Inclusion and Teaching in Chicago

Question:  What do I do if I can't be in the room?" Typically, what the teacher is really asking me is what does a child with an IEP do if there isn't a second teacher providing instruction and interventions. My answer is simple: provide supports anyway. In many schools, co-teaching in one room all day is just not a reality. Most learning specialists have students on their case load that stretch across several classrooms and grades. My first year as a learning specialist, I taught in first through fourth grade in no less than six classrooms. It was a busy year! Let's break down how to support students when you are not in the room. 1. Plan ahead of time. My mentor, Sheila Danaher likes to say, "You are only as good as your co-plan." Below are five lesson planning templates that I like (four of which are FREE): Differentiating Instruction  by Jacqueline Thousand, Richard Villa, and Ann Nevin . Their lesson planning templates and resources are incred...

In order to be independently successful, students need to learn how to manage all sorts of behaviors: turning in homework, raising their hand when they have something to share, transitioning to a new class, etc. One strategy that I've had success with in the past is creating individualized Self Management checklists. This is an old-y but a good-y. Looking at my old self-management checklists, I would do things a little bit differently. Let's get critical together! Even though this skill is all about independence and managing oneself, it requires a lot of teacher support at first! These checklists are the most successful when they are taught using the gradual release of responsibility model. This can be individualized by student need, but generally this is how I use self management checklists in the inclusive classroom: 1. Introduce the self-management checklist to the student. 2. Go through the routine together and find a place to keep the checklists. This should be ...

This support comes from Lindsay Whited, an amazing learning specialist and co-teacher in fifth grade. She uses the iPad and technology every day in inventive ways. This is just one example. In Lindsay and Fotine's amazing fifth grade classroom, students were asked  to summarize in writing a chapter from the book they were reading. They were also asked to create visuals and symbols representing the important events of the chapter. Lindsay used one of my favorite free apps called ShowMe. The student used the app and the reading strategies he had been taught in class to orally tell and visually depict his summary. He was then able to show his mega cool ShowMe vid to his classmates. CHECK IT OUT!!! I have also used ShowMe whole class. Each student created their own ShowMe and we were able to share them full class. I can't say enough about this app. Here's a student creating a ShowMe video based on the text she is reading. Here is one ShowMe video being presen...

In this post I mentioned that I would share different strategies for note taking for middle school students. The Math Help Binder is a great way to initially teach students to access references but the norm for middle and high school students is that they take notes and use them as a resource. I think it's really important that students in fifth grade and above start having a role to play in note taking. Below is one strategy I've used to support note taking in the inclusive classroom. Warning : It takes a bit of your own pocket money! Foldables are a pretty popular thing in the education blogosphere and I'm totally on board. I love interactive note taking. I'm down with  Dinah Zike's foldable books and resources. I'm all about Runde's Room , To The Square Inch's store on TPT and the foldable options on pinterest. It's all good. Generally speaking, foldables are naturally differentiated. They are both kinesthetic and visual and provide an eas...

 I'm one of those people that likes anchor charts more in theory than in practice. Anchor charts can be great! They can be a visual way for students to refer to new vocabulary, concepts, or information during class time. They can also over-take the classroom. Students that struggle with organization and reading might be unintentionally left out of this support. If a student is unable to locate the poster or read it, it no longer becomes a meaningful resource. I am still working on a solution for using anchor charts in an organized manner. I don't yet have one (but let me know if you do... email me). However, I do have an answer for how to make anchor charts that allow all students to have access. Let's do it, interactive anchor charts! Suggestion 1: Have students work in groups to create the anchor charts. Make sure to have students draft their ideas on a piece of scratch paper and that a teacher okays them before they create an anchor chart. All information on the anchor...

We're onto support number 7 which means we are halfway through my support a day! There are only SEVEN days left of students and then it's summer time (after a respectable number of teacher institute and professional development days, of course). I'm feeling antsy. The students are squirrely. Let's focus on a support that's perfect for times like this. Ladies and gentlemen of the Internet, I give you alternative seating! Can you spot the purple cushion ? What I love about Leslie and Mahli's classroom is that they are so comfortable with alternative seating that the third grader's focus is not on the fidget or cushion but on the book they are reading. You can incorporate sensory movement with alternative seating. One idea is to have a student carry the yoga ball up the stairs to their classroom. It can be an enjoyable way to get some heavy lifting in and bring up a student's favorite seat. Also, check out that blue cup at the corner of ...

The Math Help Binder was one of the first supports introduced to me by my mentor and colleague, Sheila Danaher over seven years ago. This is one of my favorite supports for the primary and intermediate grades. I'll share visual math supports for middle and high school aged students in the next two weeks. The Math Help Binder is a binder (or a folder if you don't have extra binders lying around) that includes math vocabulary or concepts with accompanied examples and visuals. It is a great resource to use for students that struggle retaining new vocabulary or following individual steps in order to solve a multiple step problem.     At the primary and intermediate level, the teacher (and not the student) typically makes the sheets. I like to go onto pinterest and look up strong anchor charts that already exist on the given topic. I use these to make my own. I slip each page into a sheet protector when I add it to the binder so that it stays intact throughout the year...

Happy Monday! Here in the Chicago Public Schools, we have ten days left with students. That means ten more supports that can be used in the inclusive classroom. Let's kick it! A great way to grade modified projects, presentations, essays, or any multiple step activity is to use a rubric. I am a big fan of the modified rubric. You are able to incorporate IEP goals (including Independent Functioning goals) into the classroom lesson and unit plans. The picture on the left is an unmodified rubric provided for a seventh grade essay. The one on the right is modified and incorporates modifications and goals that are in the student's IEP. I set up modified rubrics so that a 70% corresponds with the IEP goal or the student's individual unit objectives. If a student meets expectations, they will earn a C. Students that go above and beyond the expectation can earn a B or an A. Students who do not meet the expectations can earn a D or F. Here is an example of a stud...

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite low budget supports for the primary and intermediate classroom. The Portable Word Wall is a great resource to use with students that struggle with spelling and writing independently. It allows them to add the correct spelling of words they use regularly. What's better, it allows for more writing independence. Below are some examples of a portable word wall being used in Leslie and Mahli's third grade class.   Students get to practice using a support other than a teacher to locate and spell words correctly. It can be differentiated by need and interests. A student that likes writing about basketball can have that word included in their word wall while a student that isn't interested in sports wouldn't need to include that word. You can also use the word wall like a word bank. Feel free to have students include vocabulary words that they are learning in class or activities that they enjoy doing. This will come in handy during ...

For anyone that's counting down with me, we have 12 days left of school. Here's support #3! I am a HUGE fan of Bookshare. In my experience, it is the best (and most age appropriate) way of providing access to text for students who have print based disabilities. I love using the Bookshare app called Read2Go . It's $20.00 and well worth the price but you can also download the program on a computer for free. The hardest part about Bookshare is signing up. Give yourself a week to sign up and familiarize yourself with the download process. Below are some great videos from Bookshare that show you how to become a member. Enjoy! Here's a website tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=G0RUvNRZl8w How to use Read2Go: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=kcQOmPDjw9g How to download Bookshare on your computer: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=JFDt34DhVPo From their website: Bookshare® opens up the world of reading for people with print disabilities. If you cannot rea...

Looking at my end of the year countdown, we only have 13 days left! Wowza! Enjoy support number two. At Jahn, every teacher in middle school to have a routine that includes an independent Do Now and Exit Slip activity to start and end the day. Typically, this is presented on the white board or as a slide in a PowerPoint. The Do Now question is on the board (or the slide is up) as students enter the room. The INDIVIDUALIZED ENTRANCE AND EXIT SLIPS give teachers time to individually assess students on a variety of things ranging from IEP goals to the class objective. Here are some examples of modified Do Now and Exit Slips that focus on students' individual needs, goals, and class objectives. The two Do Now questions above were completed in the same class. The student in the first picture answered the Do Now question that was presented on the PowerPoint slide. The student in the second picture answered a question connected to an executive functioning/ independent functi...

I can't believe that my first year as an Inclusion Facilitator is coming to an end! As a special end of the year treat, each day this week I will upload a different example of an individualized support (either a modification or accommodation) used in the inclusive classroom here at Jahn. We have 14 days left of students so that will be 14 new strategies. Let's do this! Our first individualized support is SKETCH ANNOTATION. This can be used as an accommodation or a modification depending on how it's individualized. This student has created sketches after each paragraph to show her understanding. This is one of my all time favorite sketches. This article was about cannibalism in colonial times and the girl in the picture is munching on a bloody arm and thinking, "Oh yes!" Sketch annotation is a great way to assess understanding. The student drew a woman smoking to explain the phrase, "Meat was smoked". This let me know there was...