Teach a Teenager with a Learning Disability How to Write a Paragraph

Teach a Teenager with a Learning Disability How to Write a Paragraph

Teach a Teenager with a Learning Disability How to Write a Paragraph : Multi-thousand tips to make your life easier.

Creating a well-written, cohesive paragraph is difficult enough. It can be even more difficult for a teenager with learning disabilities. If you have been assigned to teach a teenager with a learning disability how to write a paragraph, remember that you need to use special strategies and techniques to make the task enjoyable for both you and your student. Be ready with fun, mentally stimulating activities to prepare your student for the actual writing task. The key is to reach out to your student so you can help unleash his inner potential.

• Establish rapport. Remember: to effectively teach a person with a learning disability, it is important that he identifies you as someone he can explicitly trust. Teach within an atmosphere of positivity, security, and acceptance. Look for teaching strategies that are most effective for him. For example, find out whether he is more comfortable learning through direct-instruction methods or is very hands-on in his learning.
• Start with a topic that he is interested in. Find out your student's specific interests. Does he like animals? Does he seem to light up at the mention of rock and roll? The point here is to find a topic he can say a lot about. Initiate a conversation with him about this topic, and listen patiently to what he has to say. After your conversation, praise him for all the interesting insights he contributed. Then, prompt him so that the two of you can write down the ideas he just shared in paragraph form.
• Give him instructions on how paragraphs are commonly structured. Most of the time, students with learning disabilities learn best when they know the parameters they need to work with and when they also know the step-by-step instructions for how to do something. If this sounds a little inhibiting to you, do not worry. You can use this technique merely as a springboard, and once he becomes comfortable writing his own paragraphs, he can begin to be more creative in the way he does it.
• Know what to teach your student. One simple yet effective formula for writing paragraphs is to start with a sentence that contains the main idea. In other words, what point does your student want to make? Then, he can write two sentences that support this main idea. Finally, he can write an ending sentence that wraps up his paragraph.
• Organize sentences. Show examples of sentences, and let him organize them into a cohesive paragraph. Before he begins writing, you can show him separate papers, each containing a sentence. Together, identify which sentence should be placed at the beginning of the paragraph, which should be in the middle, and which should be at the end.
• Show him a picture of the topic. A student with learning disabilities is usually visually oriented. Show him a picture of something he could write about. Encourage him to think of a good sentence about the picture.
• Say you show him a picture of a cat. His opening sentence could be, “Cats are very nice pets to have.” Then, encourage him to give two reasons why cats are nice pets. These reasons could include the following: they are furry, and it is relaxing to touch them; they look funny whenever they yawn. Then, brainstorm with him so you can come up with a closing sentence to wrap up the paragraph.

Teaching a teenager with a learning disability how to write a paragraph is all about starting simple. After he has grown comfortable writing simple paragraphs, you can guide him toward constructing more complex ones.