Asher J. Goodenough

Teaching History to SEN Students Friday 11th May 2007

2 Overview

• First activity – roleplaying students

• Explaining what ‘SEN’ is

• Two case studies: Strategies I have found useful

and strategies in literature

• Agree or disagree

• General points

• Conclusions

3 Roleplaying Exercise

You have all got a particular SEN. Read it, then

imagine it is the beginning of our lesson.

4 Questions

1. In what year was the Battle of Hastings?

2. Who was William fighting?

3. Give two examples of William’s skill and two of

Harold’s bad luck.

4. Was it William’s skill or Harold’s bad luck that won

the Battle of Hastings? Explain your answer

5 What went wrong?

This could have been prevented if:

•Planned activities properly

•Planned for potential difficulties

•Knowing different SEN

•Knowing your pupils

•Liaison between me (NQT) and other

professionals

6 The Four Areas of SEN

Cognition and Learning Needs

Behavioural, Emotional and Social Development Needs

Communication and Interaction Needs

Sensory and/or Physical Needs

• Specific learning difficulties (SpLD)

• Dyslexia• Moderate

learning difficulties (MLD)

• Severe learningdifficulties (SLD)

• Profound andmultiple learningdifficulties (PMLD)

• Behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

• Attention DeficitHyperactivityDisorder (ADHD)

• Speech, language and communication needs

• Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• Asperger’s Syndrome

• Hearing impairment (HI)

• Visual impairment (VI)

• Multi-sensory impairment (MSI)

• Physical difficulties(PD)

• OTHER

7 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• “Overactive behaviour and impulsivity and difficulty in paying

attention.”

• Pupil ‘A’ in year 7 at Wyedean: doesn’t listen to instructions,

can’t complete longer tasks, talks constantly, interrupts, cries if

he doesn’t get his way.

• Struggled with watching video on Hastings

• Disrupted others when working quietly on sources

• Cried when he couldn’t tell the class about going to see Bristol

City.

8 Solutions I Had

• Give him attention at the beginning and end of the

lesson

• Plenty of opportunities to talk e.g. ‘What does the

class have to do?”

• Told him individually when to begin tasks

• Developed positive image in class through helping

out e.g. teacher exposition, typing on board

• BUT still talked constantly to others

9 Recommendations from Literature

Harris and Luff (2004):

•Simple instructions

•Short tasks or longer tasks broken down

•Advanced warning of change

•Specific praise

•Lesson objectives and individual objectives

•Pace

10 Moderate Learning Difficulties

• “Pupils who find it extremely difficult to achieve

expected levels of attainment across the

curriculum”

• Pupil “J” at Wyedean, who has global learning

difficulties, cannot transfer skills and understanding

easily; tries hard but is immature and lacks

organisation and communication skills

11 Solutions I Had

• Writing frame for assessment on the First World War

with key terms and first letters included

• A simple words and pictures factsheet summarising

what we had learnt

• Lots of encouragement

• Liaison with Learning Support, his LSW and his

mother

• Results: level 3 response to assessment, genuine

interest in history, increased confidence

12 Recommendations from Literature

Harris and Luff (2004):

•Checking pupil data and other opinions

•Routines and varied tasks

•Writing frames and shortened text

•Modelling answers

•Check they know what to do

•Instant rewards

13 YOUR TURN… agree or disagree

• I want to be able to cater for pupils with SEN but I

don’t have the expertise required

• I have enough to do without worrying about kids who

can’t read and write

• Special needs kids are ok in mainstream schools but

only to a point

• It’s the SENCO’s responsibility

• Teachers can’t pick and choose the pupils they want

to teach

14 General Suggestions for Good Practice

Alison Stephen

(2006):

• Common starting

points: pictures

for all e.g. A

Court for King

Cholera

• Useful for all

pupils especially

G&T, SEN, EAL

15 General Suggestions for Good Practice

QCA (2001, 2004):

• Some aspects of the curriculum might be too

demanding e.g. evaluating interpretations

• Develop and deepen understanding of sequences and

change

• Sights, sounds, smells of history

• Use children in history for empathy and understanding.

• Personal history from Key Stage 2

16 Learning Support at Wyedean, History and me

• Every child passes through Learning Support (not

SEN) every year

• Subject specialists liaise regularly

• Working with SEN pupils inside and outside the

classroom

• Support and differentiation

• Time-consuming tasks e.g. rewriting text done for you

• Opportunities to try out small group teaching

17 Conclusions

Time

management

Long-term

Planning

Short-term reaction

planning

Speaking

and

listening

Monitoring

and

assessment

18 Bibliography

• DfES (2002) Key Stage 3 National Strategy: Literacy in History London, DfES

• Harris, R. and Luff, I. (2004) Meeting SEN in the Curriculum: History London, David Fulton

• Hunt, M (2007) A Practical Guide to Teaching History in the Secondary School London, Routledge

• Phillips, R. (2002) Reflective Teaching of History 11-18 London, Continuum

• QCA (2000) History: A Scheme of Work for Key Stage 3 London, QCA

• QCA (2001, 2004) Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning

difficulties London, QCA

• www.mldalliance.com/executive.htm accessed 10 May 2007