Small classroom changes can remove significant barriers.
Explore practical teaching strategies, classroom resources and appropriate accommodations that can help dyslexic learners access the curriculum, build confidence and demonstrate what they know.
Small changes can remove big barriers.
Every learner is an individual. These strategies can make instructions, reading, writing and classroom participation more accessible. Use them flexibly and respond to each learner’s particular needs.
Give Clear, Explicit Instructions
Present instructions in short, manageable steps and give them both verbally and in writing where possible.
- Use clear and direct language.
- Highlight the most important information.
- Check understanding before work begins.
- Ask the learner to repeat instructions in their own words.
Teach in a Structured Sequence
New learning should build carefully on knowledge that has already been taught and understood.
- Teach skills explicitly and systematically.
- Move from simple concepts to more complex ones.
- Review and repeat learning regularly.
- Provide cumulative opportunities to practise.
Use Multisensory Learning
Involve more than one sensory pathway when introducing and practising new literacy skills.
Learners might say a sound, see the letter, trace it, write it and use it in meaningful language.
Reduce Unnecessary Copying
Copying large amounts from a board can consume the time and energy a learner needs for understanding the lesson.
- Provide printed or digital notes.
- Use writing frames and templates.
- Share important vocabulary in advance.
- Provide worked examples where appropriate.
Allow Processing Time
A dyslexic learner may understand the work but require additional time to process language and organise a response.
- Pause after asking a question.
- Avoid pressuring the learner to answer immediately.
- Allow appropriate additional time for tasks.
- Break longer activities into manageable stages.
Support Reading
Make written material easier to approach without lowering the learner’s access to age-appropriate ideas.
- Pre-teach unfamiliar vocabulary.
- Break longer texts into smaller sections.
- Use headings and preview activities.
- Offer audio or text-to-speech where appropriate.
- Avoid unexpected reading aloud.
Support Spelling and Writing
Teach spelling patterns explicitly and provide practical ways for learners to organise and express their ideas.
- Provide topic-specific word banks.
- Use planning frames and writing prompts.
- Allow appropriate assistive technology.
- Where suitable, assess knowledge separately from spelling.
Support Memory and Confidence
Predictable routines and positive feedback can reduce pressure and help learners participate more confidently.
- Use the sequence: Tell, Show, Do.
- Provide checklists, prompts and written procedures.
- Praise effort, progress and persistence.
- Recognise verbal, creative and practical strengths.
Dyslexia does not look the same in every learner.
Observe the individual, communicate with the family and relevant professionals, and adjust classroom support as the learner’s needs develop.
Helpful resources. Practical support.
The right resources can reduce unnecessary barriers while keeping learners engaged with age-appropriate content. Select tools according to the learner’s individual strengths, difficulties and support needs.
Reading Resources
Make text easier to approach without reducing the quality or age level of the information being taught.
- Decodable and appropriately levelled reading material
- Audiobooks and accessible digital texts
- Text-to-speech tools where appropriate
- Pre-taught vocabulary and word lists
- Text divided into shorter, clearly headed sections
Writing and Spelling Resources
Help learners plan, organise and record their ideas while spelling and writing skills continue to develop.
- Topic-specific vocabulary and word banks
- Writing frames and planning templates
- Sentence starters and worked examples
- Spelling-pattern reference cards
- Speech-to-text and appropriate spelling support
Memory and Organisation
Make routines and task requirements visible so learners do not have to hold every step in working memory.
- Visual schedules and classroom routines
- Step-by-step task checklists
- Colour-coded folders or subject materials
- Written reminders and lesson summaries
- Examples of completed work
Mathematics Support
Present mathematical language, procedures and sequences in a clear and consistent way.
- Concrete materials and visual representations
- Worked examples for reference
- Clearly displayed symbols and vocabulary
- Step-by-step procedure cards
- Graph paper to support alignment where helpful
Assistive Technology
Technology can provide access and independence when it complements appropriate literacy teaching.
- Text-to-speech and speech-to-text
- Audiobooks and digital reading material
- Spellcheckers and word-prediction tools
- Digital calendars and organisational tools
Keep the tools that work within easy reach.
Our next section will turn these ideas into a practical classroom checklist that teachers can complete, print or save as a PDF.
Is your classroom dyslexia-friendly?
Use this practical checklist to identify the support already available in your classroom and the small changes that could make learning more accessible.
Dyslexia-Friendly Classroom Checklist
Tick the strategies currently used in your classroom. This checklist is a practical reflection tool and should be adapted to each learner’s individual needs.
Red Apple Dyslexia Association of South Africa
Teaching and Instruction
Reading
Writing and Spelling
Organisation and Memory
Assessment and Access
Emotional Support
Accommodations help learners show what they know.
Appropriate accommodations reduce barriers created by reading, writing, processing or working-memory difficulties. They do not change the intended learning outcome or reduce academic expectations.
Everyday Classroom Support
Clear instructions, structured teaching, visual prompts, additional processing time and reduced copying can support learning in the classroom as soon as a need is observed. Support should not unnecessarily wait for a diagnosis.
Formal Accommodations
Accommodations used in formal assessments or examinations may require professional evidence, an application and approval by the relevant education authority. They should be individualised, documented and consistently applied.
Additional Time
Additional time may reduce the impact of slower reading, writing or processing speed and allow the learner to complete a task more accurately.
Formal approval may be requiredReader or Scribe
Where formally approved, a reader or scribe may help separate a learner’s subject knowledge from barriers caused by reading or recording written responses.
Must follow approved conditionsSpelling Accommodation
Where spelling is not the skill being assessed, an approved spelling accommodation can help the learner’s knowledge remain visible despite spelling difficulty.
Depends on the assessment purposeA Quieter Venue
A separate or smaller venue may reduce distraction and help some learners sustain attention, process instructions and work more independently.
Based on individual needAssistive Technology
Approved tools such as text-to-speech, speech-to-text or word-processing support may improve access and reduce unnecessary barriers.
Technology must suit the learnerAlternative Response Formats
Where appropriate and permitted, a learner may be allowed to demonstrate knowledge through an alternative approved response format.
The learning outcome remains unchangedAccommodations are not an unfair advantage.
They are intended to provide equitable access. Decisions should be based on the learner’s documented needs and made in collaboration with the family, school and appropriately qualified professionals. Requirements may differ between schools, education authorities and assessment bodies.
Build knowledge. Transform support.
SGDA teacher training provides educators with a practical understanding of dyslexia, literacy development and inclusive classroom support. The course connects evidence-informed knowledge with strategies teachers can use in everyday practice.
- The science of reading and dyslexia
- Teaching children to read
- Dyslexia-friendly classrooms
- Lesson planning and structured teaching
- VAKT and multisensory methods
- Study skills and accommodations
- Assistive technology
- Dyscalculia and dysgraphia
Course content, duration, availability, registration requirements and SACE-point allocation may change. Confirm the latest information directly with SGDA before enrolling.
Small changes can remove significant barriers.
Teach explicitly, provide structure, use appropriate accommodations and recognise every learner’s strengths. A teacher who understands dyslexia can help a learner protect their confidence while developing the skills they need.
RADA is an advocacy and support organisation and is not a diagnostic or clinical practice. Where assessment, diagnosis or individual intervention is required, families should be referred to an appropriately qualified professional working within their registered scope of practice.