Helping Disabled Children to Succeed

Disabled children, like their counterparts, want to be loved and accepted. They want to have friends. Most of all, they want to succeed. If you are the parent or caregiver of a disabled child and you are not sure how to help him, it is vital for you to consider the tips provided here.

1. Include the Child As Much As Possible. When you are socializing, going to family events, or just doing things in the community, include the child as much as you can. Do not shun him off as if he were something to be ashamed of. Certainly, he is less than perfect, but he is your child and one who is worthy of your love. He is also a blessing because life in itself is a blessing. When you include disabled children, they will learn the necessary social skills for survival, and they will enjoy enriching interaction.

2. Teach the Child As Much As Possible. Just because a child is disabled, this does not mean that he is incapable of learning. Disabled children can learn quite a bit. Teach your disabled child everything that he can learn. If there are skills that he cannot grasp, that is perfectly fine. Don’t push them on him. If he is learning, then keep on going. Teach the child everything that he wants to know and that he is capable of learning. The goal is to get the child to grow and develop to his full potential.

3. Treat the Child As Normally As Possible. You may be tempted to baby your child; however, if he can be treated normally, then do so. Treat him according to his mental age. For instance, if the child is mentally on the level of a 3 year old but is 12, and then treats him as such. But if the child is simply disabled but can conduct himself.

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Lesson Plans Adaptations for Blind Children

Many teachers do not know how to teach blind children at all. As a matter of fact, when teachers get a blind child in their classroom, they become disconcerted and afraid. Some teachers will refuse to teach these children altogether. Blind children are not hard to teach. All that needs to be done is that the lesson plans need to be modified, so they are able to learn and process the material.

One way that modifications can be made to the lesson plans for blind children are that tactile can be included with the lessons. Are their pictures and graphs that are essential for learning the material? Providing tactile drawings will enable the blind child to feel what they need to learn.

Another modification to the lesson plans that can be made for blind children is that lessons can be made hands on. Blind children can learn via lectures and notes like any other child, but when lessons are hands on, they will grasp the material better.

Finally, you must insure that materials are provided in a format that the blind child can read. Blind children read Braille, and some use audio books. Electronic format is also preferred because blind children can read the materials on their computers.

When you follow these recommendations, you will find that it is not difficult at all to make the lesson plans accessible for blind children. In addition, you will not have to fear these blind children as if they are a serious threat. Blind children, like other children, are eager to learn and take on challenges. As their teacher, you can make it happen for them. Help these children reach their full potential.

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Disabled Children In A Classroom

Many times a class will have a disabled child in the classroom. There are things that a teacher can do to help aid this child or these children so that they can have healthy access to their learning environment. This is especially important if there are children in the classroom that are in wheelchair bound, or require walking aids. Most of these children have aids that helps them with their things, but part of the IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Act, is that students are to have the least restrictive environment possible. This means accommodating students so that they can be part of a mainstream classroom, and not feel like a disadvantaged student. For teachers this means that a complete rearrangement of the classroom desks and chairs to make room more accessible for these types of students. This also means that the student or students will need to be able to access reading materials and supplies. The best rule of thumb is to clear a pathway for a student about the width of a chair all the way around the room. Then you will know that your student will be able to have full mobility of their learning center.

These changes may be required by their IEP, Individual Education Plan, development program. When the school comes to together to formulate a plan to help a particular student there could be accommodations that are recommended that might seem odd, but are necessary for the optimal development of a child. For instance an IEP may require that teachers amplify their voices with microphones for hearing impairments, or create a new flow for the room for wheelchairs. Based on the law of IDEA, it is imperative that all the changes be made so that students can learn in the best possible situation.

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How To Use Lesson Plans

Every teacher has lesson plans, but it is a matter of how a teacher uses them that will determine if they will be effective or not. All school districts require formal lesson plans, and there is a prescribed way in which to handle them. They need to include the formal state and federal standards, as well as a list of strategies, materials, and time frame in which the lesson segments will be completed. For most teachers however, these plans are simply a formality, and not the actual framework that is used in class to keep thing moving on track. Many teachers make a secondary abridged set that will help them with their tasks, and they usually only include the absolute necessary details. For instance, the rules to a game, supplies, who the helpers will be, and how to arrange the room. This is the day to day reminders that teachers depend on until they are able to formulate a routine through years of experience.

These plans can be produced on a computer program that allows teachers to produce these note type lessons in bulk. This way they do not have to spend additional time creating personalized lesson plans. This also means that if there is an emergency, substitutes can have a formal set of plans, and an informal to help guide them throughout the day. For many substitutes, the informal plans are what is most handy as it provides a nice casual guideline on how to handle the day and all of the events in the day. For many teachers, the formal plans are more of a time consuming task, and many of them do not stick to plan. Classrooms are always changing, and teachers need to be sensitive to that change. The informal plans are easily changed to accommodate, and therefore are more beneficial for many educators.

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Learning Styles

There are different learning styles for students, and teachers can use different methods in order to work with all of them. The three key styles include audio, which is when students thrive with listening to material. Visual is the second type of learning style that means that students do well with viewing and seeing new information. There is usually a combination with most students in that they are Audio-Visual learners, or vice versa with the first mentioned being the dominant learning style. The third learning style is the most difficult for teacher to handle, and that is the Kinesthetic learner. There are so many ways to help this type of student. You will know when you have a Kinesthetic learner as they are the ones in class that cannot seem to sit still, they are fidgety, making noise, chewing, or constantly doodling. These student make up about three percent of all classrooms, yet seem to cause about 90 percent of the commotion.

Teachers can do many things to help create a conducive environment for every learning style. For audio and visual types, and all of their combinations, teachers can present material in a verbal and written form. This means showing a presentation, then restating what the presentation just stated. This helps to solidify the learning occurring with the students. For the Kinesthetic learners, there are some tricks that you can use so that they are able to maintain focus in class. For instance, having that particular student or students move to a new corner of the room every five minutes. Give them a shoelace to play with or chew on. This is a quiet way for them to manipulate something, and it will not drive the rest of the class nuts. Try placing marbles under their fee and telling them to balance the marbles. You will be shocked by the results ofstudy habits, and test scores by keeping your Kinesthetic learners entertained.

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How To Handle Problem Students

Problem students are a teachers number one frustration. If handled correctly these students can become some of the best students and most endearing out of all the students that come through your class. One of the biggest reasons, aside from having special needs, for students to exhibit problematic behaviors is because they are having a hard time at home, or with other relationships with their peers at school. This can be a difficult thing to overcome, and many teachers make the mistake of trying to befriend the student in order to get their cooperation in the classroom. Befriending is essentially telling the student that you are equal to him or her, so when you try to exercise your authority in the classroom it can backfire and create a bigger issue than the initial problems.

Having respectful control of the situation is the best solution. Students needs to see that you are in control, that you are consistent, and that you care. This can be quite a challenge as you are truly walking a fine line of friendly and parental. The best way to go about this is by developing communication rules. This will allow you to speak without argument from the child. Red card Greed card is great for this exercise. When the red card is up you are allowed to speak, and no one else. When the green card is up you are to listen to the student. The other philosophy that works well with these types of students is the five positives for every one negative. Chances are that this particular student in question does not hear very much praise, and this could make a big difference. The process for this approach is to start off with saying five positive things that the child has done correctly or is doing right, then address the behavior, if need be follow up with the five things. This will help the student realize that you are not attacking him or her, and can create a nice situation in which to deal with the behavior.

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Special Education Teachers

Special Education teachers are required to have a lot of education and knowledge before working with students that have special needs. The reason for this is because it is absolutely imperative that they be masters at their craft in order to truly provide help for their students. Many of these teacher have not one, but two Bachelors degrees, and many have multiple higher education certifications, as well as graduate work. Couple that with the integration of new technology, research, and situations that students present, and you can realize how stressful being a special education teacher can be. As far as working with students with special needs, this is an art all its own. After a teacher has prepared, learned, and researched all the right materials, the time to present is the key. Presentation of material, and handling students with disabilities can be a daunting task. In fact, the burn out rate for many of these specialized teachers is not due to the educational requirements, rather due to the students behaviors and the stress of maintaining an organized and conducive classroom. This is one reason why the inclusion model has been so successful, as it is takes the primary burden off of the special education teacher, and allows students to enjoy a mainstream environment.

The other aspect to teaching special education is the legal issues that surround students with special needs. These students are protected under law that all their information is to be kept secret. This is for the safety and protection of the student, but it creates a challenge when there are those involved in the situation who are not eligible to be informed, but it would be of a great benefit to be so. This is a tough struggle for many as they are bound by law to protect the students privacy. It is only when the child either creates a situation, or is involved in a situation where knowing his or her information become vital.

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Lesson Plans

Lesson plans are more than notes for teachers. It used to be that lesson plans were almost a script of what teachers would say during a class period, and they came in the form of notes on lined paper, or even scratch paper. Today, school districts are responsible for presenting formal lesson plans to the state board of education, and there is little room for negotiation. In fact, teachers are required to provide lesson plans up to two weeks in advance, and they are required to provide alternate plans if there is any deviation. Teacher tend to have a mold that they follow for these plans, and all teachers deviate from them because students could have needs that arise during a lesson that requires a change of pace, technique, or strategy.

Lesson plans have to incorporate a lot of material in order to qualify as formal planning. This means that they must list the strategy or philosophy used for a particular lesson. That would include Piaget, Vygotsky, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and so on. They must also include materials used, materials needed, the state and federal standards, and all must be broken down into time limits. The lesson plan must be a complete framework for a lesson and must be feasibly completed within a class period. This might sound like a lot of work, and it is. In fact, most teachers say that lesson planning is the most time consuming part of their job. For most teachers the lesson plan is almost a secondary reference for them, as they are well versed on the materials, and are fully competent on the needs of their class. The formality with the lesson plans came about when many teachers did not have any, their students were not successful on standardized testing, and many thought that to be a startling correlation. Today, every teacher preparation program includes a significant segment on how to prepare lesson plans.

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Having Fun In Class

It is commonly know that high school students really don’t want to be in school. What can you do as a teacher to make it more enjoyable? You can help brighten their day by making the class more fun.

Have the students get up and walk around. You can do this by creating a lab or other simple activities such as this. If at all possible, try to get them outside. Students sit in the classroom all day. If you can help by getting them moving and outside, they may appreciate this more than reading from a textbook.

Go outside to teach. This is more recommended for a small class. When it is warm outside, have your students take their textbooks and notebooks outside and sit in the grass if the school will allow it. Just being outside in the sun will help make the class more fun. Your students will appreciate the change and the chance to stretch their legs out in the grass and to get out of the classroom.

Play games. There are plenty of games you can play that are educational. For example, if you are a geography teacher, arrange teams and play Seterra, which is a geography game on the computer that tests your ability to locate states and countries. Jeopardy is always a good review game and can be played in any class. There are plenty of other educational games that you can find.

Do group activities. Your students will appreciate working with other students in class rather than working by themselves. You don’t have to let them choose their groups either, just as long as they get someone else to socialize with.

These are simple suggestions, and not for every day activities. Try to incorporate something fun into a lesson every once in a while. Your students need to get up and move around and interact with other students rather than sitting at a desk all day.

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Becoming Organized

There is plenty that you can do to become a better teacher. You can learn how to best teach your student and how to effectively convey a point. A very important aspect of a good teacher is organization. How do you become better organized as a teacher?

If you are a high school teacher, you can create folders for each class. This way you don’t mix different classes work together. Have them hand in their work in separate baskets, or when you receive their homework, immediately put it away from other papers. You don’t want to lose students assignments. You may want to try having more than one folder for each class, also. For example, have one folder for homework assignments and one for tests so that you can grade by priority.

Organize your time wisely so that you can efficiently grade homework and quizzes. Students don’t want to wait until report cards come out to see their scores on their work. Try to get their work back as quickly as possible. It is easy to sit at your desk and grade papers while they’re taking a test. Grade papers from the longest time ago to the most recently handed in.

Have a solid grading scale for everything. You don’t want to confuse yourself. Most schools have a universal grading scale, but some schools let teachers decide on their own grading scale. Know the grading scale you use so that you don’t confuse yourself when grading papers.

Hand out homework assignments in order. You don’t want to confuse the students by giving them things they haven’t learned or going backwards. Make sure the assignments line up with what you’re doing in class and that you aren’t randomly throwing out a page number.

There is plenty you can do to become organized. The more organized you are, the easier it is to teach, grade papers, and hand assignments back to the students.

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