17. Wrap-Up

Module 17. Wrap-Up and Lesson Planning.

Kids Who Are Different
Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids who don't always get A's,
The kids who have ears twice the size of their peers',
And noses that go on for days . . .

Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids they call crazy or dumb,
The kids who don't fit, with the guts and the grit,
Who dance to a different drum . . .

Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids with the mischievous streak,
For when they have grown, as history's shown,
It's their difference that makes them unique.

The role of a general education teacher in meetings regarding needs of children with exceptionalities.

While many of such meetings are in reality just meetings of staff to discuss a student, it should be a joint meeting between professionals, parents and the student. There are several goals of such a meeting. Some of these are:

· Communication between the parents and representatives of the school.

· Opportunity to resolves differences between parents and the school.

· Commitment of the school to provide needed resources.

· Assurance that special education and related services are appropriate.

· Follow up and monitoring of services and progress of the student.

· Opportunity for the student to be a full participant when possible.

The best role of a general education teacher is not just as a classroom educator who is responsible for delivering the curriculum. Often at meetings for special education students, classroom teachers are limited to a much smaller role than the ones they actually may play. Other roles such as tutor, advocate, facilitator, resource person, counselor and coach should be recognized. The classroom teacher is in a position of trust. She/he is the key conduit for service delivery to the student. She/he might be the one who knows the student better than anyone else except for the parents. She/he is the one the parents may contact before they come in touch with other staff. The classroom teacher has the opportunity to be the one who helps set attainable goals and keeps the student and family motivated to continue moving forward. She/he can be alert to changes and new requirements - the first line of support. The focus of the role of education has changed from direct interventions with learners 'with special needs' outside the regular classroom to a more consultative and supportive approach focused within the classroom. The special education teachers provide academic-work support (educational approach) and therapeutic-work support (medical, psychological approach) but the classroom teacher is the one who most often will be delivering most of the direct services to the student for much more of the day as so many students are mainstreamed. The classroom teacher has skills and experience in delivering developmental services to make the best educational conditions for the so-called normal students. These may include:

1. Behavior skills
2. Social skills
3. Language skills
4. Emotional skills
5. Self-care skills
6. Cognitive skills
7. Academic development

These developmental areas are the same ones special education students need, while perhaps at a different level. Here are teacher roles for all teachers:

TUTOR

Develop strategies to compensate for student's disability.
Help student understand academic subject material.
Deliver testing modifications.

ADVOCATE

Communicate with special education teacher, guidance, parent, etc. on behalf of student.

FACILITATOR

Student--parent--school--agencies access to information

COUNSELOR

Dealing with social and emotional IEP goals
Dealing with student frustrations
Abilities
What is disability?
Strengths, skills, dreams
Self-awareness
Self-advocacy
Independence
Determination

LESSON PLANS.

NOTE: I am not a classroom teacher and have never had to create a lesson plan so here are some websites where there are a variety of lesson plans for special education students:

Kodak Lesson Plans using Photography.

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/education/lessonPlans/indices/specialEducation.shtml

Marc’s Lesson Plans:

http://www.halcyon.com/marcs/lessons.html

Teacher Net Lesson Plans:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Styx/7315/subjects/Lessonplans.html

University of Wisconsin Special Education Lesson Plans:

http://www.uwosh.edu/library/emc/lp_specialed.html

Links to Lesson Plans:

http://www.cloudnet.com/%7Eedrbsass/edexc.htm

Special Needs Opportunity Window Lesson Plans:

http://snow.utoronto.ca/resources/education/edlesson.html

The Awesome Library for Special Education:

http://www.awesomelibrary.org/special-ed.html

WRAPPING IT UP

Finally, you may want to encourage your older students to complete the Disabilities/Probability Interdisciplinary Project developed at Frisbie Middle School in Rialto, California. The interdisciplinary project, appropriate for middle- and high-school students, helps students learn about people with disabilities while they participate in a variety of lessons and activities that supplement and enhance the entire curriculum. In language arts, students research and report on a variety of disabilities and learn about famous people who have overcome those disabilities. In mathematics, they study the incidences of various kinds of disabilities and develop a game based on probability. In social studies, they study how various cultures treat people with disabilities. And in technology, they conduct Internet research and create multimedia presentations. This is one of the best disability awareness sites on the Web, and it can be used either to wrap up a unit on disabilities or as an entire unit by itself. Even if you teach younger students, you'll find lots of ideas and inspiration at this site.