Don’t just stand at the front of the classroom and talk. Use demonstrations and pictures. Break the class into groups and work with each one individually. Incorporate role-playing and student responses in the form of gestures or oral responses. Include reading and alternatives to reading such as reading aloud to each other, building models or handling manipulatives. The more different ways you find to convey information to your students, the more of them will grasp it and remember the concepts.
Try to appeal to all the senses in the materials you offer your class. In addition to books, offer pictures, videos, audio tapes, 3D models and interactive software programs. Sometimes just lowering the reading level of a text or printing it on colored paper can make a difference. Give your students something to touch and handle and ways to assimilate the information through activity, such as tracing with their fingers or clapping a rhythm.
Gear the majority of your content at a medium level that will be accessible to as many of your students as possible. Vary specific assignments according to children. Some might need fewer vocabulary words or problems to do; some – those who are smarter and easily bored – may require more. Offer the option of drawing a diagram instead of writing an explanation, or making an oral book report instead of written one.
Many ways exist to assess a student’s knowledge and progress beyond the conventional written test. Standard variations include allowing more time or having someone write answers for them. You can also offer assessments that include collages, dramatizations, recitations, music, demonstrations and more. Allow your students to prove what they know in ways that they are comfortable with, which showcase their natural abilities and interests.