Tips Archive » Managing Your Classroom » Inclusion

• Relationships Among Students (1 tip)
• Techniques (4 tips)
• Colleague Support (2 tips)
• Parents (1 tip)

Relationships Among Students

Buddy System

From Angela Johnston, a fourth grade teacher at Clairton Elementary School in Clairton, Pennsylvania:

"I teach a self-contained class with full inclusion. This year we have all identified students in grade four in one room. There are 13 identified students in my classroom of 26 students. Within these identified students there are 10 identified as Learning Support and 3 as Gifted and Talented. The remainder of the 13 children are functioning at average or above average level. In order to keep students on track, I have assigned each identified student a buddy and manage my classroom on the buddy system. This works really well because it makes all students responsible for their own work. The buddies check up on each other and my work is cut in half. We also provide homework trackers within the school for each student so my buddies make sure each one has his/her homework assignment before leaving the classroom for the day. During my silent reading period each day the buddies read to each other. OK, it's not exactly SILENT but everyone is reading and it works really well. You will not believe the independence it has created for all students and how close these students have become. I have found I have time to chat with each team of buddies weekly and give praise. Self esteem has risen tremendously and peer acceptance has increased. They have become protectors of each other.

Techniques

Adaptations For Deaf/Blind Students

From Kathy Baumfalk, an interpreter for the deaf at Prescott School in Lincoln, Nebraska:

"When working with a deaf or blind student, many adaptations need to be made. Whatever curriculum we can get our hands on we try to make tactile and Braille for the student. This gives the student much more accessibility to the classroom and the lessons being taught. Having a skilled team is also a benefit to help meet the special needs of the student. A mobility specialist, vision specialist, speech pathologist, deaf education teacher, regular classroom teacher and interpreter make a well-balanced team. Each team player is important in helping the student be successful. As more students and staff learn sign language, the deaf/blind student becomes more and more independent."

Special Needs Students

From Andrea Phillips, a social studies teacher at Perry High School in Perry, Ohio:

"Inclusion can be a frightening concept. Teachers wonder how they will accommodate students with special needs into a regular classroom. Many of us do not have the time to make many accommodations, but what I have found out is that you really don't have to make many accommodations to make special needs successful students. Inclusion means including all students in the regular education classroom. I am not saying some accommodations do not have to be made. They do, especially when it comes to testing. What has worked4me is challenging all students, including special needs students, to do the best they can. My special needs students get the same assignments, same projects, and same worksheets as my regular students. Sure, they may need a little extra time, but given the chance they can do it. They have shown me time and again they can. This week we have been studying the Middle East Peace Process. It is my special needs students who have been coming through with the answers to the tough questions and I am so proud of them. My tip is to base teaching on the premise that ALL students can learn, not just the regular education students. Teachers don't have to be afraid of the extra work they'll need to do, the students will do it because they can do it!"

Multiple Strategies to Success

From Nancy Jenkins, a kindergarten teacher at Cresson Elementary School in Norwalk, California:

"I have had a fully included student in kindergarten for 2 years now (she was a young 5 the first year) and she will be going to first grade in the fall. I have learned that I have to ask questions and more questions, try different things, and even be ready to try something new or bizarre because the standards suggestions don't usually work. My student is wheel-chair bound and non-verbal as a result of cerebral palsy, however, there is a spark there. She is treated as one of the class and the other students include her in all activities. My strategies have included: enlarging small books for easier visibility, using a name stamp for papers, giving her more time to utter sounds for responses, using larger pencils, crayons or paint brushes, pairing her with another student to read or throw dice or do the activities her body is just not able to do. She gets to do all things and others get to help. The benefit to having a full inclusion student is evident to all. She interacts and gets all the richness of a regular classroom and the students get to see 'disabilities' as not scary, but just a challenge to overcome. My student is very much a part of the class and accepted as such... it's a joy to see."

Directions

From Ruth Crates, a ninth through twelfth grade intervention specialist at Kenton Senior High School in Kenton, Ohio:

"My colleague Ann Downing and I have used this activity for several years with DH/LD students. Giving written and verbal directions is a concept we work on in the classroom. Each student writes or dictates directions to his/her home. Then we hop in the car and follow the directions word for word and hopefully end up at the right destination. (Sometimes we don't.) Students are given immediate feedback (we either get there or we don't) and they can go back to the classroom with a success under their belt or can try again. This activity also helps us get a better idea of where the students come from and is helpful when home visits are necessary. Students really enjoy getting out of the classroom and sometimes we even have time to drive through the local fast food place for a soft drink. Because the atmosphere is more casual in the car, I learn a great deal from the students on these mini-trips. Knowlege of driving rules become quite evident - they are all back seat drivers! Of course, you can only do this with a small group, and permission slips, emergency medical slips, etc. have to be in place. This activity can also be used when we study local map skills and local transportation needs.

Colleague Support

Planning Together

From Tina Schofield, a special educator at Bear Creek Elementary School in Baltimore County, Maryland:

"The number one thing that has helped inclusion work for the classroom teachers and myself seems to be joint planning. Our school could not budget this but my creative instructional assistant Karen Clarke suggested she substitute at dismissal time once a week (3-3:30) so we can plan. The classroom teacher sends me a short form with a rough sketch of her upcoming week. We both bring our materials and ideas for lessons and use this time specifically to plan. We try to limit extraneous conversations. On the rare week that we do not get to plan, there is a significant difference on the delivery of services and the quality of team teaching.

Helping Other Teachers

From anonymous:

"As a special education teacher who works with first grade, I am always looking for ways to promote goodwill between regular and specialists. One of the complaints voiced in our building is that regular teachers have all of the homeroom duties and specialists get assigned [only] door duty, etc. This year I decided to take my turn with homeroom duties. Each month I treat one of the regular teachers who welcomes me into their rooms. When the bell rings I collect their students from outside, get them settled and help with the roll call and cafeteria orders. I also take this same class downstairs when it is time for lunch. The homeroom teacher gets a few more minutes for preparation in the morning and a chance to sit down a little longer at lunch. This simple gesture has smoothed the way for a lot of cooperation in the classroom between us.

Parents

Accommodating Blind Students

From Tracy Ostwald, a first grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School in Appleton, Wisconsin:

"As well as being a teacher, I am the parent of a vision impaired student. I urge other classroom teachers to contact experts in the EEN field whenever they have questions or concerns. Blindness is a rather low incidence disability, and there are many teaachers who have had little or no experience in teaching a blind child. The nearest school for the visually handicapped can also be a great source of information. They can offer suggestions such as adaptations for mobility in the classroom or ways to make lessons more of a hands-on experience rather than purely visual. Contacting people with knowledge in the field is not a sign of weakness or lack of knowledge on our part, but rather a sign that we are willing to learn and ready to adapt for the child."