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Top 10 questions

If I walked into your classroom during an outstanding lesson, what would I see and hear?

animated discussions, students clearly making progress as evidenced in oral and written contributions. High quality visual displays of students' work showing progress. High levels of engagement. Behaviour that supports learning."

One of the most common accommodations for students with special needs is preferential seating. This doesn’t always mean in the front row of the classroom right next to the teacher’s desk

Many general education mainstream students cannot perform the following simple tasks: telling time from an analog clock writing a simple letter signing their name in cursive note taking and study skills

Collaborative teaching looks differently depending on what school, level, and setting you are working. I am fortunate enough to work in a school where collaborative teaching is encouraged and celebrated. Teachers have common planning times, and professional development time is often set aside for teachers to plan together.

Planned ignoring

Signal interference

Proximity and touch control

Establishing meaningful relationships with families is a critical part of your work, and your communication is especially important when working with families with preschoolers with special needs.

The first step to establish strong relationships with families of children with special needs is to spend time discovering their wishes and concerns for their children and to learn about the meaningful activities they participate in at home. Maintaining this communication throughout a child’s time in your program is essential. Ask questions to learn about strategies that work at home and consider using them in your classroom.

In your collaboration with families, acknowledge and respect their strengths and unique background, while realizing their ability to make decisions that are right for them (Hanson & Lynch, 2004).

Explain to students that they are going to write a profile of a character who stands up against gender stereotypes. Provide students with the appropriate graphic organizers and have them work independently to begin developing their characters.

Culminating Activity: Creating a Personal Timeline Review the Lincoln timeline that students assembled at the beginning of the lesson. Point out that each event has a date, as well as information and a picture about that date. Remind students that the timeline begins with the earliest date and goes until the most recent date. Explain to students that it is now their turn to make a timeline about their own lives. Ask them to think about two important things that have happened to them in their lives. Ask for some volunteers to share this information. (Some possible answers: the day they were born; going on a fun vacation; learning to play an instrument; getting a special gift; starting school; making a new friend; etc.) Hand out blank sheets of paper to each student. (Hand out 1 sheet of paper for each student creating a timeline online and distribute 3-4 sheets for each student creating a timeline by hand.). Ask each student to write down the two events that they thought of on a sheet of paper. Now ask them to think of 4 more important things that have happened to them in their lives and to write those down, as well. Ask students to create a timeline on which to put these events. Creating timelines by hand: Ask students to draw a line from left to right across the middle of their paper. Then ask them to draw small vertical lines to indicate important years in their lives. To create a longer timeline, students can tape 2-3 pieces of paper end to end and then draw a horizontal line across all the sheets. Creating online timelines: Direct students to the “Timeline Generator” at TeAch-nology.com (Note: Instruct them to scroll to the bottom of the page to see the timeline tool.) Ask students to put their 6 events in chronological order in their timelines, starting with the earliest event and ending with the most recent. If students are using the online timeline tool, ask them to print out their timelines once they have finished. Encourage all students (whether creating a timeline by hand or on the computer) to draw/paste images or photographs to go along with each event. After students have completed their individual timelines, ask for volunteers to explain/ present their timelines to the group.

Plan ahead. You can arrange to speak with school officials or teachers before the school year even begins. If the year has started, plan to speak with a teacher or counselor on at least a monthly basis.Make meetings happen. Agree on a time that works for both you and your child’s teacher and stick to it. If it’s convenient, meet in your child’s classroom so you can get a sense of their physical learning environment.Create goals together. Discuss your hopes for your child’s school success. Together, write down specific and realistic goals and talk about how to help your child reach them.Listen carefully. Like you, your child’s teacher wants to see them succeed at school. Listen to what they have to say—even if it is sometimes hard to hear. Understanding your child’s challenges in school is the key to finding solutions that work.Share information. You know your child’s history, and your child’s teacher sees them every day: together you have a lot of information that can lead to better understanding of your child’s hardships. Share your observations freely, and encourage your child’s teachers to do the same.Ask the hard questions and give a complete picture. Be sure to list any medications your child takes and explain any other treatments. Share with the teacher which tactics work well—and which don’t—for your child at home. Ask if your child is having any problems in school, including on the playground. Find out if they are eligible for any special services to help with learning.