Students leave clues to their learning styles!

Students leave clues to their learning styles –and deficits– in their word reading, spelling, writing, behavior–everything. Here are some things to look for!

SPELLING CLUES TO:

Auditory Deficits (Teach More Visually)

1. Substitutes t for d, f for v, sh for ch
2. Leaves vowels out of 2 syllable words (ktchp)
3. Gets beginnings and ends correct, misses middles
4. Confuses vowels, substitutes vowels
5. Omits 2^nd letter of blends (bed for bled)
6. Uses synonyms instead of dictated word
7. Omits word endings (ed, s, ing)
8. Takes wild guesses

Visual Deficits (Teach More Auditorially)

1. Omits middles of words (hapy for happy)
2. Correct letters, wrong sequence (hte for the)
3. Reversals (2 for s, b for d, hrut for hurt)
4. Inverts n, m, r, b, p etc.
5. Mixes uppercase with lowercase (once learned)

 WORD READING CLUES TO:

          Auditory Deficits (Teach More Visually)

1. Can’t rapidly give letter sounds (once learned)
2. Can’t rapidly name colors
3. Takes wild guess at words
4. Substitutes for meaning (“house” for home)
5. Substitutes one sound for another (esp. vowels)
6. Can’t readily blend sounds together
7. Can’t segment word, tell # of sounds in “met”

Visual Deficits  (Use More Auditory Approaches)

1. Unable to read words quickly if timed (1 sec. ea.)
2. Discerns the beginning but “loses” the middle
3. Reversals (“was” for saw)
4. inversions (“me” for we)
5. Unable to discern fine differences (“ship” for snip)
6. Additions (“dogs” for dog)
7. Excessive sounding of sight words (“sah-id” for said

 ORAL READING CLUES TO:

          Auditory Deficits (Use More Visual or Motor Approaches)

1. Mispronunciations (“pisghetti”, “liberry”, “chimley”)
2. Wild guesses
3. When stuck, unable to sound it out
4. Poor in blending the sounds together
5. Substitutes synonyms (“mommy” for mother)
6. Substitutes “a” for the (on a consistent basis)

 Visual Deficits (Use More Auditory or Oral Approaches)

1. Word by Word Reading, Poor Phrasing
2. Unable to keep place, skipping lines/ parts of lines
3. Insertions that don’t change the meaning (adding “the”)
4. Repetitions in attempt to get meaning
5. Reads through punctuation, often distorting the meaning
6. Reversals of letters, words, numbers
7. Inversions of letters (u for n,  b for p)
8. Sounds initial sound correctly, misses the rest of the word (“surprise” for something)

 BEHAVIORAL CLUES TO:

          Auditory Deficits

1. Turns one ear toward the speaker
2. Fails to answer his name from behind
3. Voice excessively loud, soft or monotone
4. Excessively asks for words/directions repeated
5. Difficulty repeating a clapped sequence
6. Difficulty following more than 1 step directions
7. Unable to pay attention with background noise
8. Unable to tell when sounds are alike or different
9. Unable to add or subtract sounds from words (“Say mat, but don’t say /m/”)(“Say mat, but don’t say /m/, say /f/”)

  Visual Deficits  (Use More Auditory Approaches)

1. Squinting, redness, watering of eyes, excessive blinking
2. Crossing of eyes (look from behind book)
3. Eyes too close to paper, leaning to one side while writing
4. Difficulty completing work on “busy-looking” worksheet
5. Difficulty copying from board (far-pt.) or paper (near-pt.)
6. Unable to reproduce bead pattern, sequence of letters, #’s
7. Unable to copy 3 acts in sequence (toe-knee-nose)
8. Successive reproductions of original letter get worse
9. Poor visual planning (margins, edges, layout not L to R, Top to Bottom)
10. Frequent erasures