Are You "My People?"

I'm frustrated. That's nothing new. I'm typically frustrated when I feel that others are not doing what's right for kids.

And when I hear the following statement, I know that there's people who aren't doing what's right for kids.

I also know that if you say the following, you are not "my people."

The statement is this:

"We are only responsible for providing the Chevy, not the Cadillac."

Regardless of your actual car manufacturer preference, this crap is just NOT RIGHT.

This is NOT what I believe about public schools. This NOT what I know about public schools.

And now I'm angry.

You're telling me that you don't have the time to differentiate because we only need to provide the Chevy. That's not right.

Students with special needs, students who are gifted, And students somewhere in between should be served together in elementary school. The kids are five. Six. Seven. Eight. And nine. If not now, when?

I know how to differentiate for different levels. It takes work. It might even take the Cadillac of your work. It might take more than the Chevy. No, it SHOULD take more than the Chevy (or Ford or VW or Chrysler). 

Because I'm better than average. I am better than the Ford model. I am a Cadillac of a teacher. 

And I believe that public school kids should get the Cadillac. The Ferrari. The Beamer. The Jag.

I'm not the freakin' Chevy. 

And neither are my services.

Teaching Written Expression to Students with Mod-Intensive Special Needs

In an effort to examine the way that I approach the instruction of written expression to my students with moderate-intensive special needs, I have had a chance to speak with others who teach students with special needs.  Several have shared the ways that they go about teaching written expression to our students without the help of a "program" or specific curriculum. 

In the past 6 years, I have tried to stream line the way I teach writing and use a task analysis approach to my instruction.  Using principles of ABA, I often use more of a discrete trial method, continuously practicing and reinforcing a concept at one to one teacher table until it is mastered.

I've heard from other colleagues around the country (via twitter and email) about their similar approaches. Because our students differ, we have varying methods. But, one thing is the same. Written Expression Instruction for our students is complicated.  

Below, I outline the way that I instruct written expression for my K-3 students with moderate to intensive special needs:

Only after learning letters and letter sounds and working on basic handwriting skills with pre-writing strokes, I start with writing capital and lowercase letters that represent a sound.  I say "write the letter that says /b/."  My student should write a "B" or a "b."

Once we have mastered writing (with some sort of accuracy so I can tell what letter I am looking at), I move on to writing three letter words in the cvc (consonant-vowel-consonant) pattern to label a picture.  We see a picture of a hat and we should write h-a-t.  I help sound out the word by tapping out the sounds on my arm (beginning sound at the wrist, medial sound at the elbow, and ending sound at the shoulder).  While learning to do this, we are also practicing receptively choosing beginning, medial, and final sounds in cvc words.

Below is a page we might use to label items with cvc names like pen, hen, can, hot, pot, and ten.  We would typically work on this together once we have already made words with letter cards or on the iPad app called ABC Magnetic Alphabet.

Once we've mastered labeling pictures, we move to making sentences using picture cards and word cards.  I show a picture of a simple object like a dog.  Then I say "What is this?" and the student constructs the sentence "This is a dog."  We work on varying the start of the sentence with "It" or "I see" to make sentences like "I see a dog." or "It is a dog."  During this time, I reinforce capital letters and periods to make complete sentences.  We watch a Brain Pop Jr. video and practice, practice, practice.

Then we move to pictures of people or fictional characters doing something so that we can make sentences with a verb + ing.  Using picture cards and word cards, I ask "What is he doing?" The student will then make a sentence like "He is walking."  I change my question to use "she" and "they" as well.

We work then on writing the sentence we've formed with the word cards.  Then writing the sentence without the word cards.

Once we can write one sentence about a picture, I move to two sentences.  Using the same method as above, I show a picture and say "What is this?"  The student should write "This is a dog."  Then I ask "What color is it?" or "Is it big or little?"  The student can then write a sentence with a defining characteristic like "It is brown."  We then point out that we have two capital letters and two periods and that means we have written two sentences.

Once we can master that, I show the picture and say "Write two sentences."  

In addition, I plan to start adding in more "errorless" writing in which I can give a sentence with a blank space and several correct choices for a response like this (Thanks to Jennifer Waer aka @spoowriter for this awesome example): 

I'm am incredibly interested in discussing this topic with other teachers who work with students with moderate-intensive disabilities and hope that I'll hear from some.  

Thanks to some members of my PLN, @teachwtechbrox, @specialteachk, @tperran, and @spoowriter, for your support and help. :)

More on Differentiation... Real Strategies.

Back in July of 2010, I wrote a post called Differentiation: Stop Rolling Your Eyes...and I was reminded this week why I so strongly believe in the concept of "differentiation" even if it is a "buzz word" or a "passing fad."

I don't believe it's a passing fad because it can never get old to teach ALL kids.

Nonetheless, this week, our district provided us with some professional development on "differentiation" by bringing in speaker and author Dr. Michael Optiz.  Dr. Optiz has written many books such as Do-able Differentiation and Literacy Lessons to Help Kids Get Fit and Healthy.  Dr. Opitz gave some great ideas, shared some great children's literature, and was a generally nice and knowledgeable man.

While I found Dr. Optiz and his suggestions worthwhile and meaningful, I also believe its important to remember that meeting the needs of all learners does not have to be some elaborate plan or something you've planned weeks in advance.  Differentiation is good teaching.

Because I believe that differentiation is something I do well (because I have to do it every single day because of my job!), I would like to share some more ideas for easily differentiating in the classroom (for more ideas, please see the post from July 2010, "Differentiation: Stop rolling your eyes...").

1. In an elementary school science class, students often work on concrete concepts such as categorizing animals or the digestive system.  Make a few extra visuals for your visual learners.  Put a copy of the visuals on the students' desks who might need an extra visual or two to understand the concept.  Reference the visuals by walking by and tapping the correct visual when you are speaking about a topic.  Where to find the extra visuals?  Try Google Images.  It's free!

2.  In addition to extra visuals, maybe some students need to move items during instruction (tactile learners). Try to make some file folder tasks that the students might be able to manipulate during the lesson.  File Folder Tasks are easy to make and can be used year after year.  You might need to invest in some Velcro, but often you can find it cheap if you look in craft stores for "hook and loop" tape or straps.  You can also think about writing to Velcro and asking for any "scraps" that they can share.  They've sent our school two big boxes of Velcro!

Here are some sites for file folder tasks that you can print out and use:
- File Folder Heaven
- Enchanted Learning File Folders
- The Virtual Vine
- File Folder Fun
- My File Folder Games

3. Graphic Organizers.  Sure, it's good practice to use graphic organizers with everyone, right?  But some kids may need graphic organizers to organize their thoughts about a story they just read, about the social studies content that was delivered, about the writing they plan on doing... Graphic organizers are an easy way to make reading, writing, and learning more visual and organized.

Where to get pre-made graphic organizers?
- Reading A-Z. If you are lucky enough to subscribe, there is a HUGE library of graphic organizers.  If you don't get Reading A-Z, wait for their Open House in May and check out their resources!
- Freeology.com : Free Printable Graphic Organizers
- Education Oasis: Graphic Organizers
- Teacher Vision: Graphic Organizers
- Super Teacher Worksheets: Graphic Organizers

4.  Leveled Readers.  Find different books on different levels on the SAME TOPIC.  If you are reading about dinosaurs, find a picture book, an I CAN READ book like Danny the Dinosaur, and a nonfiction reader about dinosaurs.  Flexible groups can read different books and then the whole class can have a discussion on dinosaurs.  Do the same with other concepts.

5. Do all of the kids need to take the dreaded "timed test" for math facts?  How about having different ways to assess math facts?  I haven't seen a content standard that says "Student must complete 5000 addition facts in 5.2 seconds," have you?  Why do we even give those timed tests anymore?  I thought we were looking to create thinkers who use different strategies to get to the same answer.  What if some kids took the timed test while others played an addition game on the computer like "Adding Bricks" and others played an addition game on the iPad like "Math Magic" and others used the Touch Math strategies to be able to answer the facts?

Now, how can you apply these SIMPLE strategies in your classroom? 

Let's Talk about RtI...

So, let's talk about RtI.

Response to Intervention.

I'm just not sure what the mystery is all about.

I'm not sure where this "new" RtI started, but, let's just say, it's NOT NEW!

This is not new.

I've been a teacher for 8 years, and I know that this is not new.

We've always asked for data when you've brought a student to "team" to "ask for help."

But let's be honest, teachers that bring students to the "team" never want to ask for help. They want to get the student qualified for special education to get the student OUT of their classroom.

And before, we called it IBA or IAT (Intervention-Based Assistance) or (Intervention Assistance Team).

So, there is really only one main difference:

1. RtI says "We don't care anymore WHY your student is struggling.  We want to know HOW to help." 

10 more things you need to know about RtI (Response to Intervention):

1. RtI is a REGULAR ED. INITIATIVE.  Regular ed. teachers should be the ones doing the Tier One interventions.  This is called DIFFERENTIATION and is only different with a student needing to go through the RtI process because you have taken BASELINE data and should be PROGRESS MONITORING.

2. RtI wants to actually see your DATA and know what RESEARCH BASED INTERVENTION you did.

3. The RtI Team should never be the "gateway" to special education testing.  There is NO TEST that is going to say your child IS special ed. or IS NOT special ed.  There is NO TEST for SLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. The school psych., the special ed. teacher, the principal, the reading intervention teacher, and the speech therapist are NOT the enemy that hold the key to getting a student qualified as SLD and thus getting them out of the regular classroom.

5.  RtI actually encourages teachers to ask other teachers for help. "Hmmm, I'm out of ideas and this kid is still struggling. What can I do next?"  AND ASKING THIS QUESTION DOES NOT MAKE YOU A BAD TEACHER!!!  It makes you a smart one.

6.  In my opinion, the goal of RtI is not to qualify LESS students.  It's to qualify the students who really have learning disabilities or other real needs.

7.  Teachers, all teachers, need help/training/assistance to teach ALL learners.  We need to help each other learn how to DIFFERENTIATE because it doesn't come inherently in everyone's teaching "toolbox."

8.  The RtI paperwork and process should always revolve around the student.

9.  There are endless resources explaining all this and more.  Plus resources that provide the research based interventions that you need.  My favorites are Intervention Central and the Florida Center for Reading Research.

10.  There has to be a paper trail or e-data trail about the process.  If there is not paperwork or e-data, the next teacher will have to start over.  No one wants that.  Define your paperwork for Tier One, Tier Two, Tier Three, Team Meeting Notes, etc. and keep it all in a central and defined place.

(The hard part of all of this- Getting people to understand the shift... buy in... and DO IT!)

REBELS Day!?!??!! Ideas for Positive Educational Reform

Today, Sunday, October 17th, has been named "REBELS" day by blogger Tom Whitby.

REBELS stands for Reforms from Educational Bloggers Links of Educational Suggestions... A day for teachers/ bloggers to share ideas for positive educational reform.

A great idea. And I'm jumping on board.

Here are some of my ideas for Positive Educational Reform (although slightly uncreative in list format):

1. Pay teachers based on merit. What? NO!  Pay teachers based on a different kind of scale.  How many trainings did you receive that year?  How many educational books did you read?  How often did you participate in a collaborative group?  How often did you volunteer to lead a committee or facilitate a group discussion?  Were you willing to participate in PSO (Parent-School Organization) or PTA activities?  Did you make yourself available to parents via phone, email, text message, twitter, blogging, a website?  Did you integrate technology this year?  How? For what purpose?  WHAT IF WE WERE PAID BASED ON OUR DESIRE TO LEARN? OUR DESIRE TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY?  HELPING OURSELVES LEARN WHILE HELPING OUR STUDENTS LEARN?

2. Inclusion. Real inclusion. Not the theory or the "idea" but actual INCLUSION.  INCLUDE every student because ALL students can learn.  Real Inclusion should include at least TWO teachers in the classroom!!!  Co-teaching, co-planning, co-workers!  Two heads are better than one when it comes to finding the best ways for students to learn.

3.  Teach EVERY teacher to DIFFERENTIATE. Again, because ALL students can learn and it shouldn't be the job of JUST the special ed. teacher to figure out how to teach ALL students.

4. Initiatives starting from the GROUND UP.  Teachers and aides are the ones in the classrooms yet mandates come from those people who spend the day in offices on the hill.  Why not ask a teacher?

5. Formative Assessments.  USE your assessment to DRIVE your instruction.

Those are my ideas for positive educational reform.  Simple list but incredibly complicated to complete.

But as a teacher, I just have hope.

Yes, there's teacher bashing. Yes, there's union bashing.  Yes, I get emails from parents who don't trust me or who question my teaching methods or who question everything that is done in my classroom.

But I have hope.  For my students.

Last 2 ideas for Positive Educational Reform:

* Have hope, for every student.


* Get your passion back.  Be passionate about learning.

"Leadership Day 2010" (What would I want my administrator to know about technology?)

So, I am trying to participate in this thing I heard about on Twitter called Leadership Day 2010.  

From what I can gather, Leadership Day was started as a way to tell/ask/state what you'd like your administrators to know about technology to actively lead your school building or district to better teaching and learning.  (If this is a misunderstanding of the day or blog expectations, I hope someone will comment and let me know!)

So, I got to thinking... What would I want my administrators to know about technology?

But wait, I am a special ed. teacher, and I would much rather write an entire blog series entitled "What I NEED My Administrators to Know About Teaching Kids with Special Needs."  And maybe sometime I will do that... But, today I'll just revise my question...

What would I want my administrators to know about technology in regards to special education (or intervention) in our school district?

1. Digital Technology CAN be used to DIFFERENTIATE.  Yes, it's true.  "Differentiate" doesn't need to be just a buzz word and it doesn't need to attract all the eye rolling and negative press.  I can have students attending to the SMART board doing letter work while another student is reading an e-book or interactive book created with BoardMaker (Mayer-Johnson) software.  Come watch in my classroom.  My students can use ALL of the technology allotted to us and more.

2.  I need TIME to learn the new digital technologies that are going to help my students learn.  I do NOT need time to vertically align the K-12 Ohio Math standards that are about to be tossed out the window and replaced by the Common Core standards anyway.  I do NOT need time to listen to another text book publishing rep.  I do NOT need time to sit with colleagues to complain about "teaching to the test" and aligning standards to text books.  I NEED TIME to learn new digital technologies that can be applied to lessons that are needed in the classroom that might extend the learning and thinking of ALL students.

3.  When it comes to assistive technology, we could use MORE TRAINING.  I know that we can call the county specialist.  I know that I can do all the reading and research on my own time, and I do.  But I could use more training in this area and I believe my colleagues could too.  Every AAC (Augmentative Assistive Communication) device that a student has is different and I learn how to program it on my own time.  I learn how to use it on my own time.  I teach myself how to teach my student how to use his device.

4.  Twitter, Facebook, Nings, and other Social Networks are vital to my professional development as an educator. So, why do you keep blocking things that I need access to in our school setting?  Why can't teachers have access?

5.  Do you have any idea how CRUCIAL the BoardMaker software is for a special ed. teacher?  Do you know how it works?  Do you know the cost?  The accessories?  The benefits?  This is, by far, the most important piece of technology in teaching my students and helping them learn.  The possibilities here are endless.

6. Why aren't you holding more teachers accountable for teaching 21st Century Skills to our "Digital Natives?"  It seems to me that SOME teachers are getting away with using overhead projectors with transparencies that have problems filled in with Sharpie!  They are making copies of worksheets from 20 years ago instead of finding new ways to teach antonyms and synonyms.  They are relying on the SMART board to be a glorified TV screen.  They barely check their email and could not imagine what they would do in the computer lab with more time. 

7. I graduated from college in May 2003 and we were making webpages then.  It is now July 2010 and there are STILL administrators, teachers, and other staff who do not have websites or blogs.  WHY?  Why don't YOU have an administrative blog or Facebook page?  Why aren't you on Twitter?  Are you hiding something?  Don't you need a PLN?  Don't we ALL need a PLN?

8.  Do you have an iPhone?  An iPad?  An iTouch?  How could that device make life easier for someone with special needs?  Someone who doesn't speak?  Someone who needs life defined with visual icons or photos?  How could your iPhone or iPad change a life?

9.  Please make a plan.  Please make a plan on how we can move forward with technology in our building in a concrete and realistic way.  Please encourage every teacher to have a plan.  (For example, from a list of 5 digital technologies, every teacher in the building must choose one, learn to use it, and show how to integrate it into his/her teaching by the end of first semester.  Each teacher could share his/her use of the technology thus building a repertoire of technology uses in the building.) Make some sort of plan for growth and hold everyone accountable.

10.  Students with special needs are digital natives now too.  They can often use the computer with better accuracy than the digital immigrants.  They can create e-portfolios, click from homepages, use Flip Cams, access SMART boards and SMART Responders, use Google Images and Google Maps, play educational games, access movie clips on You Tube, type spelling words, write stories, create graphic images, etc. etc. etc.

"Differentiation" Stop rolling your eyes...

Inspired by the afternoon session of #edchat today, I feel that there's a need for a blog post about Differentiation.

Oh yeah! Another buzz word!

I know. I've seen your eye rolling.  I've seen your finger quotes around the word "differentiation." 

But, keep reading, I might hook ya.

Sure, we all know what differentiation is, right?  Well, we sure know the definition that we can give if asked by an administrator or community member: Differentiation is teaching to the needs of every learner.  It's giving different strategies to different learners to get the same result: a good grade on the standardized test, right?

Wrong.

I'm not looking for the definition, but some practical applications, because I'm just not convinced that it's as difficult as we make it seem.

(But what about the teachers who say that "Differentiation" takes up too much time??? Well, as I read tonight on #edchat from @web20classroom and I quote "We take the time for things that are meaningful in our lives. If education and kids aren't meaningful, time to move on." Priceless.)

So, here, some practical applications of "Differentiation:"

1. Upon reading a book in an elementary school classroom at the "carpet area," allow students with attention concerns, sensorimotor problems, or other sensory issues to sit in chairs, bean bags, or in a defined space on the carpet away from other wandering hands.

2.  While reading a story to elementary school students, stop to ask questions to help make connections.  Being aware of students' baseline levels, ask one student to name the characters in the story.  Ask another student to tell which character is his favorite and why.  Ask the nonverbal student with autism to point to a verbally named character.  

3. @suedensmore gave a great example from her music class during #edchat-"Differentiation: some kids can play the lead part, others play more supporting w/less notes. We all play the same song."

4.  In a 3-8 math class where students are expected to know the times tables, place a multiplication table on the desk (or inside a notebook or the front cover of a text book to be more discreet).  Better yet, hand the student a calculator!

5.  If you know that one of your students works at a slower pace than the others and you hand out a worksheet that needs to be completed, why not CUT THE WORKSHEET IN HALF for that student.  OR, do it for half the class (no one will know which students need less work). 

6.  STOP TEACHING WITH WORKSHEETS! But, if you must, alter the worksheets for students.  Remember that students with special needs like autism or Down syndrome are often visual learners, but so are many others.  Take out extraneous detail or distracting content.  Limit text on the page.  Provide visual cues and less answer choices. (If you didn't create the worksheet, but are photocopying it, use White Out or place a Post-It over the section you want to delete while you copy the page.)

7.  In high school, let the student decide what grade to work for.  Give out a rubric for an A.  Give out a rubric for a B.  Give out a rubric for a C.  Tell the students that they can choose to get any grade they want A-C depending on the work they complete.

8.  While lecturing and expecting students to take notes in a high school or middle school class, consider handing out a template ahead of time to students who may need it.  Allow students to record lectures.  Consider recording your own lectures using a Flip Cam and post your lectures online to help students make connections between their notes and your presentation. 

9. In an elementary classroom where students are learning to add and subtract, try using Touch Math.  Teach this method of counting touch points to the whole class, and let students choose to use the strategy or not.  Do the same with touch points for coins.

10.  In a Kindergarten when writing their names, some students can use a #2 pencil, some students may need a fat tipped marker, some students may need to use stamps, while other students may need to use a keyboard to type the letters.

11.  In P.E. class, if a student cannot perform the assigned task, can it be modified?  If the student can't do jumping jacks, how about just the legs?  or just the arms?  How about running in place? 

12.  Writer's Workshop.  One student may be encouraged to write a paragraph and type it on the computer.  Another student may be encouraged to write a complete sentence and check it with a proofreading checklist.  Another student may still be asked to draw a picture.   Another student might make a graphic image or even post his work on glogster.

I believe strongly that, if you don't "differentiate," you truly are not doing your job as an educator. 

And the term "differentiation" is just a buzz word for something that's been around forever, it's called good teaching.  It's called great teaching.

And great teaching never goes out of style.