Inclusion and Teaching in Chicago

I'm continuing with Julia's Rocking Co-Teaching Series . Click below to read more about the other models already discussed in this series! Team Teaching Parallel Instruction  Model: Station Teaching Definition: "Students are rotated between three or more stations, also known as centers, which are either manned by a teacher or assistant or are independent stations. Teachers repeat instruction to each group that comes through the station, though content or delivery can vary based on differentiated needs" ( Collaborative Teaching in Elementary Schools by Wendy W. Murawski ). What does it look like? Check out my example of math rotations here Check out how to organize stations for older kids right here    Students working in a small group throughout the classroom Three or more stations around the room Two or more teachers in charge of a small group This video shows how young students use station teaching in a room with many adults. This i...

I'm continuing with Julia's Rocking Co-Teaching Series . Click here to read more about team teaching. Okay, onto the next model! Model: Parallel Instruction Definition: "Teachers break the class into two heterogeneous groups and each instructs half of the class" ( Collaborative Teaching in Elementary Schools by Wendy W. Murawski ). What does it look like? Groups facing away from one another and teachers facing one another to limit distractions and noise Two teachers teach the same content in the same way OR  Two teachers teach the same content in a different way ( Collaborative Teaching in Elementary Schools by Wendy W. Murawski )  Notice how the two teachers are facing each other and the groups of students are facing away from one another. Both teachers are teaching the same content in the same way. Notice in this video the quick transition from full class to parallel instruction. The teachers are teaching the same content in a different ...

This year, many of the amazing teachers at my school have asked me how to best co-teach. The models are unfamiliar to many new co-teachers and they want to know how to most successfully use the two professionals that now share a room.  I have a complicated relationship with the co-teaching models. I feel that oftentimes the models are misunderstood. Let's break it down, eh? Myth: Team Teaching is the best co-teaching model. Truth: No one co-teaching model is better than the other. The goal of co-teaching is to provide access to the general education curriculum and appropriately challenge all students. The trick is to vary the model used and not get stuck with just one. The type of model used depends on many things including lesson type, classroom dynamics, space, and teacher preference. Myth: Co-teaching is only beneficial for students with disabilities. Truth: Co-teaching is beneficial for all. Research shows that students with and without disabilities benefi...

I'm a big fan of Paula Kluth's awesome website, Differentiation Daily . A few months back, she wrote a few blog entries about Choice Menus and how you can provide options for students to show their learning and understanding of a topic. This is great because it allows the teachers to naturally differentiate within the dynamic, inclusive classroom. Our amazing 7th grade social studies teacher and I created a choice menu and decided to try it out!  1. We started out with three articles about the colonial times. 2. I downloaded this free choice board from Teachers Pay Teachers. 3. Co-Teacher Emily and I created a choice board using text centered comprehension activities. All of the strategies listed below have been explicitly taught and used throughout the school year. It was interesting to see which strategies students preferred.   4. Emily renamed the menu as the "Majestic Menu". Students had seven days to work on their choice board and earn up to 40 points...

This is really a dream come true! Sandy and Jenn- two middle school co-teachers- agreed to give math centers a try for their 6/7 grade math class. I became obsessed! I trolled the internet for good explanations and organization around math rotations or math centers. I found the perfect resource at one of my all time favorite sites  right here.  Stephanie from Teaching in Room 6 does a great job of breaking down how to set up math rotations. I used her blog and worksheets as a guideline to make this work for the 6th/7th grade split. So, here's how I broke it down: 1. Structure: The 6th/7th split has two co-teachers and 16 students. There are also two different tutors that come in once a week each. This means that on 2 out of every 5 days there are three adults to every 16 students. A dream scenario for small group instruction. We have 60 minutes of math class time. Math time looks like: 9:05- 9:10     Do Now (entrance slip) 9:10- 9:30     Rotatio...

Yesterday after school I met with the middle school team in the school library. It was a Thursday- the day the general education lesson plans are due- and everybody was busy. Even so, everyone made the time and commitment to spend what ended up being around an hour of time to talk about the nitty gritty day to day expectations and procedures of co-teaching. We are five weeks into this school year. We had already had a co-teaching PD. Schedules were made for both the general education teachers and learning specialists. Small group instruction, team teaching, and alternative teaching had already started to take place. Now was time to reflect on those last five weeks and put some true norms in place. Attached is the chart we made as well as the typed up version given to every middle school teacher. I came up with the norms surrounding IEPs but the team came up with the rest. Honestly, some of these norms are different than what I have done in the past. But that's kind of the...

The inclusive environment is new to Jahn this year. This means that students are used to seeing their peers leave the classroom for chunks of a time. Some use words like resource, pull out, and special education. Some don't. All know that some students need more help and they get pulled out. Now all of a sudden students who disappeared during math or reading time are back in the room! Now there's a second teacher who teaches lessons! Now work is differentiated! These changes are wonderful BUT we have to keep in mind that this change can be confusing or uncomfortable for students. Without getting into specifics, teachers have been telling me about language and complaints that they have overheard. Generally, the students are not meaning to be well... mean. They're confused by this new environment and don't have the language or background knowledge to understand the change. Below is a list of my favorite ways to do this: 1. The Bandaid Activity.  I got this f...

Clean your tables. Dust your libraries. Put together a powerpoint. It's back to school night! This is my first year at Jahn supporting inclusive classrooms and schooling. Since we've only been here at school for a week and a half, a few of the Learning Specialists mentioned that we should talk about inclusion. They are so right! A huge part of creating a fully inclusive school that celebrates all forms of diversity and unity is to talk about it! Families make up an important part of the inclusive schooling. Inclusion is all about community building and families have so much to do with it. Our principal, Mr. Herring mentioned inclusion and supporting diverse learners in the classroom during his opening remarks to Jahn families. I created (with the suggestion of my awesome colleagues) a flyer explaining what inclusion is. I emailed every general education teacher and learning specialist that is co-teaching this year and asked them if they wanted a copy. Teachers handed this o...

Tip of the week: Make a time to plan face to face with your co-teacher at least once a week every week! This is hard and takes a lot of time at the beginning, but will help you build your professional relationship. You can also use this time to bounce ideas off of one another and make solid lesson plans even better, more creative, and student focused! Here is a link (and some screen shots) to my Prezi on co-teaching in the inclusive school!