra time for struggling readers and involve reduced instructional group sizes. Intervention instruction should be comprehensive, individualized based on assessment data, and employ multi-sensory techniques.

Decoding words is a key challenge for Dyslexic students, as research has shown reduced brain activity in the area responsible for storing and activating letter sequences in printed words.  However, direct instruction in phonemic awareness skills can normalize brain activity in students with Dyslexia (Simos et al., 2002).

​Therefore, intervention programs that are direct, systematic, and specifically target phonemic awareness and sound-symbol correspondence are most beneficial for these students.

Utilizing multi-sensory strategies like orthographic mapping can effectively teach letter sounds and their corresponding printed symbols.

While providing direct and systematic intervention instruction, it is essential to simultaneously support Dyslexic students in accessing the Tier One curriculum.​

​Accommodations play a vital role in removing obstacles that hinder independent access to the curriculum. Audiobooks and recorded materials allow students with Dyslexia to access grade-level reading materials, bridging the gap between their vast vocabulary and decoding challenges. Free resources like local libraries, Bookshare, Storynory, ReadWorks, and NewsELA offer audiobooks and content-based texts for students.

Check out a few of these FREE audiobook resources:
-your local library
-Bookshare is the largest online library of accessible reading materials, created for people with disabilities such as Dyslexia.
-Storynory offers free audiobooks for younger students.
-ReadWorks and NewsELA provides shorter texts and passages that are content-based. 

Assistive technology, including text-to-speech and speech-to-text apps, extensions, and software, can further support students with Dyslexia in areas such as handwriting, spelling, and fluency.

​Accommodations eliminate barriers created by Dyslexia, enabling students to showcase their knowledge and reach their full potential.

​Extra time as an accommodation helps reduce stress for students with Dyslexia, allowing them to focus on the content without being hindered by dysfluency. 

​Brain imaging research confirms the critical need for extra time accommodations, particularly as students progress through higher grades.

Implementing classroom accommodations can foster a supportive learning environment for students with Dyslexia:
-Extended or Additional Time
-Use Clear Language
-Make Learning Multi-Sensory
-Use Project Based Learning
-Pair Verbals with Visuals
-Use Strengths
-Allow Extra Time
-Give Checklists
-Offer Choice Projects
-Provide Direct & Explicit Instruction
-Praise Effort & Encourage
-Chunk Information
-Provide Assistive Tech (i.e. Audiobooks, Google Read & Write, Speech to Text)
-Implement a Structured Literacy approach to teaching reading

​Click HERE to learn more about Structured Literacy Instruction for students with Dyslexia.

By understanding Dyslexia, providing effective intervention, and implementing supportive accommodations, teachers can bridge the gap between students' reading and intellectual abilities. Dyslexia is a lifelong disability, but with the right support, students can improve their reading skills and achieve success in the classroom.

For more in-depth information and resources on addressing Dyslexia in the classroom, visit my blog and empower your students to overcome reading challenges and thrive academically.

Happy Teaching!
Miss Rae

References:
Kilpatrick, D.A. (2015). Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties.
Shaywitz SE, Morris R, Shaywitz BA. The education of dyslexic children from childhood to young adulthood. Annu Rev Psychol. 2008;59:451-75. Doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093633. PMID: 18154503.
Simos PG, Fletcher JM, Bergman E, Breier JI, Foorman BR, Castillo EM, Davis RN, Fitzgerald M, Papanicolaou AC. Dyslexia-specific brain activation profile becomes normal following successful remedial training. Neurology. 2002 Apr 23;58(8):1203-13. doi: 10.1212/wnl.58.8.1203. PMID: 11971088.

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