Long,+Steven,+Inclusion+Strategies+for+Social+Studies

Introduction



Hello, my name is Steven Long and an interesting fact about me is that I love theoretical physics and space. Currently, I am in the MAT program; later on I would like to continue my higher education in the physics field and eventually teach in it. Life and everything in it brings me joy and the prospect of our future as a society keeps me optimistic and joyful about who I am as an individual. I also enjoy physical activities outside and my time to keep me sane. My greatest fear about being a teacher is the possibility that my students will walk over me in the first year and I will not want to come back to teach. As a child I have had difficulty learning how to make friends and keep a social life. I have always been independent and at times I feel like people just don't understand me and the fact that I would like to have friends. I can relate to students feeling this way and can sometimes catch the cues. When this happens, I can recommend activities for the student to participate in that is a great way to make friends or recommend that student to the school's psychologist.I have done some work in the special education field in the past. I worked in a residential facility for children with exceptionalities. I also worked in a reading program for children that were behind in grade level reading for my capstone. During my year off from school I did some work in a special education class as a teachers aid. From this course I would like to gain more knowledge in the field of special education and particular strategies that I can use to implement successful inclusion in my classroom. Inclusion Strategies for Social Studies

Introduction

Social studies teaches students about diversity in the world we live in. It also teaches about the differences each culture has within a geographical area and ways of accepting these differences. Social studies also covers social interactions and at the elementary school level it covers families and community. Inclusion strategies are ways that teachers can incorporate social studies teaching to students with a disability in the general education classroom. This topic is relevant to me because I value diversity and want to see all students understand acceptance and value differences. I also want students with a disability to be included in the learning of social studies because it is relevant for everyone to understand the value of diversity.

Top Five Things I Learned

1. I learned that the social studies curriculum for an inclusive classroom starts with the student first and the curriculum second.

2. Accommadations will need to be made to each activity or lesson due to the wide range of diversity and a students learning needs.

3. I learned that there are many different activities, differentiated lessons, and strategies that can be applied to the social studies curriculum and to the whole classroom in general so that each individual student is included.

4. I also learned that technology can play a role for an inclusive classroom and the social studies curriculum.

5. Above all I learned that there are resources out there that understand there is a diverse population with individual needs and want to help make inclusion for all students possible.

Resources

This is a PDF from nebraskasocialstudies.org that I picked as my number one resource. It goes over a wide variety of strategies for teaching social studies in an inclusive classroom and also gives great examples and documents for each of those strategies. This PDF also gives strategies that are usefull for all the curriculum, not just social studies. This is personally relevant because I plan to use these strategies for my classroom and liked that there was more then one or two strategies. I give this a rating of 5 out of 5. []

This resource found at specialconnections.ku.edu goes over what social studies is, the diversity of the subject and its learners, common difficulties that students with disabilities have, and some general strategies to help with those difficulties. I would give this article a 4.5 out of 5 because it goes over some great strategies as well as defining diverse learners and the social studies field but lacks some prime examples that my number one resource has. []

Social studies strategies to include students with special needs found at education.com. This is a two page article that talks about IDEA and including students who have special needs in social studies curriculum. It goes over some general accommadations that can be made to the curriculum to help students with special needs. I would give this article a 4 out of 5. []

Resources and articles using the ERIC database on inclusion strategies in social studies found on hoagiesgifted.org. This is more for recommending links and articles for teaching strategies but there are a couple general strategies listed in the summary of the selected articles on this webpage. I would give it a 3 out of 5. []

Step by step inclusion strategy found at teachervision.fen.com. Also other resources other than social studies relating to inclusion strategies. There are step by step instruction links for adapting material and the second page goes over ways to adapt existing material. I would give it a 3.5 out of 5. []

Tools for differentiated instruction in the social studies found at toolsfordifferentiation.pbworks.com. This article goes over some activities and examples that can be used as strategies for social studies. I would give it a 4 out of 5. []

This video was found on youtube.com and covers a particular strategy for social studies curriculum. It involves blocks called think blocks that have ideas written on them and there are different sizes to link the blocks with relating ideas. This is a great visual, auditory, and kinesthetic teaching aide for an inclusive classroom to get all students engaged in the curriculum. I would give the video a 3.5 out of 5. media type="youtube" key="Xat9_-Nznl0" height="315" width="560"

Differentiating social studies in the inclusion classroom found on slideserve.com. This is a large slide show about differentiating instruction that goes over some common strategies to be used in the social studies curriculum. I would give this slide show a 3.5 out of 5. media type="custom" key="12852520"

This video is about ways to incorporate technology into the classroom to help advance students understanding of social studies. It also goes over reasons why using technology for social studies is relevant to inclusive classrooms. I would give this video a rating of 3 out of 5. media type="youtube" key="L3yes7RsvwQ" height="315" width="420"

Disability Community Based Learning Project Individual Education Plan (IEP) Meeting I went to an IEP meeting on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at Parkside Elementary School. The student will be known as AW due to confidentiallity. AW has a vision impairement and in the future will be undergoing a procedure to help correct the vision problem. The participants of this meeting included myself, the special education teacher, a vision specialist that works for the school district, a student aid for the special education teacher, classroom teacher, and the mother of the child. The vision specialist asked about increasing the amount of hours for special education services if the condition worsens throughout the year; everyone agreed to yes if the condition was to worsen before the eye correction procedure. The classroom teacher asked the special education teacher if AW looks out of one eye and moves AW's head to look out of that eye, which was yes. The teacher also updated everyone that she asks AW multiple times during the day if AW is able to see. The mother updated everyone on the medical procedure, letting them know it was going to happen within the next year. The special education teacher and vision specialist stated some goals to work on for the next year. AW seems to be strongest with reading comprehension. AW's goal is to increase reading fluency by 30 words a minute within the year. Everyone including the mother agreed on this goal and that it is reasonable. Accommadations were pointed out by the special education teacher and reading specialist. AW is to use and get paperwork in 14 point font and have a lighted area. The vision specialist will see AW officially once a month. AW is to recieve assistance while using computers due to losing the cursor arrow and the glare on the screen. When there is a test, AW is to be in a smaller group, be able to take breaks, enlarge the print if needed, have the test read to AW, and an adult is to set with AW for the third grade reading assessment. The classroom teacher added that she would like a slant board for the classroom so AW can use it for reading. Everyone including the mother agreed that these accommadations would help AW and be there if needed within the year. An IEP is a legal document that goes over the students disability. The staff explain simply what each page represents to the parent and it is signed after each goal, accommadation, and questions have been addressed for the next year. There was also a form filled out and signed by the vision specialist stating that this student had a vision impaired and needs technology accommadations. It also stated that this student didn't need to learn Braille as of yet. Personal Reflection I learned that there can be an overwhelming amount of staff members included in these meetings with usually just one parent, which can be very intimidating. This particular meeting didnt have as many staff members due to it being an updated IEP; the mother was already aware of the process and has met everyone except me and the student aid before. The mother knew the accommadations and goals for AW and saw progress, so this meeting was to re-affirm everything and bring any new concerns up for the next year and sign it. I liked how smoothly this IEP meeting went, but know from talking with the special education teacher that they don't always go this smooth. I liked that the parent was involved and that the staff members described everything simply so that it could be understood. It was nice to see everyone collaborating on what needs AW may have this year and what accommadations could be used to help AW. Since AW is in second grade, there is no state testing. I liked that the staff put in accommadations for state testing next year when AW is in third grade and were thinking ahead to AW's needs. It was also great to see a goal for the year added to give AW a challenge and something to look forward to achieving. I was also glad to hear that AW would be undergoing a procedure that may give AW full eyesight back if successful. The IEP documents were gone through and signed and everyone was done within forty five minutes. I stayed after to talk with the special education teacher about the process and the IEP documents, which I was given a blank copy to go over. All of my questions were addressed and the atmosphere of the whole meeting was a positive one for myself and it seemed like for everyone else as well.