Learning 2 Go

            

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Me l NSSEO l Special Ed Topics l Modifications l Examples

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Me:   

that's me, star-gazing

Hi!  My name is Jeanne Zurawski.  I am an inclusion facilitator in the Supported Education department of the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization (NSSEO) in the glorious state of Illinois.  I earned my BS degree and a teaching certificate in regular education at the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana.  I received my Masters of Science in Education degree from Northern Illinois University, and four special education teaching certificates in PH, LD, BD/ED, and EMH.  Since then, the state of Illinois has restructured certificate status of special education teachers, so now I hold 2 Learning Specialist certificates.  Working for NSSEO for the past twenty years, I have had the honor of working with a wide variety of students with special needs, both as a classroom teacher and as an inclusion facilitator.  In my current capacity, I get to interact with students, teachers, teaching assistants, parents, therapists, social workers, psychologists, administrators, assistive technology......

My fellow inclusion facilitators and I have spent an inordinate amount of time modifying curriculum, texts, and activities in order to meet the needs of our included students in the general education classroom.  I thought it would be fun to share some of our ideas with you in hopes of helping more children with diverse needs experience success.

I actually have another web page through NSSEO.  You can take this link to see it.  When you get there, click on my name.

You can email me at:  jmvsz@yahoo.com

 

 

      Believing is seeing.

 

 

 

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NSSEO:  

NSSEO helping hands

"The Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization is an Illinois public school special education cooperative. NSSEO was formed as a joint agreement among its eight member districts. The purpose of this agreement, both at the time of its formation and today, is to insure that all students with disabilities who reside within the member districts have access to a full range, or continuum, of special education programming and services that are designed to meet the unique needs of each student." 

 This is the first paragraph from the NSSEO homepage.  Please use the link to find out more about this outstanding organization.  I am truly honored to be a part of it.

 

There's room here for everyone.

 

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Special Ed Topics:

The field of Special Education has topics galore.  Here is a list of the ones under consideration:

"Individually, we are special.   All together, we are spectacular."

 

 

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Modifications:

Here we go...This is the section that will have information about how to make those modifications to the curriculum, the tests, the projects, etc.  

First of all, it is generally accepted that there are nine (9) different "types" of adaptations you can make.  You can adapt

 

Think:                   

Input

Output

Time

Difficulty

Level of Support

Size

Level of Participation

Alternate Goals

Substitute Curriculum

 

 

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Examples:

bright ideas!

In this section you will find examples of material  modified for students with special needs in the included setting of the general education classroom.  My fellow inclusion facilitators and I sit hunched over computers for hours creating this material.  After that, it's off to the laminator and/or spiral book-binder type apparatus.  Over the years, we've come up with a system (and helpful timesaving ideas) that helps simplify the task.  To make these modifications, you will need to have a supply of the following materials on hand:

A lot of our materials are created with computers.  It's just easier that way.  The programs mentioned above are outstanding tools and are well worth the effort it takes to learn how to use them.  Once you start using them, you'll wonder how you ever managed before.  If you are a regular education teacher looking for ideas (please accept a virtual pat on the back), hunt down the special education person in your building.  Odds are they have some of this software on their computer.  Ask them to show you how to use it (it really is very easy once you get the hang of it).  In the meantime, take a look at the software descriptions on their websites:

It also helps to have access to:

 

Example 1:  Good Grooming Book   (PDF)

This is a little flip chart book I made to act in combination with a social story about the importance of good grooming.  This book goes with the student when she goes to the restroom to check out her appearance. I used Boardmaker pictures and a digital photo of her after she brushed her hair.  You can't see her picture since I covered it up with a post-it.  She's cute, but I didn't feel it appropriate to use her picture here.   

   Example 2:  Light Up Match Ups (PDF)

This is a nifty idea for an interactive worksheet.  You can create a match up activity that lights up when the student matches the correct items.  You'll need a few simple materials, like a folder, brads, tape, and wire. You'll also need a tool called a 'continuity tester'.  I didn't know what it was either when I first started working on this, but it's a simple little tool you can pick up at a hardware store for under $3 (cheap).  When you put one end on one brad and the other end on the correct matching brad, the tester lights up.  This is great if you also happen to be studying electricity and circuits, like we were.

 Example 3:  Narrative Story Chart (PDF)          

This is a way to help a student create a narrative story.  The student who used this wrote a fairy tale about a princess.  It uses picture support and a sequential framework to give the story that old beginning, middle, and end quality we all work so hard to achieve.  You'll need folders, velcro, a way to generate the pictures (Boardmaker is great for this), and access to a laminator.  Try it, it works!

 

 

 

Example 4:   Who, What, When, Where, How Writing Template  (PDF)      

                    
This is a writing template that uses picture support to help a student write about specific information.  There is a space at the top of the page to accommodate a picture prompt.  If you'd like to see an example of the template with a digital picture prompt, here you go.   The website I used to get the digital picture is GettyImages.  They have a LOT of free pictures you can look through.

 

 

Example 5:  Cartoon Writing Prompt (PDF)
This is another  writing template.  This one uses a cartoon, a word bank (a bunch of appropriate words the student can choose to use), and specific question prompts.  The website I used to get the cartoon is National Geographic.  They have more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I get by with a little help from my friends."

 

 

 

 

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This page was last updated January 22, 2005 .

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