Last Updated on July 4, 2024 by Editorial Team
Writing is a crucial part of an individual’s life! From writing tests to doing homework to signing papers in adulthood, penmanship is crucial in various instances.
But is learning this trait, which might seem like a cakewalk, the same for every student?
Researches point out how children with dyslexia often struggle with writing. This is mainly due to substandard traits like transcription skills, working memory, and executive function. Therefore additional practice through apps, colour coding, and various activities might be advantageous for them.
To make your task easier, we listed out crafted activities for better writing for learning disabled individuals
Why do people with dyslexia need writing activities?
Individuals with learning difficulties may need to make additional efforts to make their writing skills better especially on the grounds of language comprehension and presentation too.
Writing activities can help them make words, their association with objects, letters, and other relevant factors. Rody Politt highlighted the importance of writing for dyslexics in his book, “Day to Day Dyslexia in the Classroom”
Children with dyslexia face a hard time remembering the orientation of letters. Doing various writing activities has multiple advantages,
- Writing activities help them to identify the proper alphabet and numbers.
- These activities hold a pivotal role in understanding the proper orientation of letters.
- They may assist in associating words with objects.
- It helps them to write straight and avoid bumping lines.
- It helps to teach them the proper use of punctuation.
- It improves phonological reception.
Writing activities – Assisting pupils with language skills!
Comprehending the edges and the need for activities, we have carefully crafted out some pitching activity ideas you may employ for learners with learning disabilities to write better.
1. The Graph Activity
Things You need to perform this activity are a few pencils & graph Sheets. This activity helps students who face a hard time writing the alphabet in a straight order.
- To start, Take the first sheet of graph paper and tell them to write a letter on the entire sheet with a pencil. For example, let us assume “P”. On the next page, draw a line with a pencil that divides the graph sheet into two now, and tell them to write the letter in two spaces.
- Now On the next page, divide the page into four equal squares and ask them to write the same letter into those spaces.
- Then, on the next page, make smaller boxes and ask them to write.
- Repeat this process until the child can write the letter in the 2×2 and 1x1size boxes. Practice this activity with more letters on graph paper.
It will help the child remember the letter and how to write them in smaller spaces. This activity will eventually make the writings more straight and in line.
2. Write and Draw
Associating a picture to a word can make retaining these easier for special children. This activity ensures to make such links to ensure an effective practice session. The teacher needs to arrange a few markers with different colors and a whiteboard.
- To start with, the teacher writes a word on the board and draws a picture related to it with different colors. For instance, if the word is Guitar, the teacher can draw the image of a guitar beside it. Once the learner makes connections between these, the mentor erases them. A similar process is followed for four other objects.
- Now, the teacher draws 5 things that were previously taught.
- The student is called upon and is asked to write words looking at each image.
- The teacher evaluates these spellings and can give feedback to improve.
3. Writing on a Vertical Board
Special individuals face problems writing in a straight line. For performing this activity you just need a whiteboard and two different coloured markers.
- Divide the board into three equal parts with the help of a marker.
- Ask them to write a few sentences in all three sections.
- Now draw lines on a vertical board like a ruled sheet.
- Again place some blank space followed by the ruled section.
- Ask them to write referring to the line and repeat the same text in plane space.
- Repeat this activity with the group of students.
This writing activity is often simple and effective. As the learner learns to take the assistance of the straight line, they gradually learn to compose text organized without a reference line later. This way, the formatting skills of students on white paper improve while the writing skills are addressed.
4. Coloured Letters
You will require some markers and a few white sheets. This activity targets better phonetic reception.
- Tell them to write down words with separate syllables on different sheets, and you may help them.
- Now jumble the sheets and ask them to find them based on the spelling you speak.
- Tell them to recite the proper word followed by writing the complete word on their sheet.
This activity will help them to get a proper phonetic reception and write accordingly.
5. Word Association with Puzzle
Learning disabled may feel it arduous to perceive the sequence of letters in a word. For this activity, you need various sheets of the “Find the Word ” puzzle, pens, and a notebook. The word puzzle can be in form of a simple paragraph or a crossword arrangement of different words.
- In a group of two or three students, give one puzzle sheet to each student and ask them to find various words and write them down in a notebook.
- After 15 minutes, check each puzzle sheet, and find out the words deciphered.
- Ask each of the students to form a few sentences on the words they found on the puzzle sheet.
- Help them while forming sentences. This will enhance their reasoning and writing skills in one activity.
For instance, if the word is satellite, they can write sentences like “The USA is going to launch a new satellite this week.” To make this more complicated for adults, they may choose the latest news and write it.
6. Read and write
Special learning individuals can make words by associating them with some other cue- be it visual or audio. The teacher arranges multiple pens of different colors and a piece of paper.
- To start with, the mentor narrates a short story. They may take assistance like slides for visual help.
- Later, the learners are asked to write the story in their own lines.
- Now, their writing is made easy by letting them speak the same while putting it down on paper. Further, multiple color pens may be used to demonstrate multiple emotions.
Through this activity, students can make better use of audio and visual cues to increase the speed and accuracy of their writing.
7. Handy Pen Trio
Take a few ruled sheets and three different coloured pens before performing this writing activity. Now, mention a verse on board or on a piece of paper.
- Ask the student to write the first line in a different color pen, give a space of one line and write the next line with another color.
- Then, start the second line with another color pen.
- Again for the third line, use a different one.
- Finally, ask them to write the entire page in the same order while switching colors.
This writing activity helps the child from bumping from one line to another. This activity stipulates learners write across a linear line and not deviate in another direction. Also, writing into each second line creates an appearance that they have written a lot more than they have.
Are writing activities ample to enhance writing?
Be it activities or any other learning strategy, when they are implemented properly may be assisting in better penmanship. With multiple options already available in the above lines, these may be good take-ins. Nonetheless, having additional sources can be a bonus. Here are some other strategies the pupil may check out along with activities:
- Worksheets: Having a set of printable worksheets can let the pupil practice writing in leisure time as well. These are free to download and can be procured easily. For little learners, these worksheets can be a good strategy to practise penmanship.
- Books: To ensure a complete package of training, certain books dedicated to writing are available in the market. Serving multiple users like schoolers and also adults, these can assist overall learning of writing tips and hacks.
- Digital resources: Apart from paper-based options, individuals can also choose among options like apps, games, and websites. The handwriting apps make it easy to access on phone and practice straight away. Handwriting websites often create a digital alternative to paper-based practice to make penmanship smoother.
- Manipulatives: Pupils especially those with learning disabilities may often like creative ways of learning. For writing, manipulatives may be chosen. These often increase grip on letters and alphabets, thereby improving writing skills drastically.
Printable Writing Workbook For Dyslexia
In addition to the writing activities for dyslexia, we’ve got you a printable writing workbook to provide a tangible, fun tool to help kids with writing challenges. This workbook includes over 140 worksheets, each designed to guide children through the writing process step-by-step. With clear instructions and structured practice, it supports kids in developing their writing skills in a way that’s easy to follow and understand.
The workbook is especially helpful for children with dyslexia, as it allows them to learn at their own pace. By offering plenty of practice opportunities, it helps build confidence and improve writing abilities. Each worksheet is crafted to make writing exercises engaging and accessible, making it a valuable resource for parents and educators working to support children with dyslexia.
Conclusion
For individuals with dyslexia, writing activities help by letting them indulge physically to do something along with paper-based practice. Also, These activities provide visual prompts and help the writer focus on the writing task. With multiple scenarios being created, pupils can have diverse options to check and practice writing. The choices given above are implementable for students of all ages with minor changes. Check out these and see which can be a better fit for your classroom.
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,