Study Skills for Students with SLCN

A Group Programme Supporting Young Students Through Revision and Exams

Bhaveshi Kumar

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781138387317
• eBook ISBN: 9780429760686
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This highly practical resource has been designed to support professionals working with students who have SLCN (Speech, Language and Communication Needs) following a mainstream educational curriculum. Structured as a flexible 10-session programme, it takes a holistic approach to learning, encouraging students to take an active role in their studies by identifying individual learning strengths and building a "toolbox" of successful strategies for revision.

With photocopiable pages and downloadable resources, the advice and skills explored in this programme can be adapted to suit students with a range of abilities and incorporated into a timetable that can be used flexibly, over as many weeks as necessary, with very little planning required.

Sessions focus on:

• Learning about revision and study methods, using a combination of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic techniques
• Creating a study skills folder and revision timetable
• Teaching command words (words used in exam questions) and exam preparation
• Building healthy study habits and managing anxiety
• Being proud of achievements and developing self esteem
• Setting goals and becoming independent

Created to support a range of students, including those with a known diagnosis of autism, developmental language disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, this is an invaluable resource for all professionals looking to support young adults in the build up to exams.

Session 1

Focus: Define Revision and Study Skills

The purpose of this session is to define the terms “revision” and “study skills”. Revision refers to the strategies we employ when going over learning material so that it can be understood, retained and recalled at a future time; specifically, for the purpose of passing a test or exam. Study skills are the context within which we might revise, thinking more about how we study effectively, e.g. effective time management, creating the right working environment, ensuring the right materials are to hand, and maintaining health and personal wellbeing to maximise our chances of learning.

The focus of the first session is on introducing the concept of revision and study skills to gain a baseline assessment of the student’s ideas on what revision and study means to them, who their key support person might be at school or at home and what career hopes they might have for the future at this point.

Activity 1 Student Baseline Assessment

A student baseline assessment is introduced to students. Each question should be read out clearly with students writing their responses. Students who struggle with reading and writing will need additional assistance with this. Once everyone has completed the baseline, the facilitator can ask the students to share their answers in the group.

Activity 2 Why Study?

Students are given a list of statements that they need to put into order of importance, the most important being at the top. The purpose of this exercise is for them to start thinking about what motivates them to study and do well at school. Some of these students may never have revised so it is important to explain clearly what revision is, and why students might revise, e.g. so that we remember our learning, we understand and remember tricky words, we follow our lessons better or we do better in exams.

Once each student has completed the activity the facilitator can take a picture of their statements and print them, serving as a point of reference in the following sessions. The picture of their statements could equally be put up on a wall that has been dedicated to the theme of study skills, e.g. in the common room or main classroom where they are likely to spend the most time. The statements are given to them as a reminder in Session 2 where they can add these to the new study skills folders that they create.

Activity 3 Revision Brainstorm

The facilitator writes REVISION on the middle of a whiteboard or on to an A2 or A3 sheet of paper to create a mind map. Students are asked to call out or write one revision method they are aware of and the facilitator adds this to the map. Here, the facilitator may want to pick some key methods from the revision methods examples in the resource to initiate further responses. The facilitator’s role is to encourage the students to think about things they might have done before to help them remember their learning.

By the end of this session, enough information will have been gathered to initiate student discussion on aspects that are already working or not working for them and ones that might be unique to some students, e.g. Jamie likes to watch YouTube videos to help him remember facts about a subject, or Maya looks up words using Google but reading some of the words can be tricky. The group can then be prompted to think about whether these are the best strategies for them or whether there are others that they could use which are more useful or appealing.

Session Plan 1	Warm-up Game p. 107 / Resources 1 pp. 52–54

Area of focus: Define Revision and Study Skills
Warm-up Game	Game: Spin the Bottle
Activity	Task	Materials/Resources needed
1	Student Baseline Assessment The baseline is handed out. The facilitator should read the questions out first, then give each student the questionnaire to fill in. The facilitator should assist those students who need support with reading or writing their answers. The answers can then be shared in the group.	Student Baseline Assessment. Pens.
2	Why Study? A set of statements are given out and each student puts their statements into order of preference with the most important at the top.	Copies of Why Study? statem...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Epigraph
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• My Background
• Acknowledgements
• Study Skills for Students with SLCN
• Definition of SLCN
• The Context
• Why Teach Revision and Study Skills?
• SLCN – A Unique Set of Skills
• Who Will Benefit?
• The 10-Session Programme
• Overview of Sessions
• Starting Point
• Notes
• Session 1 Focus: Define Revision and Study Skills
• Session 2 Focus: Visual (Looking), Auditory (Listening), Kinaesthetic (Doing)
• Session 3 Focus: Visual (Looking)
• Session 4 Focus: Auditory (Listening)
• Session 5 Focus: Kinaesthetic (Doing)
• Session 6 Focus:Time and Time Concepts
• Session 7 Focus: Exam Words (Command Words) – Complex Vocabulary
• Session 8 Focus: Beat Exam Stress
• Session 9 Focus: Be Healthy
• Session 10 Focus: Evaluation and Moving Forward
• Session Plan Resources
• Appendices
• Bibliography