# @edutopia on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CVvJi7_sdb_
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/20303621-edutopia-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/28136cbde3.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-11-01T14:32:30.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Edutopia (@edutopia) — https://gondola.cc/edutopia

## Caption

Students with dysgraphia—a language-based learning difference that affects a student’s ability to produce written language—are often labeled “sloppy” or “lazy,” writes former teacher Jessica Hamman. They have trouble maintaining consistent letter formation, spacing, and punctuation in the early years, and with legible writing in later grades, but they may understand course content just fine.⁣
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While occupational therapy can help them improve fine motor skills and language processing, “teachers in the general ed classroom have an important role to play in supporting these students as well,” writes Hamman.⁣
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Here are six ways to support these students:⁣
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1. Teach Cursive: With fewer starting points than disconnected print letters, cursive writing can lead to “improved writing speed, more consistent letter sizing, and neater overall appearance of writing,” Hamman writes.⁣
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2. Teach Typing: Once students are familiar with keyboards, typing can ease some of the difficulty associated with writing. Consider starting as early as kindergarten to allow for ample typing practice, suggests Hamman.⁣
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3. Use Speech-to-Text Tools: Assistive technology like Google’s voice typing, Dragon Dictation, or Apple’s Speak Screen function can support students’ writing in all grades.⁣
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4. Use Graph Paper for Math: The grids on graph paper help students with dysgraphia keep numbers in the correct columns, which can “reduce unintended errors” in math tests and complex tasks.⁣
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5. Provide Note-Taking Accommodations: Allow students with dysgraphia to take pictures of whiteboard notes instead of writing them out by hand, says Hamman.Students can use a free optical character reader (OCR) like Prizmo Go or Google Keep to “automatically read text from the photos to review those notes,” Hamman writes.⁣
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6. Be Considerate About Showing Written Work: Written assignments may take longer for students with dysgraphia. Hamman recommends letting these students present typed work or waiting until everyone finishes before displaying student work to ease the discomfort of seeing everyone else’s finished work while theirs is still in progress.⁣

#Dysgraphia  #Literacy #TeacherStrategy

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## Tags

dysgraphia, literacy, teacherstrategy

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