Some students are much more adept at written answers than verbal responses. This could be due to personality traits such as shyness or an inability to process information in a timely way. These students may have trouble when placed ‘on the spot’ or may experience difficulty putting their thoughts into words.
Use scaffolds and cloze passages that focus on contextual meaning.
Use clear, consistent layout with graphic organisers.
Include variety – illustrations, graphics, labelled diagrams.
Allow students to manipulate given information eg. sequencing sentence strips.
Give advance notice of questions.
Limit oral questioning in front of peers.
Give instructions in short, simple sentences- avoid abstract language.
Support students with open-ended questions. Give starting points.
Encourage and praise effort over achievement.
Allow students to present and manipulate information in a preferred style.
Allow students to manipulate vocabulary and fragmented sentences.
Encourage students to refine written work through editing and revision.
Avoid public speaking tasks if alternate assessment is available.
Use short answers or matching to limit amount required under test conditions.
Mark for content rather than eloquence if possible.
Students may need extra time during exams to compensate for any processing delays.
Allow students to present for small groups rather than the whole class.
Model understanding and specific praise.
Allow students to present at their preferred time of day.
Display ideas on classroom noticeboard.
Promote structured responses for answering questions.
Rehearse responses one-on-one.
Small group instruction.
Clear roles in collaborative grouping eg. scribe.
Broken tasks down into smaller, manageable steps?
Included collaborative activities?
Adapted assessment materials to include multiple choice and short-answer questions?
Matched cognitive demands to ability?
Arranged for choice in assessment and presentation of information?