Modifications

Shortened Assignments

When students have learning difficulties, it often takes them more time to complete assignments. Shortened assignments that still provide necessary practice allows the student to complete work in a reasonable time period without undue pressure and frustration. Students with physical handicaps always require more time to complete assignments.

• Identify terminology, concepts, and skills that are most important and require that these items be completed first.
• Star the essential items, allowing bonus points for other items completed.
• Reduce the number of questions or problems to be done at one time. Shorter assignments made more frequently provide the same amount of practice.
• Allow the student to tape responses or give answers to a classmate who can write them for the student.
• Give slower readers modified or related stories that teach the same concepts.
• Cut a long worksheet into smaller segments and give the student one segment at a time. When one strip is completed, hand out the next. Follow this procedure until all segments are completed. When tasks are long or complex, many students have difficulty completing them.
• Provide a card file for the student that contains definitions of frequently used words.
• Providing worksheets with fill-in-the-blank tasks can shorten assignments as well as promote learning of new words.