This is a very good question. Preparing adolescents with LD to respond to the complex curriculum demands that they encounter in secondary schools requires that they have an array of strategies that they can call upon to meet these demands. Our research has shown that it is most effective to teach students a limited set of highly effective strategies (e.g., summarizing, questioning, imaging, etc.). Each of these strategies should be taught to mastery and students should be taught to generalize the strategy to a host of situations. After students have learned individuals strategies to mastery, they should be deliberately taught how to integrate the individual strategies and how to call upon various strategies (or combinations of strategies) to respond to a curriculum demand.

The executive functions of planning and goal setting, organizing, prioritizing, memorizing, shifting flexibly, and self-monitoring/checking can best be taught and reinforced in the process of students learning strategies for specific academic domains. Two sources that you might find helpful would be the following:

• Ellis, E. S., Deshler, D. D., Lenz, B. K., Schumaker, J. B., & Clark, F. L. (1991). An instructional model for teaching learning strategies. Focus on Exceptional Children, 24(1), 1-14. [Reprinted in: E. L. Meyen, G. A. Vergason, & R. J. Whelan (Eds.) Educating Students with Mild Disabilities, Denver, CO: Love Publishing Co. (pp. 151-187).]
  
• Meltzer, L, (2007). Executive function in education: From theory to practice. New York: Guildford.

Dear Pat ,

During the past several years, a host of excellent books, reports, and chapters have been written on various approaches for teaching reading to struggling adolescent learners. Among the ones that I think you would find most helpful are the following:

• McCardle, P., Chhabra, V., & Kapinus, B. (2008). Reading research in action: A teacher's guide for student success. Baltimore: Brookes.
• Deshler, D. D., Palincsar, A. S., Biancarosa, G., & Nair, M. (2007). Informed choices for struggling adolescent readers: A research-based guide to instructional programs and practices. Newark, DL: International Reading Association.
• Jetton, T. L., & Dole, J. A. (2004). Adolescent literacy research and practice. New York: Guilford.

I would also recommend that you visit the following literacy web site -- there are a host of excellent reports on reading strategies at no charge.

Technology offers a number of great supports for adolescents. For example, screen and web readers are able to convert text to speech so that students are able to hear words read aloud. Some of these tools are now incorporated into computer operating systems, with others available at a low cost. With increasing amounts of information being available in a digital format and with more students reading online, the power of text readers and other online reading supports will continue to grow. At the same time we will need explore more thoroughly how students read digital text and how this might differ from traditional print-based text.

There are more assistive technology options than can be described here, but LD Online has a great list of frequently asked questions about assistive technology and a list of commonly used assistive technology tools. This would be a great place to start!

Dear Maria,

Most of us want "quick fixes" to problems that we encounter in life! Adolescents with LD are no different! You are right on target that getting students to "buy in" to learning strategies can be a real challenge during the instructional process. Among the factors that our research has shown to aid the "buy in" process for students are the following:

1. Provide students with rationales too show them how they can benefit if they master a given strategy. This would include specific examples of where the strategy can be used and the advantages of using it compared to old study/learning habits (how it will save time and lead to more success);
2. Show students the kinds of results that they can expect by using the strategy (keeping track of the performance of other students you have taught the strategy to can be useful info to share with students as concrete evidence that learning the strategy can pay dividends).

In short, your students are very much like critical consumers shopping for a new car. Before making the purchase, consumers often ask hard questions about the costs and benefits of the new car, including the price, finance charges, warranty, etc. If the benefits outweigh the costs, consumers are willing to give up some resources for the new car. Similarly, when adolescents with LD are offered a solution to their learning problems, they become critical consumers in deciding whether to give up some of their resources (in this case time and effort) to acquire a new strategy. To help them make a favorable decision, it is important to show them some of the associated costs (e.g.,the time it will take them to reach mastery) and the benefits they can expect (e.g., how much their scores or grades will go up). Once students have indicated an initial buy in, it is important to help them set specific goals to move them toward mastery of the strategy.

While there is no one best strategy for writing essays, there are several factors that should be kept in mind in designing an effective writing program and in creating the kinds of conditions that will optimize good outcomes on written products. I would recommend the following sources -- I'm confident that you will find each of these to be very helpful:

• Shanahan, T. (2004). Overcoming the dominance of communication: Writing to think and to learn. In T. L Jetton & J. A. Dole (Eds.) Adolescent literacy research and practice. New York: Guilford.
• Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (2005). Writing better: Effective strategies for teaching students with learning difficulties. Baltimore: Brookes. Graham, S. & Perin, D. (2007).
• Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools. New York: Carnegie Corporation

This is an excellent question! There some great work being done around identifying and building on student strengths and student well-being. In fact, the Clifton Strengths Institute is currently developing online courses for teachers to help them build their own strengths and the strengths of students. These courses will be coming online in the next year or two. You can follow their progress at the Clifton Strengths Institute website.

Dear Kristi,
One of the most important things that we can do to help students as they transition into high school is to give them some tools to help them organizationally.  We can think about organizational skills on two levels:
(1)During the overall day (or segment of time), and (2) within an assignment.

Level I:  All students benefit from structure and predictability.  This is especially the case for many students with LD.  Having a specific routine for your son to follow in the morning (i.e., getting out of bed at the same time, assembling the necessary materials and checking to make certain everything is in place, etc. etc.), after school, after dinner, etc. Related to this, it is important to designate a specific study time each day (e.g., 7:30 -- 9:00 p.m.) and give your son a way to structure his time and environment. For example, gather all needed materials and take them to your study area. The study area should be well lit, have a good writing surface, and be free from distractions. Also, it is important to tell others in the family about the designated study time and the importance of honoring this time by keeping the noise down in the house. (NOTE: In Level II below I'll comment on some routines to follow while doing an assignment)  It's also important to teach your son how to keep his school materials (e.g., notebooks, back pack, etc.) in order so that things are organized and easy to locate.

Level II:  There are some things that you can teach your son to do when he begins working on an assignment that may be helpful.  For example, you might encourage him to set some specific goals regarding the assignment (i.e., what to complete, by when, quality level, etc.).To help him do this you can encourage him to think of previous assignments like this that he has done --- what would he like to do improve his other performances (What would he like to do differently or better?). Second, it can be helpful to teach your son a specific routine to always follow when doing an assignment (e.g., preview the entire assignment, carefully read the instructions and underline key words, answer the questions that you can and mark ones that you don't know so you can return to them later on, check your work for completeness and accuracy, put your name on the paper, put in your notebook, and put the notebook in your back pack, etc.)

In short, organizational skills improve when we carefully create the conditions within which the work should be done and we give students a predictable routine to follow.

Dear Allison,

You raise an exceedingly important issue — that of expectations. For students who struggle in learning, both parents and teachers can set expectations much lower than they should be. Often times, expectations are lowered in an attempt to shield a student/child from failure (especially if he/she has had a history of failure). We should always strive to set high expectations for students — however, high expectations in the absence of creating the right kinds of conditions for success can lead to frustration (by both students and adults). Among the things important to consider to support high expectations being met are the following:

1. Teaching students a set of high leverage learning strategies that they can confidently rely on to help them meet challenging curriculum demands;
2. Teaching students how to break tasks into component parts and then to set and work toward specific goals in accomplishing tasks;
3. Express confidence in the child's student's ability to meet rigorous demands and assure the child/student that you will be available to assist/support if necessary; and
4. Carefully scaffold tasks to ensure successful steps along the path in meeting task demands.

Dear Jayne,

You are doing the right thing to address this issue while your son is in middle school -- the demands for memory and good test-taking skills will continue to escalate as your son moves through middle school and into high school. A fair amount of research has been done on different memory strategies and test-taking strategies. In essence, this research indicates that student performance can increase significantly when students use these strategies on a consistent basis. One of the most important benefits of arming your son with a set of memory and test-taking strategies is that his confidence will increase because he will feel that there are specific things that he can do to take control of the situation that he is facing (e.g., having to take a test over a large amount of material).

A basic formula for increasing results on tests is the following: REGULAR USE OF EFFECTIVE STUDY STRATEGIES + USE OF EFFECTIVE TEST TAKING STRATEGIES + EFFORT (HARD WORK) = IMPROVED RESULTS.

A source I believe you would find very helpful is the following (it covers some informal assessment strategies to help you determine areas of particular difficulty for your son as well as an array of specific strategies for memory and test taking):

• Hughes, C. A. (1996). Memory and test-taking strategies. In D. D. Deshler, E. S. Ellis, & B. K. Lenz (Eds). Teaching adolescents with learning disabilities: Strategies and Methods. Denver: Love Publishing

One of the most over looked and often ignored groups of students are those who are both gifted and have LD. One of the approaches that our research center (the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning) has studied for nearly 20 years and have found to be very effective in meeting the needs of both high achieving and students with LD is call "content enhancement." Content enhancement is an approach to instruction that is designed to maintain the integrity of the content while at the same time making the kinds of accommodations and adjustments in the content to make it more understandable and memorable. Research studies have shown that the consistent use of content enhancement routines in subject matter classes can lead to significant academic gains for all students.

You can get additional information on these instructional practices at the University of Kansas' Center for Research on Learning website, or in the following resources:

• Deshler, D. D., & Bulgren, J. A. (1997). Redefining instructional directions for gifted students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 8(3), (121-132).
• Lenz, B. K., & Deshler, D. D. (2004). Teaching content to all: Evidence-based inclusive practices in middle and secondary schools. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Your question is one of the most frequently raised by both parents and teachers who work with adolescents with LD. There are a host of reasons that students may appear to be unmotivated. Among them are:

1. The tasks that they are given or the materials that are used are not interesting (many lower reading leveled materials do not match the interests of students);
2. Students have not been taught an array of powerful strategies that they can use to learn challenging academic content -- as a result, they encounter failure in many of their attempts to tackle the material and get discouraged and lose their desire to be engaged in the task;
3. They have not been taught how to set and work toward the accomplishment of specific goals in completing academic tasks -- hence, the task appears overwhelming to them and they give up because they don't want to experience failure one more time.

To improve motivation, it is important to have an understanding of the tasks that a student is facing and things inherent within the task that may not be motivating to the student OR what skills/strategies might the student lack that leads them to disengage from the task. Improving the motivation of students may involve these factors:

1. Ensuring that the task is challenging but not overwhelming;
2. Ensuring that the content of the material being used is of interest to the student;
3. Ensuring that the student possesses sufficient learning strategies to enable him/her to independently tackle the task at hand (in other words, they are confident in their ability to take on challenging assignments);
4. Teach students how to break tasks up into smaller parts and set specific goals to address each component part of the over all task;
5. Create opportunities for students to engage in learning with others -- often the social interaction process during learning can facilitate engagement.

Here are some sources that address this important topic that you might find helpful:

• Reed, J. H., Schallert, D. L. Beth, A. D. & Woodruff, A. L. (2004). Motivated reader, motivated writer: The role of motivation in the literate acts of adolescents. In T. L Jetton & J. A. Dole (Eds.) Adolescent literacy research and practice. New York: Guilford.
• Swan, E. A. (2004). Motivating adolescent readers through concept-oriented reading instruction. In T. L Jetton & J. A. Dole (Eds.) Adolescent literacy research and practice. New York: Guilford

Early in the history of the field of LD much work was done in the area of modality preferences. That is, assessments and intervention programs were conceptualized and organized around modality areas (e.g., auditory, visual, etc.) More recently, considerable attention has been given to particular "learning styles" of students with the aim being to match instruction to a student's particular learning style. As appealing as this model may appear on the surface, there is a lack of research evidence to verify this as a viable instructional model. While learners may have preferences for how they learn new information, most tasks require learners to use several senses (and research and current theory suggests that they do -- for example, Richard Mayer's Theory of Multi-Media Learning).

A helpful review on this topic can be found in: Ellis, A. K. (2001) Elements of styles: learning, thinking, teaching. In A. K. Ellis (Ed). Research on educational innovations. New York: Eye on Education.

Here are some helpful resources that you might want to consider: •

• Kilpatrick, J., Swafford, J., & Bradford, F. (2001). Adding it up: Helping children learn mathematics. Washington DC: National Academy Press •
• Allsopp, D.H., Kyger, M.M., & Lovin, L. (2007). Teaching Mathematics Meaningfully: Solutions for Struggling Learners. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing, Co.
• Designing and Implementing Mathematics Instruction for Students with Diverse Learning Needs by Pamela P Hudson and Susan Peterson Miller.
• Teaching Mathematics to Middle School Students with Learning Difficulties by Marjorie Montague, Asha K. Jitendra

This is one of the greatest challenges that teachers face in preparing students to be strategic learners. The problem is compounded as students move into secondary schools because of the heavy emphasis on subject matter acquisition. There is a certain amount of strategy instruction that subject matter teachers can provide within the context of their content classes (e.g., a science class). Specifically, they can embed learning strategies that are helpful for students to use in navigating texts and other information in the course.

The most effective way for teachers to teach these strategies is to embed them within content instruction that they are providing by modeling for students how they (the teacher) would use the strategy. This modeling involves "thinking aloud" so the student can see how a scientist actually works his/her way through science materials. After multiple models, learning can be facilitated by engaging students in the process of applying the strategy with support from the teacher (some scaffolded supports). Eventually, teachers expect students to use the strategy independently. When strategies are embedded in content classes and taught to the entire group using these procedures some struggling students benefit from this instruction. However, for some students, this type of instruction is not sufficient. It lacks the explicitness and does not provide sufficient opportunities for the student to practice and get feedback on his/her use of the strategy. Generally, this requires a smaller teacher: student ratio (e.g., 1 to 12). In other words, a greater level of intensity of instruction is required in order for students to reach mastery. Expecting this to happen solely within the general education classroom is unrealistic for all students. The challenge, however, if students are taught strategies in a smaller class (e.g., a supplemental reading class or resource room) is that care must be taken to deliberately teach students to generalize the learned strategy to his/her subject matter classes. Two sources that address this issue in greater detail are the following:

• Ellis, E. S., Deshler, D. D., Lenz, B. K., Schumaker, J. B., & Clark, F. L. (1991). An instructional model for teaching learning strategies. Focus on Exceptional Children, 24(1), 1-14. [Reprinted in: E. L. Meyen, G. A. Vergason, & R. J. Whelan (Eds.) Educating Students with Mild Disabilities, Denver, CO: Love Publishing Co. (pp. 151-187).]
• Lenz, B. K., Ehren, B. J., Deshler, D. D. (2005). The content literacy continuum: A school reform framework for improving adolescent literacy for all students. Teaching Exceptional Children. 37(6), 60-63.

You properly characterized the great challenge facing teachers (and students) in finding sufficient time to pull students out of subject matter classes for remediation or intensive, explicit instruction on necessary skills and strategies. Unfortunately, the reality is, there are students within every middle and high school who need this kind of instruction. There are schools who have been successful in putting this kind of instruction in place. Some of the things that seem to be common characteristics across these settings are the following:

1. There is a clear recognition on the part of all staff that pull out intensive, highly targeted instruction is needed for some students;
2. To address this need, there is a commitment to coordination and collaboration among staff (when students are getting intensive strategy/skill instruction subject matter teachers make arrangements to get the content to them that they may have missed during the skill/strategy instruction; strategy teachers deliberately work to ensure that the strategies they teach students are transfered to subject matter classes, etc.).
3. There is a recognition that the needs of students can best be met through a tiered set of instructional offerings that are well integrated across teachers. An example of this kind of coordinated programming is detailed in the following article.

• Lenz, B. K., Ehren, B. J., Deshler, D. D. (2005). The content literacy continuum: A school reform framework for improving adolescent literacy for all students. Teaching Exceptional Children. 37(6), 60-63.