11 strategies for creating a dyslexia-friendly classroom

Supporting a student with dyslexia can feel confusing at first, mostly because no two students present in the same way.

You might have one who can explain an idea in detail, with examples, and possibly a small speech for good measure, but then produces three lines when it comes to writing it down. Another who reads slowly but understands everything. Another who looks like they’ve completely switched off, when in fact they’re still trying to hold onto the first instruction you gave five minutes ago.

Most teachers have had that moment: “They clearly get it… so why isn’t it showing in their work?” That’s usually the point where things start to shift.

Because this isn’t about ability. A dyslexia-friendly classroom isn’t about making things easier; it’s about removing the barriers that get in the way of students showing what they already know. And in most cases, those barriers are surprisingly small.

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Understanding dyslexia in the classroom

Dyslexia is often reduced to reading and spelling, but in lessons it tends to show up in other ways too: memory, processing, organisation, and sequencing.

So quite often, the issue isn’t what a student understands, but how easily they can access and express it.

A useful way to frame it is this: dyslexia affects access, not ability.

Once you start looking at it this way, a lot of classroom moments suddenly make more sense. The student who ‘wasn’t listening’ might actually be trying to hold onto three separate instructions at once. The one who ‘didn’t try’ might have got stuck before they even started. Guidance from the British Dyslexia Association reinforces this idea, focusing on removing barriers rather than lowering expectations.

What dyslexia might look like

Dyslexia doesn’t always look obvious.

More often, it looks like:

• Forgetting what they’re doing halfway through
• Taking a long time to get started
• Explaining ideas clearly but recording very little
• Copying slowly or not finishing
• Hesitating when answering
• Getting stuck on task wording

And yes, sometimes it looks like a lack of focus. In reality, that student may already be working harder than anyone else in the room just to keep up.

Why classroom practice matters

A lot of normal classroom habits are harder than we realise.

• Long explanations
• Dense worksheets or slides
• Copying everything down
• Reading aloud on the spot
• Correcting every error

None of these are bad teaching. They are just things we do without thinking about them too much. The issue is that, for some students, each of these adds an extra layer of difficulty. Put a few of them together, and the actual learning can get a bit lost along the way.

I have often launched into what I thought was a clear, well-structured explanation, only to notice faces staring at me like I’d switched languages mid-sentence. Discreetly approaching students to check if they needed clarification, I’d be assured: “Well, Miss, I got the first bit… then I was waiting to catch up…and then you kept going.”

It’s a useful reminder that nothing I was doing was ‘wrong’ in itself; it just hadn’t left any space to process. Now, I find it’s good practice in general to break information and tasks into smaller chunks and check in after each step. Same content, same student, but this time they stayed with me the whole way through.

A dyslexia-friendly classroom is really just about adjusting those routines so they work for more students. The Education Endowment Foundation highlights the importance of structured instruction and reducing unnecessary cognitive load, which, in practice, often comes down to simplifying how we present and sequence information.

11 strategies for a dyslexia-friendly classroom

1. Start with the student

A useful place to start is with the student themselves. Dyslexia is not one fixed experience, and what helps one student will not necessarily help another.

This usually becomes clear quite quickly. You might have one student who can talk you through a concept in detail but cannot get started when it comes to writing, and another who will write something down straight away but needs support to organise it properly.

Once you start noticing those patterns, it becomes much easier to adjust what you are doing in a way that actually makes a difference.

2. Make reading less of a battle

Reading is often one of the first barriers you notice. Not because students cannot understand, but because of how much effort it takes to process the text in the first place. By the time they reach the end of a sentence, the beginning has quietly disappeared.

This is where small changes help. Breaking text into shorter sections, keeping layouts clear, and avoiding large blocks of writing can make the difference between a student starting straight away and a student staring at the page, hoping it becomes more helpful on its own.

It also helps to introduce key vocabulary before students begin. A quick run-through of unfamiliar words can save a surprising amount of time later. Without it, students are often trying to decode and understand at the same time, which is where things tend to stall.

You can usually spot the moment it clicks. The student who was “just about to start” for several minutes suddenly gets on with it once the language itself stops being the barrier.

3. Rethink how you give instructions

Instructions are another common sticking point. Most teachers have explained a task clearly and then immediately been asked, “What are we doing?” This is usually not a lack of effort; it is memory.

To make things more manageable:

• Give instructions one step at a time
• Keep them concise
• Display them somewhere in the room
• Ask students to repeat instructions back

This also avoids that familiar situation where half the class is confidently working, while the other half is still trying to work out what step one was.

Additionally, consider your own language. I, myself, being Yorkshire through and through, have to be mindful of the idioms I use. During my second year of teaching, a dyslexic student was exhibiting dysregulation, upon reflection, with my instructions. In my wisdom, I asked “Oh t’ball’s over t’ wall, is it?”– a phrase parroted from my parents in my youth whenever I reacted poorly to something they said. As the student proceeded to look for the ball…you can imagine my shame!

4. Never assume copying is easy

‘Copying’ a live, worked model is another area that seems simple but is anything but. It involves tracking, remembering, spelling, and writing at speed, all at once. You will sometimes see students working incredibly hard just to keep up with what is on the board, only to realise they have missed the actual point of the task entirely.

Providing notes or shared resources instead tends to shift the focus back to the learning itself, rather than the mechanics of recording it.

5. Give students a way into writing

When it comes to recording ideas, the difficulty is often getting started. Many students know what they want to say, but cannot quite get the first sentence down. It can look like nothing is happening, which is usually the point when someone says, “Just write something to get started,” and this is rarely helpful.

Giving a clear starting point, whether through a simple structure, a model, or a sentence starter, tends to unlock the rest of the task. Once they are in, they are usually fine – it’s the entry point that causes the barrier.

6. Don’t rely on writing for everything

It is also worth remembering that writing is not always the best way to check understanding. There are plenty of moments where a student can explain something clearly out loud but struggles to record it.

Try using:

• Discussion
• Diagrams
• Paired responses

These all give students other ways to show what they know, without lowering expectations.

7. Mark less, but more usefully

Feedback is another area where small changes go a long way. Covering a page in corrections might feel thorough, but it is not always helpful. Students often do not know where to start, so they do not start at all. Focusing on what has worked, alongside one or two clear improvements, tends to be far more effective.

You can sometimes see the difference in real time. A student looks at focused feedback and does something with it. A student looks at a fully corrected page and closes the book slightly faster than expected.

I once spent a good twenty minutes giving what I thought was beautifully thorough feedback on a piece of work. Every margin filled, every sentence nudged, every error carefully corrected. I handed it back the next lesson – feeling quietly pleased with myself. The student opened it, stared for a moment, then slowly closed the book and said, very politely, “Is this… all wrong then?”

That was the moment it clicked. What I had intended as support had landed as overwhelm. The next time I gave feedback on their work, I kept it to one strength and two very specific improvements. They looked at it, picked up their pen, and actually started editing straight away. Same student, completely different response.

8. Don’t put students on the spot

The way students are questioned also matters. Being asked to respond immediately can be difficult, not because they do not know the answer, but because they have not processed it yet. Giving a few seconds to think, or a bit of warning before asking, often leads to much stronger responses.

The student who says nothing when put on the spot is often the same one who gives a very good answer once they have had time to think it through. You could also develop a deeper understanding by questioning another student, then moving back to the student with dyslexia to summarise the other student’s answer to check understanding.

9. Use more than just words

Using more than just text can also make a difference. Diagrams, colour, and visual modelling can help make ideas clearer and easier to remember.

This links to the principle of dual coding, explored in work by the Learning Scientists and Oliver Caviglioli, where combining visuals with explanation helps reduce cognitive load.

In practice, this might be as simple as modelling a response while annotating it. Often, one clear visual does more than a longer explanation.

10. Give students time

Time is another factor that is easy to underestimate. Some students simply need longer to read, think, and respond. This is not a lack of understanding, even though it can look like it. Removing unnecessary time pressure often leads to better work and more confident participation.

11. Make the classroom easier to navigate

Finally, the classroom environment itself plays a role. Clear displays, visible key vocabulary, and consistent routines all reduce the amount students need to hold in their working memory.

When the room is predictable and organised, students can focus more on what they are actually meant to be learning, rather than trying to work out what is happening.

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A dyslexia-friendly classroom is not about doing more.

It is about:

• Being clearer
• Being more structured
• Giving students options
• Thinking about access

If a student understands something, they should be able to show it. We’re aiming for high challenge with low barriers.

Further reading and support:

• British Dyslexia Association
• Education Endowment Foundation: Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools
• Teachit: Dyslexia Awareness Week
• Cambridge English: Supporting learners with dyslexia
• The Learning Scientists (Cognitive Science Strategies)
• Oliver Caviglioli (Dual Coding and Visual Learning)

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