A Little Guide for Teachers: Supporting Dyslexic Learners in the Classroom

Claire Harvey has worked at the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity since 2017. She is passionate about making a real difference to the lives of individuals with dyslexia. As Head of Education, she is responsible for the consistently high quality of educational content on dyslexia. The Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity has a reputation in the sector as the ‘gold standard’ provider of training on dyslexia. Amongst other training, Claire oversees training for educational professionals to become specialist teachers.Claire is involved with events and training opportunities, including national dyslexia conferences. Claire also delivers presentations to schools and parent organisations to share best practice, top tips, useful teaching strategies and resources. Claire has worked in a large primary school as SEN Team Leader responsible for assessing mainstream pupils, identifying those in need of additional support, allocating them to appropriate intervention groups, teaching the weakest learners herself, and closely monitoring all pupils’ progress.

This is a practical and accessible ‘go-to’ pocket guide for busy classroom teachers who want to better support dyslexic learners. Claire Harvey brings a wealth of experience in training dyslexia specialists, and this expertise is evident throughout the book - you genuinely feel in safe and knowledgeable hands. The author encourages thoughtful self-reflection, prompting readers to evaluate their current practice before introducing clear, realistic strategies. The tips are both practical and immediately implementable, making the book especially useful for teachers who want solutions they can apply straight away. I will be recommending this book to my Level 3 cohorts, and it will be added to their essential reading list for the course.

• IntroductionChapter 1: Introduction to dyslexia and supporting learnersChapter 2: A multisensory approach to teachingChapter 3: Appropriate language and resourcesChapter 4: Supporting reading and reading comprehensionChapter 5: Supporting spelling and writingChapter 6: Gaining automaticityChapter 7: Boosting self-esteem, confidence and metacognition