Transition Skills
Transitioning from elementary school into middle school and then from middle school into high school can be a challenge for some students. DII has created some helpful tips and tricks to prepare your new middle school student. Elementary school and high school are coming soon.
Are you looking for transition to college information? We have included a wonderful article from the Ohio School Counselor Association.
The Greenwood School, located in Putney, Vermont, is offering a full scholarship opportunity for an Indiana boy with learning differences. Greenwood is a boarding and day school for young men in grades 6 through 12. For more information on the scholarship, please call 802-387-4545.
Middle School
Organizational Skills
Planning for the First Day of School
The step up to middle school often brings big changes. It often means that a child changes schools. There are simple measures that can be taken to help alleviate some of the anxiety that results from so many changes.
- Purchase a combination lock and have your child practice unlocking it.
Middle school is often the first opportunity that a child has to use a locker with a combination lock. This can be stressful for all children, but may be particularly difficult for the dyslexic child.
- Visit the school prior to the first day, and if possible, walk from class to class following your child’s schedule.
Middle school often marks the beginning at a new school. This can be particularly difficult for the dyslexic child because of directional confusion.
Establishing Routines
- Establish a location for doing homework. It should be a quiet location that is free from distractions.
- Designate a specific time for homework each day. Don’t wait too late to get started.
- Be sure that your child packs his or her backpack each evening before bed. Homework should be secured in a folder and placed in the bag. Books, notebooks and the assignment notebook should also be placed in the bag so that the morning doesn’t become a mad scramble.
- Encourage your child to put their backpack in the same location each night before bed. It should be located in a place where it will not be forgotten.
- Insist that your child record all assignments. It is helpful to have an assignment notebook for this purpose.
Organization of School Supplies and Materials
- Purchase a three-ring binder and a plastic pouch for pencils and other small supplies.
A one-notebook binder system helps everyone. When students carry one notebook, they feel less fragmented because they do not need to keep up with a myriad of items.
- Place hole-punched colored folders for each subject in the binder.
When folders are attached to notebook rings, papers that are placed in the folders have less chance of falling out. A different color of folder can be assigned to each subject.
- Place spiral notebooks for note-taking into the binder. These may be color coordinated to the folder by subject. For example, science may have a red folder for graded papers and a red spiral notebook for notes. The text book can have a red book cover to match.
- Attach a copy of your child’s schedule to the inside of binder. It can be color coordinated by subject to match the folder, spiral notebook and book cover. For example, a schedule with the time and room number of the science class may be highlighted in red to match the corresponding folder, spiral notebook, and science text book cover.
- If your child tends to forget to turn in homework or has difficulty finding completed homework, it may be helpful to have a folder in the front of the binder for homework ready to be turned in. Graded papers that are returned to the child can be filed in the subject specific folders.
- Keep a supply of notebook paper in a consistent location in the binder.
- Hole-punch your child’s student planner and attach it to the binder.
Help your child get in the habit of writing down daily assignments in each subject and checking it off when it’s completed.
Organization of Homework Area
- Examine your child’s work space and make sure that there is a large working space that is free from clutter.
- Provide your child a corkboard and pins to hang up important papers
- Keep a three-hole punch, stapler, and electric pencil sharpener easily accessible.
- Provide your child with a desk or wall calendar (separate from the family calendar)
to help him or her to maintain an overview of important dates, activities, and events. Older students may prefer to use electronic devices to record dates.
Maintain a Homework Supply Kit
Maintain a supply kit for homework. Keeping them together in one place reduces wasted time searching for them. Consider creating a portable homework supply kit in a lightweight container with a lid. This would allow the necessary supplies to accompany your child anywhere. The following is a suggested list of materials to be included.
|
|
|
- Sharpened pencils with erasers
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Electronic spelling checker
|
|
|
|
- Colored pens, pencils, and markers
|
|
|
|
|
Study Skills
It is important for all middle school students to develop effective study strategies. It is however, crucial that all dyslexic students continue to develop their study skills and strategies to help them at the next levels in high school and college. Middle school provides a great opportunity for students to better understand their learning styles and determine what strategies work and don’t work for them.
General
- Use study methods that incorporate active learning. Rereading and reviewing alone are not the same as learning. Active learning with repetition and practice are the keys to remembering material. Explaining and rephrasing ideas or concepts aloud help in memorizing. Reading your notes aloud over and over again and visualizing what you read can also help.
- Use multisensory approaches when learning and studying. Not everyone learns the same way so experiment with visual, auditory, and tactile-kinesthetic methods to determine the most effective way to study. For example, visual learners will benefit from looking at pictures and using flash cards. Visualizing and color coding may also be helpful. Auditory learners may benefit by having the opportunity to talk over material with someone else or perhaps by listening to someone else read or explain the information. On the other hand, tactile-kinesthetic learners often benefit by using manipulatives, writing things down, or typing information. For the dyslexic child, using methods that incorporate more than one approach can be particularly helpful.
- Develop routines for studying. For example, if a spelling test is assigned every Friday, begin studying the words on Monday by actively writing them out. Continue to spend some time each day studying them. Routines and checklists help to make effective use of time. Make checklists and encourage your child to cross off tasks as they are completed.
- Remember that active learning along with repetition and practice are the keys to remembering.
Tests
- Studying for tests is a skill. Understanding a student’s learning style and developing study strategies that allow a student to use his or her strengths to study for a test should be a goal for all middle school students.
- If possible, study the way in which a test will be given and be sure to use the student’s strengths. For example, assume that a student has a science vocabulary test that will be given in the form of a matching test. Type up the words and their definitions. The student can use Dragon Naturally speaking to do this. This allows him to verbalize the information. Then, cut out the vocabulary words and separate them from their definitions. Mix them up and have the student match them.
- Learn to use mnemonics to help learn steps in a process or to memorize lists of information. Mnemonics are memory devices that help people remember something by associating what they already know with something they are trying to memorize. For example, children often memorize Every Good Boy Does Fine to remember the sequence of lines in the treble cleff (E, G, B, D, F)
- Chunk information that needs to be remembered into small bites. Find meaningful links and associations. Look for ways that items go together. If possible, use visual or graphic depictions to help in remembering the information.
- One approach that has been successful for many people is called SQ3R. Each letter corresponds to a process that will help in your reading.
S- survey. Look over the chapter before you read it. Look at the title and the subheadings of each section, and read the introduction and the summary at the end. It helps to know what to expect from your reading.
Q-question. Change the headings into questions and then let these questions guide your reading.
R-read. Read the text to search for answers to the questions you have created. Highlighting or underlining the key sentence helps you recall the information.
R-recite. Say your answers out loud.
R-review. After completing SQ3R for a section, go over the main points of your highlighted sections or your notes by reciting the information out loud and making sure you are correct.
Taking Notes
- Taking good notes becomes more important in middle school as middle school often marks the beginning of lengthy lectures. Unfortunately, note taking can be a difficult task for the dyslexic student. Use the opportunity in middle school to help the student develop strategies for taking notes.
- Students should always take notes in class. Write down everything that is written on the board. A teacher often emphasizes what he or she feels is most important by writing it on the board. Consider rewriting a neat copy of the notes afterwards. Use this opportunity to check for understanding. Ask for help, if needed. Reread the notes rather than waiting until the night before a test.
- Consider the use of a Live Scribe pen for taking notes. The pen records the lecture as a student writes notes. A student can put the pen on a specific place in his or her notes and listen to the discussion that was taking place at that particular time. This allows the student to further develop his notes and add information that was not included during the class period.
- At the end of the day, as part of the student’s homework routine, review the notes. Reflect on what was learned. Think of potential essay questions or test questions. Ask the teacher or a tutor to explain information that is not clear.
THE COLLEGE TRANSITION
All new freshmen face major adjustments as they cross the college threshold. Unquestionably, the changes are daunting. In fact, in February 2010, Rob Schnieders, director of national engagement at the Urban Education Institute, reported that fewer than 60 percent of all students entering
four-year colleges today graduate.
For college students with learning disabilities, however, the adaptations required to succeed are even more complicated. All the support systems on which students depended in high school have suddenly vanished. Gone are the IEP, parental advocacy, teacher support, individualized and/or resource room instruction and parental reminders of assignments, due dates, etc. that acted as safety nets in high school. This abrupt withdrawal of support places these students at considerably higher risk as compared to their non-disabled peers. Now, add to this mix unwitting self-sabotage.
Students classified as “Special Ed” are often reticent to disclose their disabilities in a post secondary setting. Tired of being “labeled,” they seek a fresh start where no one knows their history of struggles. Little do they know the consequences of this decision, for without documentation on the college level, they cannot obtain accommodations (e.g.,extra time, a distraction-reduced test environment, etc.)
Thankfully, among all this doom and gloom, there is good news. That is, with proper preparation,failure need not be a foregone conclusion. On the contrary–with proactive training, students with disabilities can thrive in college. For college advisors, the ramifications of this are enormous.
If we hope to improve the college success rate of our students with LD, it is imperative that college advisors share the information below with students and their parents:
- It is not true that if you don’t go to college immediately after high school, you will never go. Many students need a gap year or time in the working world to mature. Students with even a vague sense of direction before entering college are more likely to succeed. If a student is not ready to take on the responsibilities of college, a parent should not write the check. Wait until your teen is ready to step up to the plate before you fork over a small fortune.
- There are many paths to success, and college is just one of them. Individuals who are not academically inclined can earn a far better living by learning a vocation than by getting
mediocre grades in college classes that don’t interest them.
- Disclosure of a disability in college is confidential and pivotal to success. This information remains with the disability services office and any professors with whom the student decides to share. Unlike in high school, college has no labels; students can submit documentation and still fly under the radar, if they so choose.
- The road to success is littered with landmines. To get past these, students must develop emotional coping mechanisms prior to going to college.
- The No. 1 factor in college success is motivation (presuming “normal” intelligence). The second most important factor in college success is “best fit.” In other words, ask yourself:How equipped is this college to handle my student’s particular needs? A general rule of thumb is to seek colleges that provide at least twice the support given in high school.
- Expect that for every credit hour a student is in class, there will be 2-3 hours of outside work/study.
- Requesting help is not a sign of weakness; it is empowering. Students who seek help regularly are the ones who graduate.
- There’s a big difference between accommodations and services. By law, colleges that accept federal funds must offer accommodations, whereas services are optional and usually incur an additional fee. In most cases, accommodations alone are insufficient for college success. (Note: Fees for services can be tax-deductible; check with your tax preparer.)
- Given that colleges are in competition for tuition dollars, disability service offices often paint a rosy picture. Parents must uncover the truth by speaking to students who use the
office regularly.
- Community colleges, because of their lack of services, are high risk. Parents should hire an outside learning specialist to closely support their student until he or she no longer needs it. This includes tutoring support as well as academic advising.
- Quality trumps speed. It is best to start with a reduced course load and succeed at that before attempting an additional class. Most students with disabilities take longer than four
years to graduate. (Note: Beware summer, night and online courses; they are fraught with risk.)
- “LD-friendly” colleges offer students FERPA waivers, allowing parents to contact the college and access grades.
- College success hinges on “active” studying, not simply reading material over again. High schools need to prepare students with interactive study skills.
- Going to college and having a job are mutually exclusive for students with LD. Work should be reserved for summers and break periods. School should be a full-time job.
Picture your teen an alien, dropped in a strange land, where all the laws as he’s known them have changed. Now, imagine attending school there—except in this strange land, he has only 15 weeks to learn what you used to learn in 10 months. It’s easy to see how our students are blindsided. Advance preparation for at-risk students is fundamental to college success — knowledge is power!.
Ohio School Counselor Association | ADVOCATE – COLLEGE ADVISING ISSUE | FALL 2011
