Crystal+Bunn

__#1 The Concept of Inclusive Education __ What is Inclusion? Simply put, inclusion means educating students with and without disabilities together so that everyone has access to the general education curriculum, classrooms, and other typical school settings and activities. Students with disabilities in inclusive environments receive specially designed instruction and supports to help them meet their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals and succeed as learners.

Inclusion **IS ** :
 * all students working together for instruction regardless of their labels.
 * an atmosphere of acceptance and belonging.
 * education teams working collaboratively.
 * supports and adaptations to make the general education curriculum and classroom accessible to all.
 * good teaching using research-based instructional and assessment strategies.

Inclusion is **NOT ** :  <span style="color: #07a207; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">What are the benefits of this educational grouping procedure? <span style="color: #0b0bd5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">There are numerous benefits to inclusive education, just a few of which are that: <span style="color: #07a207; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="color: #07a207; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> What does the law say? ** <span style="color: #0b0bd5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Both No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) provide guidance about how to educate students with disabilities. Neither of these laws, however, specifically mentions the word inclusion. Instead, they say that students with disabilities should be placed in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and that they should have access to general education curriculum and settings.
 * expecting all children to do the same thing, at the same time, in the same way.
 * sacrificing the education of students without disabilities.
 * dumping children into general education classrooms without the necessary support for teachers and students.
 * watering down curricula - most students with disabilities in Florida will take the FCAT and will work toward a standard diploma so we can't afford to water down the curriculum!
 * Students with disabilities spend more time on academic tasks.
 * Students with disabilities show increased academic achievement as well as social and communication skills.
 * Students with disabilities participate in more school activities and develop relationships with peers.
 * Students without disabilities benefit from teaching strategies employed for students with disabilities.
 * Children without disabilities learn to value differences.
 * Exceptional Student Education (ESE) and general education teachers develop new skills through collaboration with one another.

<span style="color: #07a207; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="color: #07a207; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">What makes Inclusion work? **
 * Support from the principal and other administrators
 * A school vision that values diversity
 * A plan for inclusion that allows for flexibility and continuous improvement
 * Collaborative education teams that include parents as partners
 * Flexible approaches to scheduling, teaching, and learning
 * Curriculum, instruction, and assessment adapted to meet individual student needs
 * Ongoing opportunities for faculty, staff, families, and students to learn about inclusion
 * A variety of instructional practices for different learners

<span style="color: #07a207; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="color: #07a207; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> What are best practices to support Inclusion in your own classroom? ** <span style="color: #0b0bd5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">While there is no single "right" way to include students with disabilities, there are many best practices schools can observe in order to support students with disabilities in the general education classroom:
 * Differentiated Instruction
 * Multiple Intelligences
 * Multi-sensory Instruction
 * Interactive Learning
 * Cooperative Learning
 * Flexible Grouping
 * Integrated Curriculum
 * Scaffolding
 * Accommodations & Modifications
 * Tiered Lessons
 * Positive Behavioral Supports
 * Assistive/Instructional Technology
 * Peer Supports

<span style="color: #07a207; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="color: #07a207; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Resources for additional study: ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">o [] o [| http://www.floridainclusionnetwork.com/page265.aspx] o [|h] [|ttp://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr320.shtml]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> __<span style="color: #0b0bd5; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">#8 The Importance of Teaching Reading in the Content Areas __

<span style="color: #0b0bd5; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">** First thing's first: What are Content Areas? ** A content area is an organized body of knowledge, a subject, or a discipline. In other words, these are courses like math, science, or social studies.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">** Why is it so important to integrate reading into these subjects? ** According to the U.S. Department of Education 2003 (Schloss), reading is the most frequently mentioned academic difficulty among adolescents. Also, it is well known that most students identified for special education and related services experience difficulties in learning to read.

The implications of these findings mean that many of our students today will be lacking the required skills to succeed in their content area studies because they need extra help in mastering the art of reading. It then becomes our job as teachers to include reading and writing across the curriculum so that children see purposes for applying their literacy skills.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">** What reading skills should we focus on? ** In effort to help our students become better content area readers, we must consider that: <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> into the Content Areas **
 * As our students progress through school, the types of reading material they will encounter will be vastly different. Reading in the content areas places many demands on students who are accustomed to reading basal reader stories or fiction trade books. As a result, we must be prepared to help our students shift their expectations and their approach to match the kinds of texts they have to deal with.
 * Especially where our students with disabilities are concerned, we need to be explicit about specific reading strategies that can be used when tackling tougher texts in the content areas. These might include strategies such as using context clues, re-reading for clarity, making inferences, making predictions, and drawing conclusions.
 * Important concepts and vocabulary are often presented in rapid succession which can create confusion for students. These items are often best taught directly.
 * Students may not know how to "decode" non-fiction text features such as the table of contents, pictures or other images added to enhance text, boldface type, indices, etc.
 * Students may require assistance in learning how to read organizational cues embedded in text.
 * Students may lack essential study skills needed for deriving meaning from the text and remembering it for tests.
 * Guidelines for Weaving Reading Instruction
 * Set authentic purposes and goals for reading.
 * Activate students' prior knowledge and help them to see the relevance of what they are learning to their own lives.
 * Provide modeling and guided practice for students so that they learn how to find and use resources.
 * Allow students to make choices and decisions about their learning whenever possible.
 * Establish different kinds of class organization: individual, pairs, small-group, and whole class.
 * Encourage student interaction: Children learn from each other!
 * Collect a variety of resources and encourage students to contribute their own.
 * Provide different ways for students to learn including listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and visually representing.
 * Involve colleagues or resource people from the community who have specialized knowledge.
 * Construct relationships between old and new knowledge. Help students see the connections.
 * Integrate study skills instruction with textbook use.
 * Use thematic units for cross-curricular integration of content areas and language arts.
 * Encourage students to apply strategic reading skills such as predicting, monitoring, constructing meaning, and summarizing in all content area reading and activities.
 * Include informational books during read-aloud times and for student self-selection.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">** Resources for additional study: ** <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> o [] o <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">[|http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/reading/products/redbk4.pdf] <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> o [] <span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;">