Another common problem is the inability to understand verbally presented information. Try arranging your lessons to have a least one hands on activity per day. Always combine verbal information with visual support.

Organizing material is difficult for children with LD. Consider having some graffic organizers to guide story writing and note taking.

Finally, give structured breaks. Try alternating passive and active activities.

This isn’t everything you could do, but it is a good start. If you do these things you will help the kids immensely!

Now, to answer your question, just be passionate about what you are teaching. Use technology. Use hands-on activities and give lots of examples. They need to see the concept, hear about the concept, and do something about the concept. The more ways they receive the information, the more connections they will make. Take time to plan your lessons… in fact, overplan your lessons. Make a word wall for concept vocabulary. (Be sure to color code it: blue for math concepts, red for science, etc.) If you are lecturing, be sure to have a Power Point presentation with the important aspects of the concept or have fill in the blank notes available so they can keep up. Use the internet to find fun activities. Check out www.brainpop.com. It has great little animated videos for every subject that you can use as focusing activities at the beginning of class. (They even have short quizzes available!) I have taught both “regular” and “special” children and have found that when I put on a big show and act like I’m teaching the most interesting stuff on the planet, ALL the kids pay attention and they learn!

Be sure to tell them that they CAN and WILL achieve in your classroom and hold high expectations. Be very positive and try to form a bond… find out what he/she likes and talk about it. I’ve found that these students are extremely loyal to teachers who truly care about them.

Good luck, and remember how you felt when you had a teacher who didn’t care vs. a teacher who truly cared. A teacher’s attitude sets the mood and the achievement level of the classroom.

The children themselves are often one of the best sources. They have an idea for how they learn and the kind of assistance that they need.

Be passionate about teaching them. As well as compassionate.

Remember that just because they have a learning disability, they are capable of learing. You will just have to find the right way to reach them.

Also, the IEP team is suppose to decide how to handle the problems, and this is then relayed to the teacher to follow.

This is mandated by federal special ed law IDEA.