Strategies to Use With Students With Intellectual Disabilities

Strategies to Use With Students With Intellectual Disabilities:

1. Repetition of Instruction

2. Provide a task list for simple everyday tasks with visuals attached. For better success place a time frame next to each task.

3. Use bold print and spacing between    instructions.

Hey, just give me some extra time...I can get it done!

Arts Based Method

Teaching Novel Themes Through the Arts Based Method

Every story has important themes which are life lessons for readers. Once students fully comprehend novel themes, they are instructed to choose one theme and represent it as art. 

They may draw, paint, sketch, use art apps and other technology/artistic tools, photograph(s), poem, song, power point, and so on.

All ideas are encouraged and most welcome.

One novel we read in grade eight is 

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. 

One of the major themes of the story is greed, and how destructive it can be. 

Students must demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the theme and provide examples to validate that understanding. 

The incorporation of the arts based method allows the students to explore symbols and images from the novel and beyond to illustrate the theme. 

The teacher receives original productions and a wonderful opportunity to generate meaningful discussion concerning real life issues!

Some useful links to expand art into this particular project:

1.http://www.teachhub.com/12-ways-bring-arts-your-classroom

2.https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2013/05/17/arts-integration/

3.http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/01/13/how-integrating-arts-into-other-subjects-makes-learning-come-alive/

  

Culturally Responsive Poster

Diversity in the classroom can only happen when all who attempt to learn there recognize and value the knowledge that we all come from

culture...

Be Sensitive and Culturally Aware!

Alberta and Differentiated Instruction

The Province of Alberta and Differentiated Instruction

The Alberta School Board describes differentiated instruction as a philosophy and an approach to teaching in which teachers and school communities actively work to support the learning of all students. Building on the foundation that effective instruction must be responsive to students’ readiness, interests, and learning preferences. All three characteristics of the learner will, inevitably, allow educators and students to build new learning through connections to existing knowledge and preferred ways of working. The process depends on the ongoing use of assessment to gather information about where students are in their learning. Teachers use this information to vary the learning environment, instruction, assessment, and evaluation. Readiness refers to the student’s starting point for learning, relative to the concept being studied. Attention to students’ interests, by incorporating the use of learner profiles, enhances the relevancy of learning by linking new information to students’ experience and enthusiasm.

            The philosophy and approach are similar to the U.D.L. in that learning preferences are influenced by gender, culture, the classroom environment, learning styles, and multiple intelligences. The method strongly encourages educators to incorporate pretesting before they begin a unit, as it will be most useful in helping you plan assignments and projects for learner diversity.

            As it concerns the teaching of science, the literature explains how some students will require concrete and tangible examples that provide clear, guided support and that others can develop and apply skills in increasingly independent, abstract, and complex contexts. It may be helpful to consider students' needs along a continuum of support through to independence. The guide includes a self-evaluation for students that the teacher can use after a lesson or lab/project to ascertain learning and learning styles. More importantly, it will guide the teacher when moving on to the next unit. The self-evaluation and assessment sheet can be a helpful tool at the beginning of the school year, as well.

 " Every time you use a pretest to help you plan a learning activity, present information in multiple ways, or offer choice in the format for a final project, you are reflecting the key belief of differentiated instruction." (p.2). Science teachers are always looking for concrete information to guide them when creating projects and approaches to units. Differentiated instruction provides a wonderful opportunity to assist in the search for new approaches and new project ideas. There are many things to learn and take from this document for all teachers and across the curriculum.

Differentiated because it is okay to be different!

We all have a unique style of learning.

Collaborative School Culture

Collaboration

getting individuals, who may or may not have similar interests, to work together in an organized enterprise to a reach satisfying and appropriate solutions that benefit all who matter

In a school...it should have some of the following characteristics:

• classrooms are characterized by diversity, respect and a strong sense of belonging

• principal has a vision and a mission statement for the school and exhibits strong leadership and effective management

• teachers are divided into collaborative teams...this is working at my school...we communicate

• teachers are efficient, committed, and qualified

•  school based problems are solved together among all school staff ...we compromise for the greater good

• plan meaningful and useful professional activities

• analyse instructional strategies and classroom practices...we are open to constructive criticism

• discuss in a comfortable, accepting environment the needs, problems, and struggles of students, as well as those of the teachers and all staff.

Collaboration

Hey, now there's an idea...

Engaged Pedagogy

Engaged Pedagogy

When considering the idea of engaged pedagogy, it must begin by reflection and honesty. If we truly want to cultivate engagement, our classrooms must be authentic places of acceptance where knowledge can be challenged and questioned. It is a safe environment wherein students and teachers both feel empowered by the process of learning together and, perhaps more importantly, learning from one another!

Adaptations Explorations

Adding to Your Repertoire and Exploring Adaptations

Have You Ever Tried These:

A. Provide instructions in phonemic awareness

B. Help students learn from their struggles

C. Provide headset and digital stories to read along with for extra practice with words

D. Relate learning tasks to student strengths 

E. Help students DEAL with their struggles

Poverty gnaws, 

And scrapes away potential