My Classroom Process for Identifying and
Helping Struggling Students
by Janine Plunkett

First Stage: How to
identify struggling students

Resources

Staying off track

Missing Homework

Trying hard with little success

Overall below average performance

click to edit

Anxiety and self-isolation

The Ability and Aptitude Gap - when smart kids don't achieve

Special Ed (n.d.) Suzie Dalien. 7 Steps of the IEP Process.https://specialedresource.com/7-steps-iep-process/

Reading Rockets (n.d.) Carol Ann Tomlinson. What is Differentiated Instruction?. https://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-differentiated-instruction

click to edit

Continental Press (17.02.2016) Helping Struggling Students. https://www.continentalpress.com/blog/help-struggling-students-classroom/


Possible learning and attention issues

  • Executive Skills (memory, organisation, planning)
  • Attention Disorder (inattention, impulsive, hyperactivity)
  • Dyscalculia (sense of numbers)
  • Dyslexia
  • Dysgraphia (writing, spelling and getting thoughts on paper
  • ESL (English as a second language
    learners)

Second Stage: Helping Struggling Students

Differentiate Process

Differentiate Products

Differentiate Content

Differentiate the Learning Environment

Possibilities to consider

Use reading materials for varying levels.
Put text materials on tape. Use spelling and vocabulary lists at the levels of the students. Present ideas in auditory and visual ways.
Use reading buddies. Meet with small groups to reteach ideas and skills or extend advanced students.

Use tiered activities, same understanding and skills, different levels of support, challenge, complexity.
Provide interest centres.
Develop personal agendas and goals. Offer manipulatives and other supports.
Vary the length of time for task completion.

My focus

Third Stage: The Referral Process

Give students options of how to express learning.
Use rubrics that match and extend varied skill.
Allow students to work alone or in groups on their product. Encourage creation of own assignment to show the required learning.

Assistive technologies

Create spaces for working alone and for working together.
Provide a variety of materials.
Set out clear guidelines for work.
Establish routines for how to get help when I am busy with other students.
Allow for different types of seating or standing.

Knowing the steps of the referral process for IEP.

  1. Pre-referral (the main goal here is to document and evaluate the success of the classroom accommodations and interventions)
  2. Referral
  3. Identification (specialist assessments and team meetings including parents to create an accurate report, if a disability is identified a baseline of performance is determined).
  4. Eligibility
  5. Development of the IEP
  6. Implementation (accommodations are given and services from specialist providers)
  7. Evaluation and reviews
  1. Headphones
  2. Text to speech and speech to text
  3. Picture communication cards
  4. PCs and Tablets
  5. Screen readers
  6. Reminder devices
  7. Timers
    (From Cohort 5 Padlet)
    https://padlet.com/raymondsmith2/m8vb3y49xsfh43tl

Repeat instructions using different words/language.
Constantly research new ideas and strategies to help struggling learners.
Use my music skills, especially singing to assist struggling students who would respond well to learning through music.

Know the IDEA 13 Categories of Disability
https://padlet.com/raymondsmith2/m8vb3y49xsfh43tl
https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.8/c