"I didn't realize Science and Social Studies would be this hard" — How to teach Science and Social Studies to children with developmental disabilities/ADHD | Summary of support by characteristics
"My child is managing to keep up in Math and Japanese, but they aren't improving in either Science or Social Studies." "They stumble over memorization every time, and we both end up almost in tears before tests." —
We often hear these comments from parents of children with developmental disabilities or ADHD. Science and Social Studies are subjects with broad scopes and a lot to memorize. Furthermore, they involve a succession of units where visual information and verbal information are mixed, such as maps, charts, experimental equipment, and chemical symbols. It is not just you who feels, "I don't know how to teach this at home."
In this article, we have organized where children stumble in Science and Social Studies by unit and summarized the starting points for support tailored to their characteristics. Detailed teaching methods for each unit are explained in the linked individual articles.
What you will learn in this article
Why children with developmental disabilities/ADHD tend to stumble in both Science and Social Studies
Stumbling blocks and support directions for Social Studies (Geography/History) by unit
Stumbling blocks and support directions for Science (Electricity/Astronomy/Chemistry) by unit
Common tips that can be used across subjects and systems that are easy to maintain at home
Why children with developmental disabilities tend to stumble in Science and Social Studies
At first glance, Science and Social Studies look like completely different subjects. However, there are commonalities in the structure of the stumbling blocks.
That is, there are many situations where they must "imagine and memorize things they have never seen before entirely in their heads." Maps, historical figures, electrical circuits, the movement of celestial bodies, and chemical formulas—none of these are right in front of them, and they must construct them using their imagination based on the diagrams and text in the textbook. This is a difficult task for any child to begin with.
On top of that, there are situations where additional burdens are placed on them due to their developmental characteristics. Please accept that this is not "only my child stumbling," but rather something that is "happening due to the compatibility between their characteristics and the unit."
For children with ADHD: Hurdles of working memory and sustained attention
Children with ADHD tendencies often have challenges with working memory (the ability to temporarily hold information in their head while working).
There is a burden on the simultaneous parallel task of looking at textbook diagrams, reading explanatory text, and connecting the relationships in their heads
As they read through long passages or chronologies, the content they read at the beginning is likely to slip away
When reading information from maps, charts, and graphs, their attention drifts, leading to skipping over parts
It is not that they "lack motivation," but simply that they "have challenges with the capacity to process information while holding it." There is no need to blame your child.
For children with ASD: Bias in interests and grasping causal relationships
For children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) tendencies, a situation often occurs where they are surprisingly knowledgeable about fields they are interested in (trains, dinosaurs, specific historical figures, etc.), while they have no way to engage with units outside of their interests.
More likely to focus on specific phenomena that catch their eye rather than the causal relationship of "why it happens"
More likely to focus on "individual elements" rather than the "overall flow" (local-precedence cognition)
Only looking at the parts of maps or charts that interest them and failing to grasp the whole
These are traits, not personality issues. If you can successfully create an "entry point for interest," there are cases where they can learn surprisingly deeply beyond that.
For children with LD: Reading, writing, and symbol encoding
Children with tendencies toward LD (Learning Disabilities) often face challenges in encoding characters and symbols (connecting reading to meaning).
Stumbling over difficult-to-read place names or personal names (e.g., differences between "Saito" variants, terms like "Ministry of Communications" or "Shikken")
Taking time to connect unfamiliar symbols, such as chemical symbols or element symbols, with their readings
Having challenges with visuospatial cognition of maps and charts, making it difficult to grasp positional relationships
Difficulty in reading is a separate issue from the ability to understand the content of a unit. If the burden of reading is reduced, understanding of the content will improve.
When multiple traits overlap
It is not uncommon for children to have overlapping ADHD and LD, or ASD and ADHD. Just because they overlap does not mean the countermeasures become complicated.Simply "use the tips for the relevant traits in combination"is enough. Please choose one step that suits the child and try it. Narrowing the scope by saying "just this much for today" is the shortest path to continuing.
[Social Studies] Stumbling blocks and support by unit
Social Studies begins with the local community in the third grade of elementary school, moves to maps in the fourth grade, history in the sixth grade, and expands into geography, history, and civics in junior high school. Because it is a subject with a wide scope that builds up across grade levels, it has the characteristic that once you stumble somewhere, it is easy for subsequent units to become difficult in a chain reaction.
Cannot read geography/maps (4th grade of elementary school to 1st grade of junior high school)
Structure of stumbling (general difficulties)
Need to suddenly memorize "newly encountered symbol systems" such as map symbols, contour lines, and scales
Must mentally convert "flat maps" into "three-dimensional land"
Large volume of proper nouns to memorize, such as prefectures and country names
Additional difficulties derived from traits
Children with ADHD tendencies are easily overwhelmed by the large amount of information on maps and tend to skim-read.
Children with LD tendencies take time to process difficult-to-read place names and visuospatial information such as left/right and up/down.
Support methods (key points)
Learn map symbols little by little, starting with the most common ones, rather than all at once.
For prefecture names, use only one of the following as an entry point to expand: "shape," "famous products," or "location."
Scales and contour lines are easier to understand when "placed side-by-side with photos of the actual objects."
Detailed teaching methods are explained in this article.
History memorization does not stick (6th grade elementary to 2nd grade junior high)
Structure of stumbling blocks (general difficulties)
Events, people, dates, and places all come at once, resulting in a massive amount of information.
It is necessary to connect and memorize "when, who, why, and what happened."
Because these are events that happened before they were born, it is difficult to get a real sense of them.
Additional difficulties derived from characteristics
Children with ADHD tendencies find it burdensome to follow long chronologies or textbook passages in order.
Children with ASD tendencies may not be able to start on "eras they are not interested in" and may become biased toward specific eras only.
Children with LD tendencies are prone to stumbling over the reading of kanji for people's names and event names.
Support methods (key points)
Instead of "memorizing the entire chronology by rote," connect them through cause and effect as a story (narrative)
Combine visual information such as illustrations, manga, and videos.
Don't start with a difficult era; use an era they are interested in as an entry point and expand forward and backward from there
Detailed teaching methods are explained in this article.
Why children with developmental disabilities cannot memorize history and how to teach them
[Science] Stumbling blocks and support by unit
Now that we have organized the difficulties of Social Studies, let's look at Science. Unlike Social Studies, Science is a subject that mixes "experiments," "calculations," and "memorization" Even if they are both "bad at Science," the support method changes depending on which element they are stumbling over.
Here, we will take up three units where there are particularly many consultations about stumbling blocks.
How to connect batteries and circuits (4th grade elementary school)
Structure of stumbling blocks (general difficulties)
Expressing abstract concepts like series and parallel using symbols called circuit diagrams
Since the flow of electricity is invisible, it is necessary to supplement it with imagination
The number of elements to memorize, such as positive poles, negative poles, light bulbs, and switches, increases all at once
Additional difficulties derived from characteristics
Children with LD/ASD tendencies take time to map the "symbols and real objects" in circuit diagrams
Children with ADHD tendencies are easily distracted while tracing lines, making them prone to misreading
Support methods (key points)
Use real batteries and light bulbs to actually work with your hands and confirm
Visually distinguish between series and parallel by color-coding them
Complete one circuit at a time and do not present complex circuits suddenly
Detailed teaching methods are explained in this article.
Movement of celestial bodies (4th grade elementary / 3rd grade junior high)
Structure of stumbling blocks (general difficulties)
One must think about the movement of the Earth we stand on from a bird's-eye view from space
For the phases of the moon and the appearance of Venus, one must simultaneously imagine the positional relationship between the three objects: the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon (or Venus)
One needs to mentally simulate the "passage of time"
Additional difficulties stemming from characteristics
Children with ASD or LD tendencies find it difficult to switch perspectives (the sky as seen from Earth vs. the positional relationship as seen from space)
Children with ADHD tendencies find it burdensome to maintain an image involving movement
Support methods (key points)
Animation videos to show actual movement
Use balls and lights to recreate the direction of shadows
Switch between and repeatedly confirm the "perspective of being on Earth" and the "perspective from space"
Detailed teaching methods are explained in this article.
Chemical formulas and element symbols (1st to 2nd year of junior high)
Structure of stumbling blocks (general difficulties)
Alphabetical symbols (H, O, Na, etc.) suddenly appear
One needs to learn what small numbers like those in "H₂O" mean
One needs to memorize by linking the names, symbols, and properties of elements
Additional difficulties stemming from characteristics
Children with LD tendencies take time to encode alphabets and symbols.
Children with ADHD tendencies are prone to confusing similar symbols (e.g., Mg and Mn, Ca and Co).
Children with ASD tendencies cannot proceed to memorization unless the logic behind "why this combination exists" makes sense to them.
Support methods (key points)
Use mnemonic devices like "Suihei Riibe" (the Japanese periodic table mnemonic).
Make cards for each element and memorize them in small amounts through repetition.
Teach the rules first, such as "the small number in a chemical formula equals the number of atoms," before moving on to problems.
If you are struggling with science in junior high school such as chemical formulas, ions, chemical reaction equations, magnetic fields, electromagnetic induction, genetics, biological classification, and geological strata, there is an article that summarizes support by unit for junior high school science.
Teaching points common to science and social studies
We have looked at this by unit so far, but there are 4 common tips that can be used across subjects and units. I have organized them in the order that is easiest to incorporate at home for both science and social studies.
1. Convert into meaningful context/stories before memorizing
Rote memorization of isolated words places the maximum burden on working memory. For history, "the motives of people and the causality of events," and for science, "why the experimental results turn out that way," should be shared as a story first before starting to memorize terms, which makes them easier to retain.
2. Clearly state the "reading procedure" for diagrams and visual information
Even if you vaguely tell a child to "take a good look" at maps, charts, or circuit diagrams, they won't know where to start reading. If you teach the first the title -> then the legend -> then from top-left to bottom-right as the reading order out loud, their eye movements will stabilize.
3. Minimize the amount to memorize at once (small amounts x repetition)
Trying to memorize 20 things at once is too much of a burden, especially for children with challenges in working memory, and nothing will be retained. A style of only these three today and "tomorrow, add these three to yesterday's three," which involves repeating small amounts, is effective.
4. Teach the causality of "why it happens" first
Children with ASD tendencies often have situations where "they make rapid progress once they understand the reason." For science formulas and social systems, it becomes easier to engage with them if you add a sentence explaining "why it is that way" instead of just telling them the conclusion.
To parents who feel it is difficult to teach every day
Even if you know how to do this, I think many parents feel that it is difficult to continue practicing it every day. Preparing teaching materials, checking how to read diagrams together, finding an entry point for interest—it requires a considerable amount of concentration and time from parents as well. For those who are dual-income or raising multiple children, I think it is even harder to continue every day.
For those people, I would like you to refer to the home learning digital teaching material "Tenjin". Since Tenjin is a teaching material exclusively for Windows PCs, please check your child's actual reaction during the free trial period.
In a study using Tenjin, it was announced at the Japanese Society for Learning Disabilities that using it for just 10 minutes once a week for 3 months improved the scores of visual working memory tasks in all participating children. Since reading diagrams and memorizing in Science and Social Studies are tasks directly linked to working memory, it is expected to support the foundation for that.
Mr. Yasuhiko Yamauchi, Representative Director of the Association for Support of Children with Disabilities, also recommends it, saying, "It is the most recommended teaching material."
Grasping concepts visually through lectures
Tenjin's lectures use animation to explain concepts visually. You can check content that is difficult to imagine with text alone, such as the flow of history, current in circuits, and the movement of celestial bodies, through movement and diagrams.
Since you can check the approximate required time (e.g., about 4 minutes) on the table of contents screen, you can set expectations by thinking, "It will be finished in about this much time," before starting. It is designed for children to proceed at their own pace, which also leads to building habits for independent learning.
"Because the time is displayed on the lecture, it was easy for my child to set expectations and seemed easy to work on"
—From the post-Tenjin trial questionnaire (Junior high school parent)
One question per screen, immediate feedback
The problems are displayed one per screen, and immediately after answering, the audio informs you of the correctness with "Genius!" or "Amazing!". The amount of information is small, so you won't get distracted by seeing other problems.
Look at the hint and try again when you make a mistake
When you get a problem wrong, a hint is automatically displayed. Because you can look at the hint and try again, you won't stop at "I don't know" and can gain experience in reaching the answer yourself. It is designed so that the teaching material will provide encouragement instead of the parent having to sit next to the child.
Reduce the burden of reading with the text-to-speech function
Problems, hints, and explanations are all read aloud, and the part being read is highlighted in color. Even for children who take time to read, an environment is prepared where they can focus on understanding the content.
"Thanks to the text-to-speech function, my child can study alone. It seems easy to understand because it follows the textbook"
—From the post-Tenjin trial questionnaire (Elementary school parent)
It is not the case that "everything will be solved if you use Tenjin," but as a place for daily repetitive practice, and as a place to accumulate the experience of "I did it myself!", I think it can be one of the options to reduce the burden on parents.
Currently, Tenjin is conducting a free trial. We will deliver a PC dedicated to the trial for free, so you can consider it after checking how your child actually operates it. A credit card is not required, and we will not strongly recommend purchasing after the trial.
A study conducted by Associate Professor Harumi Sakamoto of R-Medical Professional University (Ph.D. in Medicine, specialist in developmental disabilities) on children with developmental disabilities includes the following report.
"Just one month after starting Tenjin, we saw a dramatic change, such as the child showing a desire to 'take lessons' on their own."
— Associate Professor Harumi Sakamoto, R-Medical Professional University
※Individual results may vary. However, the possibility that accumulating small successful experiences of "I get it!" in Science and Social Studies can lead to the first step toward self-esteem is open to every child.
Tenjin is a one-time purchase teaching material exclusively for PC (no monthly or annual fees). First, please check your child's actual reaction with a free trial.
→ Click here for Tenjin free trial and material request
https://www.tenjin.cc/lp/wp/hattatsu-s-02-price/
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. I'm worried because the one-time purchase price is high, can I just try it out first?
A. Yes, you can get a free trial just by requesting materials. The trial is completely free, and no credit card registration is required. We will not strongly push for a purchase after the trial. You can check the detailed pricing in the materials enclosed when you request them (it is a one-time purchase type starting from approximately 2,750 yen per subject per month). Once purchased, your other children can also use it at no additional cost.
Q. My child is in the gray zone, will Tenjin suit them?
A. Tenjin can be widely used by children with various characteristics. It is not about whether there is a diagnosis, but whether it fits your child's current way of learning. Small steps, voice reading, and the ability to go back and forth across grade levels can be utilized by any child in the same way. Please first check your child's reaction with a free trial.
Q. Does it cover all units for Science and Social Studies?
A. Yes. Both Science and Social Studies cover all grades and all units for elementary and junior high school. In addition to geography and history, science units such as electricity, astronomy, and chemical formulas are also included in accordance with textbooks. You can start from the units where your child is struggling.
Q. I'm worried about whether my child will work on it on their own.
A. Many children are not enthusiastic at first. Voice feedback like "Genius!" and "Amazing!", and a design that is easy to focus on with one question per screen, support your child's sense of "I did it myself." We have also received comments like "It feels like playing a game" and "It's fun that the score increases as much as I do."
Summary
Struggles in Science and Social Studies differ slightly depending on the subject and unit. I will organize the key points by unit.
Geography/Maps: The large number of symbol systems and visuospatial cognition are barriers. Use small amounts and connect them to real objects
History: The large amount of information and difficulty in seeing cause and effect are barriers. Connect them with stories
Batteries/Circuits: Abstract symbols and invisible flow of electricity are barriers. Use real objects and color-coding
Astronomy: Switching perspectives and imagining movement are barriers. Use animations and physical models
Chemical Formulas: Encoding symbols and rules of combination are barriers. Small amounts x repetition + mnemonics
Common points are three.
Connect as a story/cause-and-effect before starting memorization
Clearly state the reading order for charts and diagrams
Small amounts x repetition to build up knowledge reliably
"The reason my child is struggling is not due to a lack of effort, but because of the compatibility between their traits and the subject matter" — Just by having this perspective, the way you speak to them will change. It is okay not to aim for perfection. Please try moving forward with your child, starting with one small step you can take today.
References
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) "About Special Needs Education"https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/tokubetu/main.htm
National Institute of Special Needs Education "Center for Promoting Special Needs Education"https://www.nise.go.jp/nc/
Developmental Disorders Information and Support Center "What are Developmental Disorders"https://www.rehab.go.jp/ddis/
This article was created by the Tenjin Media Editorial Department. There are individual differences in the traits of developmental disabilities. If you have any concerns regarding learning, please also consider consulting a specialized institution.