Supporting Students with Dyslexia in the Classroom

English Literature is a subject that is assumed to be particularly challenging for students with dyslexia. I can see why it might have that reputation, but so many of the students I have supported or worked with in the past find that their final grade in English Literature is better than their grade in English Language. The problem is that we spend so much time thinking about what people with dyslexia can’t do, that we overlook what they can do. To find a dyslexic’s strengths, you need to understand and support the challenges they face.

GCSE English Literature is about understanding and analysing someone else’s story which should be something dyslexics excel at as they are strong narrative thinkers. Once dyslexics get their head around something, they can often see things from a different angle, notice things that others perhaps have not and are very good at bringing out counter arguments and perspectives. However, whilst many people with dyslexia are verbally able, the minute it comes to writing down and having to formulate sentences, the working memory is overloaded, and they struggle to do this.

By the time it comes to revision, dyslexics often struggle to locate or make sense of their notes. Many end up hating English Literature or entirely missing the point and underperforming on something that with the right support and approach they could be good at. The best way for a person with dyslexia to revise is to use as many strategies and techniques as possible. Schoolbooks, mind maps, flash cards, YouTube tutorials, TikTok videos, and revision guides are great options but remember that some of these lend themselves better to certain subjects. As a rule, it is best to encourage your students to revise little and often, have a plan and a schedule in place and not leave revision to the last minute. It is also about finding the right resources and the perfect revision tool for English Literature is, of course, the English texts themselves. That is why the Scholastic Annotation Edition GCSE English Set Texts are ideal. They are one of the most dyslexia friendly resources I have come across, allowing students to build their revision bank easily as they read.

Accessing and reading the information itself is difficult. People with dyslexia often need to read things several times to make sense of it and even begin to comprehend it, whilst a slower reading and processing speed means reading isn’t pleasurable. Along with trying to keep up with class expectations, reading can feel overwhelming and sometimes even impossible, with some students even giving up completely. The working memory is easily overloaded, meaning a dyslexic uses all their capacity to read the text itself, and has no room left to be able to find the themes, unpick the subtext or analyse the language. Considering the above, it’s no wonder that when faced with a text such as Macbeth, students with dyslexia immediately feel overwhelmed and confounded by the unfamiliar language, and sense that they can’t do it or are not good at it.

These set texts are great because they offer a breakdown of the plot along with overviews and pictures of each character. This means that before students even begin to read the text, they’ve got an idea of who’s going to show up and their role, so they don’t need to work things out whilst they’re reading the story. This is also great to go back to for quick reference. In the Shakespeare texts there are also explanations of the Shakespearean language, which teaches dyslexic learners what things mean prior to reading the text. This enables them to know exactly what they are looking for when reading, and they are much more likely to learn it and make the connections as they go.

At the front of each annotation edition set text, there is an introduction page with suggestions on how students can use the texts, such as ideas on how to annotate them and images of how to highlight areas that they don’t understand. Many learners with dyslexia have visual strengths and are creative thinkers, so they work best when they can visually see what they are required to do. One suggestion encourages students to use symbols for key characters, themes, and quotations which is ideal for a dyslexic learner. They can interpret this in a way that is meaningful to them using colour or symbols. This will assist them in finding what they need quickly and knowing which areas they need to go back and revisit when it comes to revision time, but also making meaningful connections.

The text itself has an ideal layout for a learner with dyslexia. Even on pages with whole poetic Shakespearian verses, students won’t feel overwhelmed because there are spaces in between each line, so it feels easier on the eye to read. Many dyslexics also experience ADHD, and the weaker working memory can exacerbate organisational challenges, but the extra wide margins that allow for note taking solves this problem. It means that notes can go directly next to the text rather than on a separate piece of paper, so everything is in one place, making it much easier when it comes to revising.

These annotation editions truly solve so many problems for both dyslexic learners and teachers supporting dyslexic learners. I just wish these books had been around when I was studying because I know as a learner with dyslexia (who was undiagnosed at the time!) they would have made such a difference to my confidence levels around accessing and making sense of literary texts, how to revise and even given me more of a love for literature.

Jo Rees is a specialist Dyslexia teacher assessor, content creator and founder of Dyslexic Life with Jo Rees.
TikTok:@dyslexiclifewithJorees
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GCSE English Set Texts

The Scholastic Annotation Edition GCSE English Set Texts come with extra wide margins and double-spaced lines, making them the ideal for your annotations.

Each edition includes:

• Large spaces between lines and large outer margins, perfect for highlighting and note-taking.
• Pages for note-taking in every book.
• A large, easy to read font and left-aligned text for children who struggle to access the printed word.
• Top tips on effective annotation from English teacher and revision guide author, Cindy Torn.

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