Curriculum considerations for specific learning difficulty
Creative arts
Students who experience reading difficulties may need support with reading sheet music.
Larger sheet music with stems that have consistent directions (for example, all facing up, or all facing down) may be easier for students to read.
Some students may find rhythm challenging. Providing extra time to practise rhythm-based activities, and music activities that emphasise word patterns or rhyming, can help some students in both music and their reading.
English
Students who experience difficulties with reading or writing may need extra support with this subject. A range of very relevant strategies are covered in the previous evidence-based strategies.
Consider whether some tasks can be tailored so there is less written content for some literacy skills. For example, if assessing whether students understood a book read to the class, a student could draw images to identify key plot twists instead of writing them down.
Languages
Students who experience difficulties with reading or writing may find learning new phonetics challenging. If the new language uses a non-phonetic alphabet (for example, Chinese characters) they may need extra support.
Students who experience reading or writing difficulties may need written tasks to be tailored for their current reading level. Consider tailoring your approach to include teaching methods that don’t involve reading.
Audio textbooks allow students to focus on learning the information they need to know.
Science and technology
Students who experience difficulties with reading or writing may need written tasks to be tailored for their current reading level. Consider tailoring your approach to include teaching methods that don’t involve reading.
Audio textbooks allow students to focus on learning the information they need to know.
Personal development, health and physical education
Some students who experience difficulties with reading, writing or mathematics may find coordination difficult.
For any tasks involving written work, see the previous page on evidence-based strategies.
Human society and environment
Students who experience difficulties with reading or writing may find learning new phonetics challenging. If the new language uses a non-phonetic alphabet (for example, Chinese characters) they may need extra support.
Students who experience reading or writing difficulties may need written tasks to be tailored for their current reading level.
Consider tailoring your approach to include teaching methods that don’t involve reading.
Audio textbooks allow students to focus on learning the information they need to know.
Mathematics
Students who experience difficulties with mathematics will need support with this subject. A range of very relevant strategies are covered in the previous evidence-based strategies.
Students who experience difficulties with reading may need support with remembering number facts or ‘how many’ a particular number is.
Students who experience difficulties with reading or writing may need written mathematics tasks to be tailored for their current reading level.
Consider tailoring your approach to include teaching methods that don’t involve reading.
Audio textbooks allow students to focus on learning the information they need to know.
Starting with concrete materials before moving to abstract concepts may be helpful.