Energy is good. Talking is good. Moving is good. Yet, these very gifts that are exhibited by students with ADHD can be disruptive not only to their peers, but also to their own learning.
So… how can teachers effectively work with students with ADHD? How can teachers channel the energy of these students so that instead of hindering their learning and reading progress, they enhance their learning?
Here is Reading Horizons Teacher Trainer, Shantell Berrett, discussing how to channel the energy of ADHD students so they can develop effective reading skills:
As anyone who takes a psychology course or simply does some reading about ADHD learns: children with ADHD aren’t over active because they have an over active mind, they are over active because they have an under active mind. Because the brain of someone with ADHD fails to create its own stimulus, the individual must create his own stimulus through movement – the reason for his over activity.
To a student with ADHD, reading feels like a passive activity. You sit. You read. You think.
Not only is reading difficult for these students because it goes against their active nature, but as Shantell mentioned, it’s also difficult because students with ADHD often have an additional issue (such as dyslexia or auditory processing disorder) that is making reading difficult for them. Poor kids!
So… how can you help a student that would be bored with reading to begin with, but on top of that, often has an additional learning disability that is making the process difficult?
The best way to help these students learn to read and practice reading is to accept their nature. Realize that their focus is fragmented. Only have them practice reading for short periods of time.
It is also important to make their reading practice active. Engage as many senses as possible. Let them tap their foot or hand if that helps them. Have them practice new words at the whiteboard. Make games out of new words. Make reading practive active and fun.
And, above all else, if you want the attention of your easily distracted ADHD students: your instruction has to make sense. There is nothing that makes a student (even without ADHD or learning disabilities) tune out faster than instruction that doesn't make sense. Your reading instruction must be effective. It must be explicit and clear and organized in a way that makes sense.
Learn a new way of organizing your reading instruction! Reading Horizons Free 30-Day Online Workshop provides a complete overview of Reading Horizons interactive, stepwise method.>
(The workshop takes about 4-6 hours to complete and you can save your place at anytime!)