Portfolio: Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan Portfolio
Lynnette Sharrer
Grand Canyon University
SPE-359
Danielle Girnius
August 9, 2015

Lesson Plan 1.docx

Lesson Plan 2.docx

Lesson Plan 3.docx

The key to success in the classroom for students with special needs is for the teacher and students to have the appropriate accommodations, modifications, and adaptations. These are individualized for the student and can be as easy as moving a student away from a distraction, like a pencil sharpener. Existing material in the classroom can be adapted to accommodate students with special needs to either make them more accessible or sensitive to the learner’s needs. A teacher can reorganize, rewrite, add, or delete the material in order for a student
to independently access the regular classroom curriculum. An audio tape can be created or a study guide for students who have difficulty reading, while the rest of the students read the text. Assignments can be adapted to fit the needs and skills of a student. Completing assignments can be the discretion of the student: written, typed, or verbal depending again on the needs and skills of the student. An Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is helpful when considering adaptations in the classroom. Students learn in many fashions and students with special needs may need a variety of learning styles.
A learning style simply means how one learns and remembers information. Visual, auditory, or kinesthetic are the different learning styles. Learning styles can greatly go with personality, for instance a visual learner is usually neat and organized, while a kinesthetic learner is not so organized and impulsive. The visual learner thinks with pictures, likes to write things down, and can usually retain information easily. The auditory learner listens to information best and can usually verbalize and tell stories. Finally, the kinesthetic learner is a hands-on learner, likes to move around, and usually does not like to read directions. A teacher needs to recognize what type of learner each student is to understand how the student processes
information. Teachers now are faced with ensuring that each student’s individual needs are met.
The most important strategy for teachers to accommodate special needs students’ learning is to collaborate with special education teachers and staff. Teachers should take advantage of the expertise of the special education teacher, as they are the ones who have the extensive training working with learning and behavioral disabilities. A long-term commitment must be made to get the appropriate and necessary training, plus the technical assistance. An IEP team reviews the standards and the performance tasks for each student with special needs and develops a plan together. During this time, any modifications or accommodations are made for the student and it is decided who will be responsible for the implementation of these. The student is then monitored and a decision is made as to whom is responsible for the effectiveness of the accommodation and if any adjusts need to be made. The student is then evaluated by the team after they have discussed how they will evaluate the student. Teachers should always use the IEP as a resource for the specific goals and objective for the individual student, plus it may include strategies to help the student
succeed. General education teacher may not individualize instruction or modify, accommodate or adapt any instruction in the classroom without an IEP for a student with special needs. Students with disabilities will have many challenges in the regular education classroom without any adaptive instruction. Effective inclusion must have collaborative planning. When effective collaboration is used, students improve social functioning and academic performance.

References
Carter, N., Prater, M. A., Jackson, A., & Marchant, M. (2009). Educators ' Perceptions of Collaborative Planning Processes for Students with Disabilities. Preventing School Failure, 54(1), 60-70.
Center for New Discoveries in Learning. (2015). How Different Learning Styles Affect Your Life. Retrieved on August 9, 2015 from www.howtolearn.com
NCSET (2003). Collaboration between General and Special Education: Making It Work. Retrieved on August 9, 2015 from www.ncset.org