SPECIAL EDUCATION TIPS
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Finn's Five and
Dime
From Linda Finn (finridge@centurytel.com), a K-6 Teacher of Students with
Specific Learning Disabilities at Julia Rusch Elementary School in Portage,
Wisconsin:
"To promote positive learning, students must complete their work
accurately, neatly and on time, with positive and respectful behavior. They also
must complete homework and have their daily agenda signed by parents. For each
category: classroom assignments, homework, behavior, agenda, and a Super Duper
Student category, students can earn 5 cents daily for a total of 25 cents per
day or up to $1.25 per week. The student must count the money in coins and they
may buy items at that price from the Five and Dime or they can save money for
more expensive items. Items range from 25 cents to $5.00. There are the added
incentives of going out to lunch for $10.00 or a special trip for $15.00. This
year before Holiday Break the students were given special jobs to earn extra
cash with which they could purchase craft items that my teaching assistant and I
had made. The gifts were purchased for their parents, grandparents, guardian or
someone special in their lives. These are students in grades 1 to 6 that have
learned to count money, count change, and save for the items they really want.
The kids love it, and so do parents. It has enhanced their learning and improved
behavior."
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Naturally
Descriptive
From Colleen Anders 5th grade teacher and Barbara Hyler ([bhyler@comcast.net),
a learning disabilities teacher at Bettie Weaver Elementary School in
Midlothian, Virginia:
"This is an excellent way to develop skills in writing descriptive
paragraphs. It also addresses the issue of using "power" words to
start sentences. We proudly display the published work in the hall with the
picture prompts. Your students, their parents, and your administrators will be
amazed at the final product! Have students fold a sheet of notebook paper into
thirds so that they have 3 vertical columns. Label the left column 'adjectives',
the middle column 'nouns', and the right, 'verbs'. Provide nature scenes from
calendars or magazines to generate ideas. Ask students to list, in the noun
column, all of the nouns in the picture. Encourage the students to skip lines as
they write as this helps with organization and neatness. Then have the students
list one or two adjectives beside each noun. Next they write a verb (present
tense is best) to go with each noun. This part can be very challenging.
Encourage students to use 'action verbs' and 'stretch' verbs beyond the common.
Insist on interesting, more sophisticated verbs. Runs could be sprints, gallops,
etc. Walks could become trudges, lumbers, etc. Looks could become gazes, peers,
etc. Encourage use of thesaurus. Students will almost always begin the sentences
with 'There is', so it is important to make a 'rule' to prevent that from
happening. Teach them to avoid boring words by starting each sentence with the
words from their brainstorm sheet. i.e. Huge waves crash, or Fluffy, white
snowflakes drift. Then show them how to add 'when, where, or how' to complete
their sentences. Encourage figurative language. For example, mountains don't
just sit on the landscape, mountains reach for the sky, mountains tower like
skyscraper, mountains stand guard. As an alternative prompt, bring in a beach
chair, wear flip-flops and pretend to be at the beach to help students 'see' a
scene in their mind's eye. Students can bring in their own sunglasses to add to
the mood. This is particularly fun as a winter activity when everyone,
especially the teacher, needs a little sunshine."
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Point Cups
From Jamie Whooley (irisheyes7997@yahoo.com), a primary EBD teacher in
Addison, Illinois:
"I recently augmented the behavior management system (token economy) in
my
classroom. All students at my school (K-12) have daily behavior charts.
Their teachers are to keep the charts with the students at all times. These charts show the students' behavior in 5-minute intervals throughout
the day and a section for fines and bonus points. The students in my class
are beginning readers, and for the most part are unable to read the important things on their
charts.
I came up with a system using base ten blocks and colored unifex cubes.
Students have a cup Velcroed to their desk. Every 5 minutes the student
is
working, I put a base ten block (1 unit) in their cup, each time the student receives ten blocks, they must come to the bank (me) and exchange
them for a rod (10 units). If the student earns a fine, they must pay
the bank with their earned points. They also have the opportunity to earn
bonus points (color coded for each teacher in the classroom-use unifex
cubes). The bonus points can be used to buy computer time during breaks.
The base ten blocks can be used to purchase larger items from my store
(toys, stickers, etc.).
I still have to use the behavior charts in addition to the cups, but this
works out great for the students. They are beginning to understand what
the behavior management system is all about. Of course, they get angry
when they have to pay their fines off, but it has reduced the number of
times they act inappropriately in a given day!!
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Math Songs
From (janatkins@aol.com), a high school special education math teacher
in Columbus, Georgia:
"One of the students that I was tutoring and I came up with a song to help
her remember how to handle integer operations. I had found such a song
for
addition/subtraction on the Internet. We made up one for multiplication/division. It is sung to the tune of "Brother John, Are You
Sleeping?"
Multiplying and dividing,
Use same sign, use same sign.
You will get a positive,
You will get a positive,
And you'll be fine, you'll be fine.
In case you have not seen the addition/subtraction song, it is sung to
the
tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."
Same sign, add and keep.
Different sign, subtract.
Take the sign of the higher number,
Then it'll be exact.
I am planning to use these songs with my Pre-Algebra students as we begin
to
learn how to handle integers. We will also do hands-on work and will walk
the
"line" on the floor. But we will also sing every day, until they can sing
this song in their sleep. Remembering how to handle integer operations is
the place where my students falter, and often fall down."
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Irregular Plural Nouns with a Bit of Holiday Spirit!
From Barbara Hyler (BarbaraAn3@aol.com) and Patti Barns, a learning disabilities specialist and a fourth grade teacher at Bettie Weaver
Elementary School in Midlothian, Virginia:
"This song was created to teach a fourth grade collaborative language
arts class. We enhance our appearance with anything we can find in the music
teacher's storage closet. The top hats and sequin bow ties are among our
favorite costumes. The song and costumes all make for a memorable lesson
and provide the added benefit of a multi-sensory approach needed for the L.D. children.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me
A very noisy song to sing.
On the second day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me
Two tapping feet,
And a very noisy song to sing.
On the third day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me
Three laughing children,
Two tapping feet,
And a very noisy song to sing.
....Four hammering men...
....Five stirring women...
....Six geese a-honking...
....Seven mice a-squeaking...
....Eight reindeer playing...
....Nine teeth a-chattering...
....Ten fish a-bubbling...
....Eleven sheep a-baaing...
....Twelve moose a-calling...
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Thanksgiving Feast
From Kim Wilson (dragonwerx@yahoo.com), a special education teacher in
Jefferson County, Kentucky:
"When I taught in a self-contained classroom, my students prepared and
served a Thanksgiving lunch to their parents. The cafeteria staff cooked
the turkeys for us but the students and I prepared everything else. For
science lessons we studied nutrition, for social studies we examined different harvest festivals around the world, for math the
lessons involved consumer math, etc. The students had to make a budget to buy
all the food based on money I had from a grant. We went to the store to
purchase the food. The students made the centerpieces and decorations and
had to write invitations to their family members. Each child could invite
two people. The students also wrote an additional invitation to one staff
member they wanted to join us for lunch. The families and staff members
really enjoyed this lunch and my students are still talking about it three years later."
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Want Ads
From Sheila Schnitt (sschnitt@chesterfield.k12.va.us), a high school special education teacher in Virginia:
"Some of my students thought that school was of no value to them so I decided we, as a class, would see what life would be like if they
dropped out then and there. We searched the Want Ads for a job that they could realistically obtain with whatever skills they had at the
moment. Then we figured out the monthly salary. We created a monthly budget of things they would have to pay for each month because their
parents might not let them live at home anymore if they quit school. Using the newspapers, they had to find an apartment, figure out a food
budget, buy a car and price auto insurance. When they realized what life
could really be like for someone with no education or skills, some of their
attitudes toward school changed."
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Lunch Pockets
From Mary Masters (mmasters@osprey.net):
"In my classroom I have the standard pocket behavior chart with various
colored cards. However, I've taken the concept one more step. In a tray
near the door I have additional cards that are not part of the behavior
chart. There is hot pink for hot lunch, cool neon green for cold lunch
and teal blue for breakfast. As students go to their desks, they put the
appropriate card(s) in their pockets. If a student doesn't have a card
in his/her pocket, I double check to see if the student is present. My
student helper then prepares my attendance/lunch count record to go to
the office. To facilitate this, I made an oversize student list in a
large font on bright construction paper. After taking attendance/lunch
count the cards are returned to the tray.
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Faces and Names
From (smacdonald@who.rr.com):
"I take pictures of the students on the first day of school and create a
class book with all their pictures and a bit of information about them.
Then when the book rotates home with different students, the parents can
put faces with the new names they are hearing so much about from their
child."
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Quieting Rambunctious Students
From Janet Shlegle (jshlegle@olg.com), a special education and kindergarten teacher at Benjamin Banneker School in Loveville, Maryland:
"Quieting a rambunctious group can be a challenge, but I've had success
in several primary grades with these simple tricks. I teach the children
to CopyCat movement patterns, saying 'do what I do' while moving my arms
up and down, patting my head, touching my nose, etc. Initially I do one
movement, then switch movements about every 5 seconds. Later, I will do
a pattern of movements. Children need to watch and tend to stop talking
as they concentrate on imitating. I praise children for copying quietly.
In addition to getting their attention, this gives them a simple movement
break, and if I combine activities that cross and uncross the midline it
helps their sensory systems and improves their thinking skills.
Another trick, especially for a noisier group is to clap patterns and have them
imitate. I teach the game during group time first and then from anywhere
in the room, I can clap a pattern, and children begin imitating. I continue the same or varied patterns until everyone is quiet and joins
the game. This strategy practices sensory processing as well as auditory
attention and memory. Moving in the hall can be hard, but I have achieved
almost silence by having the children 'Put a Bubble in their Mouth'. They
puff up their cheeks and close their lips. If they talk, they have popped
their bubble. (Just watch that they don't hold their breath!) When we arrive at our destination, we all get to pop our bubbles. I remind them
that bubbles don't make noise when they pop. We practice with real bubbles before the first time.
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First Day of School
From (BernFidan@aol.com), a high school transitional teacher at Vanguard School for Special Needs Students:
"I have my students fill out the traditional name, address and phone number on index cards but then I have them turn the cards over and
write their first name vertically. Using those letters, the students are
then asked to come up with words that reflect their interests, personality, etc. At the end of the year, we look at these cards again to
see if any facts still apply. A second card is then done documenting things that they can change like lateness, talking too much, temper, etc.
This card is difficult for students to complete but given the year's
experiences they know the areas in which they need to improve. Parents
are
surprised how honest the students are and have a guide to work with them
over the summer."
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Other Duties As Assigned
Have the Family for Dinner From Sharon Tuckerman (Clownnrond@aol.com), a special education teacher at
East Cleveland City Schools:
"I allow my student of the week to invite his/her family to dinner. The
student and I shop and prepare the meal. This is a great opportunity to
witness family interaction and get to know the parents better. It's a night of fun and
encouragement. The student's academic and social behaviors are not discussed during the meal. If a family can't make it in
the evening because of work schedules, we prepare breakfast instead."
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Baby Pics
From Katie Ulwelling (kulwelling@austin.k12.mn.us), a teacher for the deaf
and hard of hearing and Teresa Royce, a second grade teacher, Austin
Public Schools, Austin, Minnesota:
"Recently, we began a writing activity by asking students to bring a baby
photo from home. The name that corresponded to each photo was kept 'secret,' but the photos were numbered, and we had a 'who's who' contest.
Of course we worried that some students would not have access to (or would
not bring) a baby photo. We were delighted that only one child was unable
to provide a baby picture since his had remained in the country from which
his family emigrated. Not wanting him to feel left out, we simply scanned
and enlarged his class photo from this year, scanned a generic baby photo,
and then transposed the student's head onto the baby's body. Finally we
ran the combined photo through the color printer to produce a 'baby picture.' The
student was thrilled and his classmates thought it was great. What's more, they could all be confident that they would have at least one right
answer in the photo contest."
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Web Study Guides
From Janet Shlegle (jshlegle@olg.com), a special education teacher at
Banneker/Loveville School, in Loveville, Maryland:
"Middle and high school students in our county have created web pages to
be used to study for exams. Using a jigsaw method, small groups are assigned portions of the coursework to create a study guide. The guide is
reviewed by the teacher, and then the teacher or tech support person uploads it to the web. It is available for students to access for
homework/study, and the students have learned tech skills and the content
by helping to create the guide."
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Back to School Board
From Martha McNeil (mcneil@dixie-net.com), a special education teacher at
Lawhon Elementary School in Tupelo, Mississippi:
"An easy back to school bulletin board can be made by collecting newspaper
and store ads. About the middle of summer, these will be full of the words
'BACK TO SCHOOL' in all shapes, sizes and colors. Cut them out and glue
them randomly on the background paper of your bulletin board. Add large
letters over the cutouts saying WELCOME. Students can add more 'BACK TO
SCHOOLS' as they find them. Even students who can't read can match the
words."
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