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Language Based Programming

What is a language-based learning disability?

Difficulties with understanding and use of language including writing, listening, speaking, and reading.

Students can have difficulties with one or multiple components, and the severity can vary.

As a complex learning school, Learning Prep provides small groups, social-emotional support, and a slower pace of instruction. But this is not enough for our students to learn. We provide individualized, language-based teaching across all contexts to students with a language-based learning disability. This includes individualizing, to target the specific areas of need (listening, speaking, reading, writing), even within the same class. 

While language-based programming is utilized throughout all classes, Speech & Language provides an important supplemental support for our students to target the student's needs around those 4 areas of language. 

Here is what language-based programming looks like at LPS:

A classroom of students writing their class assignments with assistance of a teacher.

How we support students for Writing:

In Speech & Language, we work on:

  • Compound and complex sentences
  • Identifying type of writing prompt and breaking it down
  • Practice brainstorming
  • Vocabulary
  • Grammar and syntax

Classroom strategies used:

  • Directly break apart a writing prompt
  • Pre-writing (Thinking Maps)
  • Link different text structures to different transition words
  • Consistent editing checklists and expectations
  • Let students write uninterrupted. No editing or feedback until their thoughts are out on paper
A student listening to a teacher's instruction in a classroom at Learning Prep School.

How we support students for Listening:

In Speech & Language, we work on:

  • Comprehending oral information of increasing length and complexity
  • Types of questions
  • Visualization

Classroom strategies used:

  • Repeat in different words
  • Focus on preferential seating
  • Listen without burden of simultaneous note-taking
  • Visualization
  • Increased wait time 
  • Decrease length and complexity of spoken words and instructions
A teacher giving instruction to students on speaking techniques.

How we support students for Speaking:

In Speech & Language, we work on:

  • Sequencing of narratives
  • Word-retrieval and vocabulary
  • Main idea and salient details
  • WH questions

Classroom strategies used:

  • Give advance notice of the question
  • Provide sentence starters for discussions
  • Increased wait time
  • Vocabulary development/word-finding support
  • Cues for word retrieval 
A teacher listening to a student read in a classroom at LPS.

How we support students for Reading:

In Speech & Language, we work on:

  • Context clues
  • Evidence
  • Identifying main idea
  • Concrete and inferential questions
  • Vocabulary

Classroom strategies used:

  • Separate decoding from comprehension - focus on one at a time.
  • Pre-reading strategies
  • Note-taking (2 Column Notes)
  • Visualization