Foundation - Executive Function and Memory

• Develop the pupil’s visual sequential memory through routines with alphabet arc and letter strings on a small card (starting with 2 letters and progressing to 5):
  • Show the pupil a card with letters from the alphabet - a, d, f, r
  • Remove them and ask the pupil to recall the letters
  • Strategies which help, hold a picture in his / her mind’s eye, imagine the letters on a wall or coat hooks, remember them in 2 groups - a, d and f, r

Video: Visual Sequential Memory (2:20 mins)

• The letters can be taken from the alphabet arc to consolidate knowledge of the alphabet:

Alphabet Arc Activities

The pupil may struggle to remember letter / sound correspondence

He / she may struggle to recall what a letter looks like

• Introduce the new sound / letter using guided discovery, either an auditory or visual approach. Guide the pupil to discover the new sound:

Video: Guided Discovery (auditory) (3:10 mins)

• Explore the new sound and discuss articulatory factors using a small mirror
  • Ask the pupil - “How are you making that sound - is it blocked or opened?”
  • If blocked - “How are you blocking it -with your mouth, tongue, teeth or lips?”
  • What part of your tongue is blocking it - front, side or back?”
  • Is it a vowel sound or a consonant sound?”
  • “Is it voiced or unvoiced?”

• Follow up auditory discovery by introducing the grapheme using either a visual or a tactile approach as this consolidates the learning and builds up automaticity. The teaching of the new letter sound is multisensory: 

  Video: Introducing the grapheme (1:59mins)

  • The pupil’s working memory is supported as he / she learns a new grapheme through a multisensory approach

• Follow a daily sound card routine for overlearning:

  • Letter sound, for example /a/
  • Letter name “a”
  • Representative picture - “apple” or pupil’s own picture:

  Video: Introduce the flashcard and flashcard routine (1:03 mins)

• Demonstrate how the letter is formed using the handwriting routine:
  • Pupil traces over the teacher’s model
  • Pupil copies the letter
  • Pupil writes the letter from memory

Finally, the pupil writes the letter with eyes closed 

• During each step, the learner should articulate the sound and say the letter names:

Video: Handwriting Routine (2:27 mins)

• Teach Stimulus Response Routine to consolidate and build automaticity with new sounds. This repetitive approach develops automaticity in learning: 

Video: Stimulus Response Routine (1:51 mins)

Stimulus Response Routine Instructions

• Pupil moves around the other three points in a clockwise direction: says ‘a’ (letter name), writes ‘a’ and then says the clue-word ‘apple’
  • The teacher then starts from step 2 by saying the letter name and the pupil responds by going ‘clockwise’ around the other 3 steps
  • The routine is repeated until all four starting points have been used by the teacher. Once familiarity with the steps has been established, it should become a quick routine to develop automaticity (less than 1 minute)
  • Forming the letter using the cursive script can help with directionality and formation of each letter- introduce the lead in and lead out stroke
• Use multisensory approaches when introducing a new sound and engage all the senses - visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. This will consolidate learning for the pupil and develop automaticity

• Recap on prior learning before introducing new learning 
• Through discussion link to the pupil’s autobiographical memory
• Ensure overlearning to develop automatic recall of information from long-term memory 
• Provide working memory activities to teach strategies that may help, for example, ask the pupil to select 3 letters from the alphabet arc - c, d, e and ask for them in reverse order:
  • Say the letters out loud (verbalise)
  • Say the letters over and over
  • Flip the letters - e, d, c

Video: Working Memory (2:33 mins)

The pupil struggles with verbal short-term memory when sounding across a word and then blending the sounds to read a word. Often the first sounds are forgotten by the time the pupil gets to the end of that word

Auditory Memory Difficulties can result in difficulty storing and processing information and completing a task as often the pupil has forgotten what was said, for example, remembering the sequence of letters in chunks of the alphabet

• Provide opportunities for the pupil to practise auditory sequential memory routines with letters using alphabet arc:

Video: Auditory Sequential Memory (3:01mins)

• Model strategies which may help:
  • Say the letters over and over
  • Write them in the air with his / her finger
  • Say them in a rhythm, over and over again, for example, stress the first letter in the sequence, (A, d, f, m) or saying them in groups (a, d …. f, m)
• Ensure alphabetic knowledge is secure and if not use the Alphabet arc - as a resource to develop strategies to support pupil’s working memory:
  • Sing the alphabet, as melody can support the pupil to remember
  • Chunking the alphabet using the 4 quartiles - (A-D, E-L, M-R, S-Z) - the mnemonic “All Elephants Make Squirts” 

• Reduce the demands made on working memory using the following strategies:
  • Teach word families to familiarise the pupil with similar patterns which can be reinforced in memory
  • Teach onset and rime where only the first sound needs to be changed, for example, cat, mat, sat (rime); flat, flip, flog (onset)
  • Chunk information for the pupil, for example, teach word patterns and use analogy and rhyme to build words
  • Teach retention of strings of letters in memory using chunking and repetition:

Video: Working Memory (2:33 mins)

• Model examples of rhyme through Guided Reading - emphasise the words that rhyme  
• Provide visuals of the rhyming words
• Use animated videos, songs, or melodies to consolidate learning, for example ‘Days of the Week ‘or ‘Alphabet’ song

• Use a reading ruler
• Finger point at tricky parts or to ensure engagement with the text and maintain attention

• Develop basic sight word vocabulary by introducing key words, for example, ‘is’, ‘he’, ‘the’, ‘house’ and ‘here’, use in cut up sentence for the pupil to organise and read 
• Provide daily rehearsal of new sight word vocabulary
• Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is best used for irregular or tricky words and may be best with a pupil with a good visual memory:
  • Show a card with a target word in large clear print and - explain to the pupil, “Keep your nose pointed at mine, let your eyes look up at the word” (as the teacher holds the word card up and to the pupil’s left)
  • Discuss the length, form and letters -how many tall letters, small letters, double letters
  • Ask the pupil to take a ‘photograph’ of the word with a ‘camera’ in his / her ‘mind’s eye’
  • Ask the pupil to close his / her eyes and look at the photograph of the target word in his / her mind’s eye
  • Ask the pupil if they can ‘see’ the word (if not repeat the previous step but also bear in mind that this strategy may only be successful for some pupils)
    • The pupil is asked how many letters he / she can see
    • What are the first / last 2 letters, 2nd letter, 4th letter, first and last letter names
    • How many vowels? 
    • How many consonants? 
    • Name the letters forwards and then in reverse order (the pupil will only be able to do this if he / she has successfully visualised the word in his / her mind’s eye and has good working memory)
    • ‘Open your eyes, say the word and use your photograph to write the word, as you name each letter’
  • If he / she makes a mistake, the pupil is shown the card again and notable features are pointed out
• Repetitive activities (cloze procedures, cut up sentences) help to consolidate the use of sight vocabulary introduced, for example, ‘is’, ‘he’, ‘the’ and ‘house’ 
• Provide memory prompts such as desk picture prompts for the short vowel sounds or high frequency word lists or reading strategies

The pupil may struggle to comprehend a text as he / she cannot remember what has been read 

He / she has difficulty recalling a storyline or character’s name 

• Reread short comprehension passages and model how to highlight key information to answer questions 
• When reading, stop every so often and talk about what is happening. Make links to the pupil’s world and experiences
• When you finish, summarise the text together
• Teach the pupil to visualise parts of the story, for example, what was the character wearing, who was with him
• Provide opportunities for reading of continuous text and encourage discussion of text, generalising and scanning for key information:

Video: Consolidation Exercise (4:45 mins)

The pupil if disturbed, may easily lose the point in a sentence when reading aloud

He / she may often skip and repeat words

• Reread familiar books and have a selection of easy reads / decodable sentences / short passages, so a pupil can apply phonic knowledge and reading skills learned

Pupil has difficulty remembering information that is presented visually, for example, sequences of events, patterns, and images unless it remains visible to refer to

Sequencing difficulties

• Use simple flowcharts, sequence boxes, pictures or diagrams for pupil to show summary of events 
• Use audiobooks or eBooks so the pupil can listen again to the story
• Provide sequencing activities with first 3 items to sequence moving to 5 items

The pupil may find it difficult to remember letter names and what the letter looks like, High Frequency Words (HFWs) and relevant topic words

Confusion over the orientation of letters such as ‘b’ and ‘d’ or words with similar shapes like ‘shop’ and ‘stop’. This affects spelling and whole-word recognition

• Have tabletop prompt cards for the pupil during writing activities:
  • Target sounds 
  • Letter names
  • High Frequency Words (HFWs)
  • Topic words 
• Mnemonics of ‘b’,’ d’, ’p’, ‘q’ will provide a memory prompt on directionality of letters, either use:
  • Visuals of each letter and explanations on directionality: Orientation of letters prompt 
  • Mnemonic for p / q:

Ensure these mnemonics are explicitly explained. Do not assume prior knowledge has been linked. English readers, read letters left-right across the page. A pupil may be confused as the ball could sit on either side of the bat. Explain that you draw the bat first and then the ball (left to right) - teach cursive writing and talk through the formation of each letter.

• Thumbs up for ‘b’ and ‘d’, thumbs down ‘p’ and ‘q’
• Explain that in the alphabet arc Mr ‘b’ comes first and he must face Mr ‘d’ who comes after ‘c’, as he wants to chat’; ‘b’ and ‘d’ stare at each other and poor ‘c’ is stuck in the middle. Then comes Mr ‘p’ who needs to face Mr ‘q’ also to chat. The teacher can model this using his / her thumbs and demonstrate the 2 letters chatting:
   
• A good handwriting script (preferably cursive handwriting) enables the pupil to focus on directionality and correct formation of each letter
• Repeated practice forming the letters develops automaticity in the motor-memory which can aid recall of letter direction and correct storage of letters in long term memory

Weaknesses in visual processing may lead to faulty information being passed to the long-term memory for storage, for example, letters and words may be stored in the wrong sequence, for example, ‘said’ as ‘siad’

The pupil may struggle to recall a simple sentence and be unable to write it accurately

• Use of Verbalisation / sub-vocalisation (self-talk) organises thoughts and procedures, to support memory. Allow the pupil to say aloud what he / she is trying to remember
  • Naming the letters before writing a word down
  • Saying aloud the next word in a sentence prior to writing it and so on
• Use Simultaneous Oral Spelling (SOS) Routine when learning spellings in structure, as this repetitive process of learning a new word helps develop automaticity:
• The pupil says each letter name as he / she writes the word (use of cursive handwriting aids automaticity and establishes a grapho-motor link): 

Simultaneous Oral Spelling Instructions  

Video: Simultaneous Oral Spelling (SOS) (4:39 mins)

• Dictation is a great method for consolidating and reinforcing new learning. Repeating back a dictated sentence before writing it. Simple structured sentences ensure the best chance of successful spelling for the pupil and can be used to assess progress:

Video: Dictation Routine (9:02 mins)

Dictation Routine

• Teacher dictates the sentence 
• Pupil repeats the sentence 
• Teacher dictates the sentence again (to ensure accuracy and correct pronunciation) 
• Pupil writes the sentence (the use of a cursive script helps to develop automaticity in spelling the new word, hence freeing up the working memory to focus on content) 

• Practice Listen, Search, Select, Write Strategy:
  • The teacher reads 3 or 4 words - cat, hat, sat, mat 
  • The pupil listens to the words
  • The pupil searches across 4 words to identify the word the teacher has said
• The pupil selects the word said by the teacher 
• The pupil writes the word down
  • Activities to reinforce words:
  • Select correct words in cloze procedure passage
  • Complete jumbled sentences
  • Progress to writing a sentence under the picture

• Use drama, music, art and role-play to encourage a pupil to think creatively about what he / she will write (once a pupil has orally explored his / her ideas it is easier to write) 
• Before writing, discuss and talk about what he / she knows already using story boards, mind maps and flow-charts or comic strips
• Develop routines that become automatic such as the use of the ‘Think it, Say it, Write it’ routine or Plan / Do / Review: 
  • Plan - discuss what he / she is doing and set goals, identify what might be a challenge
  • Do - Undertake the activity, remind the pupil of his / her goal
  • Review - review performance, ask what strategy helped to achieve the goal

The pupil may forget what word, he / she is going to write

Handwriting speed difficulties

Writing much shorter sentences than he / she can orally recite

• Use recording buttons/devices to record ideas or sentences before they are forgotten
• Give word banks if necessary
• Use digital word bank, grids and also Clicker 8 which may support the working memory:

Clicker 8 Website  

Installing Clicker 8 on a Personal device

• Provide a ‘help box’ or ‘help board’ or post-it’s with clear step by step instructions
• Provide opportunities for the pupil to practise Auditory Sequential Memory Routines with letters using alphabet arc:

Video: Auditory Sequential Memory (3:01mins)

• Model strategies which may help:
  • Say the letters over and over
  • Write them in the air with his / her finger
  • Say them in a rhythm

Auditory memory games such as ‘I went to the market...’

The pupil has difficulty in visual sequential memory as often information cannot be held in memory long enough to recall (once the visual has been removed) 

Sequencing difficulties 

• Provide opportunities for the pupil to practise Visual Sequential Memory Routine with alphabet arc and letter strings on a small card (starting with 2 letters and progressing to 5):
  • Allow pupil to look at card with letters (with different shapes) 
  • Pupil returns card and selects letters from arc 
  • Pupil checks letters from arc with letter card 
  • Discuss how pupil remembered them -build a picture in the mind’s eye, imagine them on a wall or on coat hooks, group the letters
  • Give a sequence of 3 letters in alphabetical order and build up to 7 letters with the pupil removing letters immediately from the alphabet arc
  • Repeat as above but give the pupil a longer waiting time to remove the letters (starting at 5 seconds and progressing gradually up to 30 seconds)
    Video: Visual Sequential Memory (2:20 mins)
  • Visual Memory games such as ‘I Spy... ‘Simon says,” for following oral instructions
  • Have a ‘things I need’ visual chart to support the pupil in getting everything he / she needs for the task at hand. This will ensure only the necessary materials are on the table

• Provide prompt cards or a help box or board to list instructions in bullet form
• Record instructions on post-its displayed on the pupil’s desk
• Consider the importance of a quiet learning environment 
• Shorten the length and complexity of instructions while sequencing them one at a time

• Organise the learning environment so resources the pupil needs are easily found:
• Use clear storage boxes with labels that show visual images as well as text
• Use colour-coded books, for example, green for literacy and red for numeracy

• Explain the learning intention to the pupil - What they are Learning to do - WALT.  Ensure the pupil’s full attention before speaking and at the end of the lesson summarise what has been learned: 

WALT BOARD

• When giving verbal instructions speak slowly, clearly and concisely 
• Make important words which convey understanding stand out, for example, pronounce some words slightly louder ‘tidy the jigsaws’

• Provide a kinaesthetic approach using concrete materials as often as possible to support learning
• Use a range of multisensory activities that will respond to visual, auditory and tactile stimuli 
• Use non-verbal gestures, for example pointing, facial cues to support verbal instructions

A pupil may find it difficult to be flexible in his / her thinking and find it hard to move between different sources of information, for example, information on the Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) or on a worksheet

The pupil may find it difficult to move on to a new activity if he / she has not completed the one started 

• Pause between each part of an instruction. Invite the pupil to repeat the instructions for you to ensure he / she understands. Be prepared to repeat instructions if the pupil forgets them
• Display a visual timetable to indicate what the next activity is during the day and explain any change. A daily timetable can be provided but a weekly plan is reassuring for many pupils:

Editable coloured timetable

• Break learning down into small steps and avoid multi-step instructions
• Use a ‘Help Box’ on the IWB or ‘Help Board’ at his / her table to remind the pupil of the instructions

• Give oral feedback on work completed to ensure the pupil understands
• Recap the learning at the end of the lesson-ask the pupil what he / she did well at and what strategy helped him / her and what he / she still finds difficult
• Encourage and develop reflective thinking (metacognition) and encourage the pupil to identify what helped him / her in the activity