Independent Living Skills or Academics?

 © Copyright Toby and licensed for reuse under thisCreative Commons Licence

• Would you rather your child be able to follow directions or able to count from 1-10?

• Would you rather your child be able to independently get ready for school in the morning or would you rather them be able to read?

• Would you rather your child be able to communicate effectively using visuals or communicate with difficulty verbally?

• Would you rather your child be able to live on their own or would you rather them have a high school leaving diploma?

What Happens in the Inclusive Class? A Writing Lesson

What really happens in the inclusive classroom? Can the needs of all students be met adequately? Is the teacher prepared for addressing the special needs that arise?  As parents you only have what your child tells you.  For some parents, your child gives little to no response either because his/her verbal skills are limited and other times because he/she chooses to share very little.  Other times, your child gives non-stop information.  You hear all about lunch, who got in trouble and snippets about the work completed but you still don't hear how a lesson was taught and if they really learned it.  Today you're getting the insider look into a 40 minute writing lesson taught to a group of 25 Grade 4 students in an inclusive classroom.  You'll see how the lesson is differentiated to include different learning styles and levels.  You'll see the multiple opportunities students have to absorb and practice the lesson.  You'll see how the process of writing actually has many parts for students to practice and  how it needs to be broken down in order to produce a successful writing piece.  You'll see how the effective teaching in an inclusive classroom is more than just about how and what is being taught.

Special Education Teachers are the Best Teachers?

Are your eyebrows raised?  Mine were.  I heard this during my first year of teaching in a school where many students had significant gaps in their learning.  Some of these learning gaps were due to behaviour and motivational issues but many of the learning gaps stemmed from learning disabilities, intellectual deficits and ADD/ADHD.  In order to help all the students in the general classroom, special needs or not, to reach their full educational potential, there was a focus on increasing reading skills throughout all areas of the curriculum using strategies seen to have worked in the special education classroom.