Mr. Wilson's Special Education Blog

Winter Break Workout Plan

shanealanwilson — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:34:06 +0000

For all my TRACK STARS!!! Click on the link below for the winter break workout you need to get moving so we can literally hit the ground running when you get back from break!

Please pass along to anyone you think needs to break a little sweat!

Winter Break Workout Plan

Jackpot for Graphic Organizers

shanealanwilson — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:44:15 +0000

This website has a bunch of generic graphic organizers you can use with your students in a variety of ways. A great way to organize information in a more usable manner for students that have trouble taking in large chunks of information.

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/

Basic Behavior Interventions and Anecdotals

shanealanwilson — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:47:10 +0000

Daily Classroom Incident Report

This first document is what I use to track bad behavior for students in my Inclusion and Self-Contained classes. This is an easy way to track actual behaviors by putting tally marks next to the inappropriate behavior.

Oprah “Keep’s it Tight” Self Monitoring Behavior Intervention

This document is a behavior intervention we used for a few students in my Self-Contained class. They fill out the sheet each day so that they are monitoring their behavior. It was a funny and motivating way for students to constantly monitor their behavior within the class. For one student I did 5 Oprah’s for 1 burned CD of his choice. 5 Oprah’s was the equivalent to 2 weeks of good behavior.

Power Bucks

Great positive behavior intervention strategy. Power bucks can be cashed in to the school or to Mr. Wilson for various prizes.

Postive Comment Strips

Another positive behavior intervention strategy these positive comment strips were used because students were verbally abusive to each other every day during class. Each student had to write a positive statement or word about another student and these were compiled into a Wordle.

http://www.wordle.net/ <—– Great Resource!

IL Standards for Math & Science w/ Bloom’s Taxonomy for Writing Objectives

shanealanwilson — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:56:29 +0000

I’ve used these documents all year long when designing my lesson plans. I am able to look at the standards and decide what to teach and then add 2-4 objectives of what I want my students to know and be able to do during that lesson. The final document gives information on how I plan activities for the 80 minute block periods every day. Enjoy!

IL Math Standards w/ Bloom’s Taxonomy for Writing Good Objectives

IL Science Standards w/ Bloom’s Tax for Writing Good Objectives

Basic 80-min Block Lesson Format

Culture in Special Education

shanealanwilson — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:07:30 +0000

In this Literature Review I will be assessing, explaining, and relating culture to special education. After much research in my opinion the best resource in regards to culture and Special Education is the book Culture in Special Education. The auther, Maya Kayanpur, described a story that I thought was the best way to explain how “culture” can effect our daily routine. The story comes from the book Culture in Special Education by Maya Kalyanpur and Beth Harry. The story is told in the following paragraphs.

“I (Maya Kayanpur) came to the United States for the first time as a graduate student, after having taught in special schools in India for several years, and began working with adults with developmental disabilities who lived in a group home. One of the first tasks that I was assigned was to teach them “community living skills”: My supervisor suggested eating in a restaurant. I set off confidently with my “client,” Gary, a young man with moderate mental retardation, to the nearest restaurant; after all, I thought I knew what to expect. To me, a restaurant is a place where you go to eat; you wait to be seated; when you are seated, your waiter fetches the menu, gives you time to choose, takes your order, and soon brings your order; you eat your meal, pay the bill, leave a tip for the waiter, and leave.

Gary and I entered a McDonald’s. It was the first time in my life that I had entered a fast-food restaurant, and I realized, very quickly, that the rules here were very different from what I knew. As I hesitated, Gary sized up the situation. Taking my hand, he led me to the end of a line of people who, I realized with a start, were not waiters but customers waiting to place their orders. Gary pointed to the bewildering array of choices displayed on a sign above my head — bewildering because the menu did not read from top to bottom in traditional fashion but in blocks across the wall. I looked at the first block and began to make a choice when, as I came to the end of the list, I discovered that this block was for breakfast only and not available after 10 a.m. Then I looked at the second block and started to choose from the list when Gary directed my attention to the third block; I learned later that the second block was for specialty items. It seemed that despite the array of choices, our impecunious circumstances restricted us to a single option: the value meals in the third block.

By the time I had recognized the subtle differences between a “number one value meal” (cheeseburger, fries, and a medium drink) and a “number two value meal” (double cheeseburger, fries, and a medium drink), we had reached the front of the line. But before I could say anything, the lady behind the counter said, “For-here-to-go?” I stared absolutely blankly at her. What on earth did that mean? Was she speaking in English? When I did not respond immediately, Gary stepped up and replied, “Here.” With obvious relief, the woman turned to him and directed all subsequent questions, including my order, to him. We carried our trays to a small table to which Gary led us; later, he showed me how to “bus” our table.

In that environment, I undoubtedly was the more disabled of the two, not only in my own perception but also in others’. Over the years, I have related this story to my students on numerous occasions as a springboard for a discussion on the social construction of disabilities. It serves to remind me of the fragility of our own perceptions of competence and helps them to become aware of the arbitrariness with which we determine, in each culture, who is “normal.” (Culture in Special Education Ch 2)

The parameters for normalcy or deviance are usually socially constructed. The view that a disability is a matter of perspective is not new. The question of what is a disabling condition and who is disabled (the meaning of disability), and who makes these decisions (the models that establish these meanings) is specific to a culture. Although in some cultures the meaning of disability is established by legal or professional institutions, in other cultures these meanings may emerge more from a communities understanding of people’s roles. In turn, societal values influence both models and meanings.

Our attitudes toward people with disabilities in different cultures points to differences in the meaning of a “disability”. The same condition may or may not be perceived as a disability in different societies and that certain conditions may carry more of a stigma than others. For instance, some tribal nations perceive physical conditions such as, hunchback, to be punishments for offenses against God and therefore a disgrace. Some Asian families consider having a child with a developmental disability a sign of good fortune in the future, others view it as a punishment of past sins, and many consider it an act of God that cannot be changed. (Culture in Special Education Ch. 2)

The value attached to a certain disabling condition differs depending on societal expectations and the established parameters for normalcy. For example, among some tribes, being able to handle a canoe is a necessary survival skill; the loss of an arm is much more of a disability and much more stigmatizing than the inability to read. This can parallel to our urban communities. A student that can count money and has high social skills but no reading ability may be looked upon as successful even with the label of a Learning Disability.

Further parallels of the significance of culture within the realm of Special Education as well as urban implications can also be linked to our country’s financial systems. In our capitalist economy, nonproductive people or those who do not contribute to the growth of the economy are perceived as dependent or disabled. (Culture in Special Education Ch 2)

Similarly, education policy requires that students be evaluated to determine their eligibility for special education services, a process that results in labeling some students by disability category. As a result, without proper interventions (RTI) a percentage of children are identified as having special education needs and receive special services. When we examine who is more likely to acquire the identity of being disabled, however, we discover an overrepresentation of poor, culturally and linguistically diverse, and male students in special education. It would appear that the assessment process results in the labeling of many students as having a disability, even though they may not have an impairment. (Culture in Special Education Ch 2)

Citation

Kalyanpur, M., Harry, B., Culture in Special Education, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1999.