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Students with dyslexia and dyscalculia face enormous obstacles in the regular classroom. While dyslexia refers to a learning issue associated with reading, dyscalculia is a learning issue in math and number sense. (for more information see- Difference Between Dyslexia and Dyscalculia ) Regardless of the classification, these students learn by using the multisensory approach. Dozens of educational apps and programs on the market are structured to enhance the learning for these students. However, many hands-on tools are easy to find, and research shows that this approach improves the learning of all students.

With that in mind, here is a Wish List of resources for teachers and homeschool parents. Activities are listed next to each item, but please share your ideas in the comment section below.

1. Magnetic Dry Erase Board and Dry Erase Markers

There are so many things to do with the magnetic dry erase board and colored dry erase markers. One example is writing whole numbers in blue and fractions in blue to make a visual differentiation between “whole numbers” and “fractions”.

2. Colored Dry Erase Sentence Strips

Sentence strips are even better when they are colored and made to use dry erase pens. Segmenting words into syllables on these strips provides a visual cue for students that struggle to decode words. Adding suffixes and changing word endings is much easier with erasable sentence strips. Cut them into parts to break down syllables when needed.

.    3.  Fraction, Decimal, Percentage Rainbow Magnetic Tiles

These are AMAZING! This kit includes colorful, magnetic, fractional pieces- but with more. This kit includes percentage tiles for the coordinating fraction, but there’s more… also included it the corresponding decimal for each fraction and percentage. A visual and tactile treasure! Activities include converting fractions to percentages and percentages to decimals.

 4.  Colored Overlays    

This size colored overlay is ideal for many reasons. Students can focus on a single line in a passage, use to guide their reading, and to focus on specific word parts or word lists. Identifying the color preference of a student can also be done with this set.

      5.  Interlocking Centimeter Cubes  

Interlocking cubes are a must-have when teaching Chris Woodin Math strategies (http://www.woodinmath.com/course-materials). The cubes provide a hands-on approach to regrouping in addition and subtracting and are used when teaching multiplication and division.

     6.  Playdoh 

Who doesn’t love Playdoh? The possibilities are endless with this inexpensive favorite of young and old. Use it to have students form letters or numbers with or without an outline. It is great for shaping land masses on maps or as an aid in the re-telling of a story.

      7,  Felt Upper Case and Lower Case Letters

Struggling readers need various opportunities to relate phonemic symbols to sounds. They may trace the felt letter with their fingers each time they hear the sound associated with that letter. Constant skill reinforcement in various modes is essential for continued success of the dyslexic student.

      8.  Dry Erase Cubes

These cubes are very helpful when working on blends. Students can use the cubes to determine how many sounds are used in the blend then in the word. Also, they are perfect to use with prefixes, suffixes, and welded or glued sounds. Switch to math and use to match several written words on each side with the appropriate number of objects or the correct number symbol.

        9,  Adhesive Magnetic Tape

Use this crafting tool to make pictures, letters, word parts, words, and math problems come alive. Simply cut and peel the paper so the adhesive side sticks to the object(s). It then works as a magnet on the dry erase magnetic board to display story elements, sequence a story, categorize syllables or vowel sounds, link number symbols and number words, and developing balanced equations.

 10.  Laminator

Easy to use, this item helps preserve items that are handled over and over. Laminate games, fractional pieces, and academic vocabulary terms to reduce wear and tear of your essential treasures. This laminator is small enough to store easily so it is always nearby just in case you need it.

Please comment below with additional activities and ideas to effectively use these objects or if you have questions. Happy Hunting!