How to Adapt Your Teaching Strategies to Student Needs Article Review

The article How to Adapt Your Teaching Strategies to Student Needs by Kathleen
Bulloch is sectioned into six different paragraphs. The first paragraph is If the student has
difficulty learning by listening, then try This section speaks about the before lesson and
during lesson approaches that a teacher can use is a student is having difficulty learning by
listening. Some before the lesson ideas include: pre-teach difficult vocabulary and concepts, state
the objective, providing a reason for listening, and providing a script of film. Some during the
lesson ideas consist of: giving explanations in small, distinct steps, providing written as well as
oral directions, and shortening the listening time that is required.
The second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth sections are structured very similarly to how the
first section was structures. The writer first lists the difficulty and then supplies the readers with
examples of how the difficulty can be handled. The second section is titled If the student has
difficulty expressing himself verbally, then try This section is outstanding as well because it
lists ideas that a teacher could use if the student is having a difficult time expressing himself or
herself. Some of the list includes: written report, artistic creation, exhibit or showcase, chart,
graph, table, map, photo essay, review of films, and the list goes on.
The third section is named If the student has difficulty reading written material, then
try Like the last two sections, the third section lists some ideas that include, find a text
written at lower level, provide highlighted material, rewrite the student's text, tape the student's
text, allow a peer or parent to read text aloud to student, shorten the amount of required reading,
look for same content in another medium such as a movie, filmstrip, or tape and many more.
The fourth paragraph is titled If the student has difficulty writing legibly, then try
Just some of the ideas include the following: use a format requiring little writing, multiple-choice

questions, programmed material, true/false questions, matching, use manipulatives such as letters
from a Scrabble game or writing letters on small ceramic tiles, reduce or omit assignments
requiring copying, encourage shared note-taking, allow the use of a tape recorder, a typewriter,
or a computer, and teach writing directly.
The second to the last paragraph is titled If the student has difficulty expressing himself
in writing, then try Ideas from the author include: accepting alternate forms of reports, oral
reports, tape-recorded report, tape of an interview, collage, cartoon, or other art, maps, diorama,
3-D materials, showcase exhibits, photographic essay, panel discussion, mock debate, review of
films and presentation of an appropriate one to the class, and have the student dictate work to
someone else such as an older student, aide, or friend and then copy it himself.
The final paragraph and the sixth scenario is titled If the student has difficulty spelling,
then try The list includes dictate the work and then asking the student to repeat it such as
saying it in sequence may eliminate errors of omitted syllables, avoid traditional spelling lists
such as determine lists from social needs and school area needs, use mnemonic devices, have
students make flashcards and highlight the difficult spots on the word, give a recognition level
spelling test, and teach words by spelling patterns.
This article meshes with what we are learning in class because we are currently learning
about how to reach all student needs in a reading classroom. Any teacher with a reading class
could tell you that not all his or her students will be on the same exact reading level and learn in
the same exact way. With that being said, it is important for reading teachers and teachers in
general to understand how to adapt their teaching strategies to their students needs. Along with
adapting teaching strategies, we are also learning how to create our own lesson plans. Along with
creating our own lesson plans, we have to adapt the lesson plans so that we are teaching all of

our students and not just the on level students. I personally enjoy switching up lesson plans to
meet the needs of all of the students.
The two sections where I felt applied to me included the If the student has difficulty
reading written material, then try and If the student has difficulty spelling, then try I felt
like these two particular section applied to me the most because I want to have my own
classroom in the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, grade level. With that being said, students at the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
grade levels do in fact struggle with the material that they read and their spelling. It was hard to
narrow the entire article down to my favorite two sections but I tried to pick the area where the
information would apply to my future classroom. Overall, I enjoyed reading through the article
and I believe that I learning more about adapting my teaching strategies to meet my students
needs.