Resources

These resources were created and/or collected by Outreach staff to assist you in better understanding how to teach students with LBLD.

  • Brain decline and dementia or aging as memory loss concept for brain cancer decay or an Alzheimer's disease with the medical icon of a old rusting mechanical gears and cog wheels of metal in the shape of a human head with rust.

    Working Memory Overview

    Updated September 18, 2023 There are three types of memory. Working memory can be defined as “a limited capacity system allowing for the temporary storage and manipulation of information necessary for such complex cognitive tasks as comprehension, learning and reasoning” (Baddeley, 2000, p. 418). Put more simply, working memory refers to the ability to hold

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  • Social-Emotional Learning Activities

    May 1, 2020 No matter where instruction takes place, incorporating social-emotional learning activities is important. Research conducted by both the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) outline that understanding and honoring student emotions are essential to not only creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment, but are

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  • Receptive and Expressive Language and Specific Learning Disabilities

    Children are not explicitly taught to listen or speak because these skills develop naturally as we are exposed to language. However, students with a specific learning disability (SLD) such as dyslexia often experience difficulty with these critical language skills that are essential to classroom success.    The skills of listening and speaking in the classroom falls

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  • Student practices vocabulary words in structured exercises with support from teacher

    Vocabulary Instruction

    February 28, 2019 Why is Vocabulary Instruction Important? Researchers know that vocabulary knowledge is strongly linked to academic success. Understanding vocabulary is the cornerstone of accessing background knowledge, communicating effectively, and understanding and learning new ideas. Students with strong word knowledge and vocabularies are able to understand new concepts and ideas more quickly than students

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  • Two students in a classroom with a girl raising her hand

    Working Memory: Classroom Strategies

    What is working memory? Working memory requires the brain to learn and manipulate new information in such a way that it can be translated into long-term memory and referenced again. It is essentially the work station of the brain: learning and filtering new information, working with that information, and then storing it for future use.

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  • Magnified Anxiety word illustration on white background.

    Working Memory and Anxiety

    What is anxiety?  Anxiety is a sense of fear and worry, and it is not uncommon among students with language-based learning disabilities. According to understood.org, this anxiety stems from a fear of not being able to keep up with peers, as well as feeling different and worrying about the future. These issues can oftentimes interfere with

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  • Students practice responsible decision making by choosing what they want to eat at school

    Responsible Decision Making (Social Emotional Learning)

    April 24, 2018 What is Responsible Decision Making? Responsible decision making is defined by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) as “the ability to make constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms.” Essentially, all aspects of a potential decision and its consequences

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  • Students draw different color stick figures on a canvas banner for social awareness and unity

    Social Awareness (Social Emotional Learning)

    March 22, 2018 What is Social Awareness? Social awareness is defined by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) as, “the ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. [It is] the ability to understand social and ethical norms for behavior and to recognize

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  • A young man thinking at a desk in a library

    Phonology

    Phonology is the study of the sound systems of a language. Children with a phonological impairment, or a lack of phonological awareness, appear to have disorder in the organization of the sound system. Although their hearing is normal, they do not accurately perceive speech. Among other factors, it could be that an average speaking rate

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  • A young child types on a laptop at a blue desk

    Written Expression and Technology

    March 14, 2017 Written Expression Overview Students with language-based learning disabilities (LBLD) can experience a multitude of receptive and/or expressive language difficulties. Receptive language skills are associated with listening and reading because the brain is receiving and processing language. On the other hand, expressive language skills are related to writing and speaking, as these tasks

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  • A picture of a brain with rays of light coming out

    Cognitive Load Theory

    What is Cognitive Load Theory?  CognitiveLoadTheory (CLT) supports the idea that students can learn only if their mental capacity is not overloaded. In relation to this theory, it is important to be aware of the amount of information a student is asked to learn. When an overload occurs, there is often an increase in errors, poor

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  • A picture of a young male smiling

    Executive Function: Addressing Emotion through Communication

    Students’ emotional responses to challenging situations can influence their concentration, perseverance, application of learned skills, and interactions with others. Abraham Maslow’s expanded hierarchy of needs explains how physical and emotional safety must be satisfied in order to allow people to address cognitive and higher levels of human needs. In order to better create space for

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  • Help your Students Incorporate Descriptive Language in their Writing

    Have your students ever had difficulty coming up with descriptive words when writing? To make words more accessible, try the ‘personal adjective bank’ below. This template provides boxes for students to “bank” the various categories of adjectives they encounter during class when reading about or discussing a topic in preparation for writing. With a sample adjective in

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  • a watch on a table

    Processing Speed: Classroom Strategies

    Processing speed is simply the speed at which someone does something. For our students, it involves the ability to perceive information (auditory or visual), understand that information, and then formulate a response, whether oral, written, or physical. For students with slow processing speed, this process can be cumbersome, as it takes larger amounts of time

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  • A picture of different colored key with words written on them

    Lesson Planning Strategies

    On Overview of Resources Many of our resources have focused on working memory and processing speed under the umbrella of Executive Function. Within those two topics, the role of anxiety and the fundamentals of Cognitive Load Theory have also been introduced. • Executive Function: Dr. Thomas E. Brown’s article explores the 6 clusters of executive function

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  • A unhappy students sitting among books

    Understanding Processing Speed

    What is processing speed? Processing Speed refers to the pace at which you are able to perceive information (visual or auditory), make sense of that information, and then respond. In a manner of speaking, processing speed is simply the amount of time it takes to get something done. According to the coauthors of Bright Kids Who

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