Recommendations to support pupils with weak auditory and/or visual memory

• multi sensory presentation of information

• the pupils will learn best in small steps with frequent review of the key points

• encourage small group reinforcement of key points

• reduce the amount of copying of information from the blackboard

• low key adult support as necessary

• encourage the pupil to use his homework diary and general work book as a planner

• provide routine support for key sequences e.g. months of year, days of week, tables by recording these for reference in the pupil's general work book

• write the key steps for the lesson on the board

• present the structure of the lesson at the beginning

• when the working memory is limited give aural information in short chunks

• encourage the pupil to develop a picture dictionary each lesson to support understanding and memory of subject specific vocabulary

• encourage the pupil/class to build up a concept map of a topic over a period of weeks to enable connections to be drawn

• look for times when a pupil is off task or distracted since this may be a signal that he has not heard or recalled instructions given earlier

• repeat verbal instructions slowly and ask the pupil to repeat them to a peer

• be aware that a pupil with memory difficulties can easily become frustrated

• for pupils with visual memory problems give the pupil small amounts of visual information at a time by covering part of a page with paper

• highlight or underline vital information and instructions