Making Inclusion Work
Q: I am a Teacher Assistant working one-on-one with a child who has
Down Syndrome. He is in 5th grade and has comprehension skills of about
second or third grade level. How do I modify the 5th grade curriculum
to provide parallel lessons appropriate to his skill level?
A: I'm not familiar enough with the products of text book manufacturers
to know which ones, if any, publish modifications of lessons to fit
different skill levels, but there are many approaches you can take on
your own to make appropriate adjustments.
Discuss each subject with the special education teacher in charge of your
student's academic support program. He or she probably has different grade
level materials in each subject from which you can pick and choose lessons
and chapters that dovetail with the topics and lessons from the 5th grade
texts.
In discussion with the supervising teacher, you will need to identify
priority concepts, vocabulary and skills within each lesson, since you will
not be able to cover everything when you abbreviate and simplify content.
The school librarian can also steer you to parallel materials for each
subject area.
Involve the student and his parents in lesson planning. The parents'
knowledge of their son's academic history will be invaluable as you tackle
this year's work. They'll know about academic strengths and weaknesses as
well as work habits and study skills that need improvement.
Explore the possibility of peer collaboration on some projects and assignments.
It will make your student feel more a part of the class if he can contribute
in a substantive way to the completion of lab experiments, art projects or
other group endeavors.
If your student can handle some hours in his schedule independently,
such as lunch, PE, music or art, use that time to make lesson modifications.
Request that an hour or two of paid collaboration time be built into your
schedule, so you can meet with teachers or parents before or after school
each week. Inclusion programs like this can work successfully, as long as
you have time to make modifications and collaborate with others.
Author's note: See the following web sites for more information about
curriculum modifications for special needs students.
Success for all learners:
http://www.peytral.com
Curriculum modifications made for a fifth grade student with Down
Syndrome:
http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/ddc/incl/jm.htm
Resources about inclusion:
http://www.inclusion.com/
Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.
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