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Language Based Programming

What is a language-based learning disability?

Difficulties with understanding and use of language.

Oral language: speaking and listening
Written language: reading and writing

Students can have difficulties with one of these components 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. 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