How to Study

3 Suggestions For Setting Up a Special Education Classroom

admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:37:28 +0000

Whether you are a brand new teacher or have worked in the field for 25 years, here are some suggestions for setting up a classroom for children with special needs.

Suggestion #1: Find out as much as you can about your students.

Sometimes new teachers go in and start setting up their classrooms without first learning anything about their students. This is a mistake, especially if your students have special needs. For instance, I had a student this year who had pica, meaning she ate a number of inedibles such as glue sticks, chalk, pencil erasers, and more. Because I knew that, I knew to keep these items locked up instead of putting them out on display the first day.

Read through cumulative records. Review IEPs and Multi-factored evaluations. Call parents or even do home visits if permissible and advisable.

Suggestion #2: Take inventory of what you have and Draw out a classroom diagram.

Make a list of what you have and what you need. Make sure you have enough desks, chairs, and tables for your students. If you are going to use tables and chairs, I suggest you try to get chairs for each of these places, so you will need twice as many chairs as students.

Draw a rectangle. Add doors, windows, bulletin boards and other “static” items. Draw out your basic classroom as below.

Suggestion #3: Don’t get fancy. You don’t have enough time. Set up a basic classroom.

A basic classroom for children with special needs generally includes:

•A Circle time/large group area with a large carpet which will include the following: Calendar, daily sign-in, lunch choices, and a daily schedule

•Desks or tables for independent work labeled with student names

•Cubbies or other storage areas labeled with children’s names

•A teacher desk or table with the following: a file for each student, basic desk supplies, a calendar and a notebook for lesson plans/substitute plans and parent contacts.

Put away or cover up all non-essential materials.

Children with special needs, particularly children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, do not do well with a lot of visual stimuli. Classrooms should use muted colors, if possible, minimal overhead lighting, and very little clutter. I’ll admit that this is a challenging task for me because I tend to have a lot of classroom materials but it is necessary. If I can’t put away items due to lack of storage, I try to put them in plastic storage bins or cover them with flannel-backed tablecloths.

Finding Entertaining Toys For a Child With Autism

admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:37:10 +0000

There are many companies both on and off the internet who are promoting toys for children with autism. As an educator for over 20 years and also a parent, I have found some of the best toys are not toys. Therefore, in addition to suggested toys, I will also recommend some items most people have that children on the Autism spectrum seem to like.
Children with autism tend to have sensory processing problems. All of the following suggested “play items” encourage “heavy work” activities, which seem to be one area all of my students, but particularly my students with autism, seem to need a lot more sensory input.

•For children with a high need for heavy work activities, here is a list of things they can do.

- Run the sweeper/vacuum
- Push a lawnmower
- Pull a wagon Load up big, heavy toy trucks with blocks and push them around
- Put another student/sibling in a plastic bin and have the child push him/her around in it (They love this!)
- Put together chairs and make a tunnel – At the end of the tunnel there is something for the child to do such as match a letter or color card. This is one of my students’ favorites!
- Take long walks or runs
- Exercise to music. My children love Greg and Steve’s “Kids in Action” and the DVD “Move n’ Groove”
- Jump on a mini trampoline
- Dribble a basketball
- Kick a soccer ball
- Get 10 used boxes from the cafeteria and fill them with something not too heavy but something that will give them some weight. Blankets work well. Have the children take turns stacking and counting the boxes.
- Encourage the children to do push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks.
- Make a mini-obstacle course in the classroom.
- Put colored “lily pads “on the floor of the classroom (or any other concept you are working on) and have the children jump from one to the other.oDo musical games and act them out. For instance, have 10 children lay on a carpet (or however many you have). Then sing “There were 10 in the Bed and the little one said Roll over.” Then they all roll and one falls out. It becomes a sequencing game and teaches wait time. My children with autism really like it.
- Play “tug of war.”
- Play non-competitive musical chairs. This is how we do it. I put out enough chairs for each child. I turn on the music. At first we walk and sit down. It takes a while for the children to understand which way to walk and that they go to the closest chair, not necessarily the one they started on (it’s about learning to accept change). After they learn what’s expected, I start asking them to do something other than walk, such as “swim, fly like a bird, walk like a monkey, jump, hop, or their favorite is crawl.”

How to Use Music to Help Treat Children With Autism

admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:36:55 +0000

Music is a universal language. In my experience in working with children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder, most of them respond very well to music. In my classroom, we use music all day long. As a former music therapy major, I learned a number of ways to incorporate music into my classroom in a therapeutic manner.

There are a number of ways I use music to teach children. It has been my observation that all children, but particularly those with special needs, learn and benefit from having music incorporated into almost every part of their day.

The following are some of the ways in which I do so.

1. Sing the Daily Schedule

As in most classrooms for children with autism and other disabilities, I have a daily schedule posted with words and pictures. Most teachers use Boardmarker. Mine are schedule cards I got from ABCTeach.com. I point to the schedule and literally sing the words to the tune of “Oh My Darling Clementine.” I sing “First there’s breakfast, then there’s bathroom, morning work and check-in, then there’s recess, juice time, group time, and there’s trampoline if you’re on green.” And so forth. If I miss a day, one of my students will say “Ms. Whiting, I need you so sing to us.”

2. Exercise to music

We exercise in my classroom several times per day. I try to make sure the children get an hour of exercise per day, including their two fifteen minute recesses, but oftentimes they get more.

Here are some of my favorite CD’s and DVD’s for our exercise time:

• Greg and Steve’s CD – “Kids in Action”

• “Moove n Groove Kids” DVD

3. Calendar Time

We sing songs at Calendar time for the days of the week and the months of the year. Circle time is a particularly good time to use music to practice eye contact, wait time and social interaction.

4. Daily Sign-in

Because I teach younger children, they usually don’t know their names in print at the beginning of the year. A very simple sign-in game I use is with plain paper plates. I put each child’s name on a paper plate. The next thing I do is put one of the paper plates on the floor and sing to the tune of “If You’re happy and you know it”

“If your name is on the plate, stand up.
If your name is on the plate, stand up.
If you name is one the plate, then you’re doing really great.
If you name is on the plate stand up.”

The child stands up, picks up the plate and gives it to me. He then chooses his name from the magnetic white board and adds it to our daily sign-in chart and our daily lunch choice board.

Our daily sign-in is different every day. It is a “Question of the day” with two columns that I have made up such as:

What kind of ice cream to you like? Chocolate or Vanilla

What color do you like least? Red or Blue

The child has to put his name under the column that best fits for him.

5. Use music for teaching all basic skills.

I discovered a new series of DVD’s this year called “Super Simple Songs.” They were developed by the staff of the Knock Knock English School in Japan. They were having a hard time finding simple songs that were fun for their Japanese students who were learning English, so they developed their own.

Super Simple Songs can be used independently but I prefer to make or download from the website some kind of visual with every song I use. Children with autism are very visual and need pictures as much as possible.

I bought the series of three CDs and have used them every day since. I use songs to teach basic academic skills such as numbers, letters, shapes and colors. I also use them to teach social skills, emotions, wait time, and even humor, something children have a very hard time understanding. There is a song called “Do you like Broccoli Ice Cream?” that teaches humor and sarcasm.

10 Tips for How to Land a Job As a Special Education Teacher

admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:36:37 +0000

As an elementary school principal for 11 years, I hired many teachers. I also witnessed how the district and fellow administrators went about hiring their teachers.

I have some tips for how to get a job as a Special Education Teacher.

Tip Number One – Excel at Student Teaching

This is my number one recommendation for landing a job as a special education teacher, because administrators want teachers who have demonstrated the ability to teach. If you don’t do well in student teaching and related field experiences, you stand a very low chance of being hired.

Administrators want teachers who know how to do two things:
1. Manage the classroom, meaning very few discipline referrals
2. Teach the children using best practice teaching strategies
3. Work as a team player, bringing good work habits, collaboration and knowledge to the table

Tip Number Two – Get great recommendations

You need recommendations from at least two cooperating teachers (the most important), one college professor, and an employer that you’ve had for at least six months. Job experience is important, particularly job experience in the area of working with children and particularly working with children who have special needs.

A good tip for getting good recommendations is to hand the recommender a copy of your current resume, highlighting special skills and job experience. When writing a recommendation, I appreciated this, because as a teacher and an elementary school administrator, time was of the essence.

Tip Number Three – Create an attention-getting, but easy to skim, cover letter and resume and deliver it in person if possible.

Administrators do not want pages of text to read or a big folder of materials. Submit a one page cover letter, an easy to skim one page resume highlighting special skills and job experience, and three letters of recommendation.

Tip Number Four – Go to as many college job fairs as you can.

Even if you don’t plan to look out of your area or state for a job, go to as many job fairs as you can. It gives you the opportunity to network and practice interview skills.

Tip Number Five – Learn as much as you can about the school district you which to apply for as possible.

Research the school districts for which you plan to apply. You can easily do this online. It will help you know who you want to work for and it will also allow you to tailor your resume and interview toward what the particular school district is looking for.

Tip Number Six – Don’t be afraid to search outside of your town or state if you need to. The move can be temporary if need be.

I had to take a job in a town two hours away from the city in which I hoped to live. It was hard but after two years I was able to get the job I wanted.

Tip Number Seven – Prepare for your interview.

This is very important and I offer two pointers:

1. Dress for the interview – Wear one step above the clothing you will be expected to wear as a teacher.

If in doubt, wear a simple suit with a jacket and a flat heeled shoe. The reason I say this is because administrators want to see people who we can imagine teaching our children and you have to be comfortable to do that. If you have the opportunity to see the principal of your prospective school ahead of time, dress in a fashion similar to what they are wearing. Administrators usually dress one step above their teachers.

2. Practice your interview skills. Write down sample questions. Answer them in writing and then orally. Be succinct. You will likely have 5-10 questions to answer in 15-20 minutes. Plan accordingly.

Tip Number Eight – Interview well.

Shake hands with the interview(ers). Talk about special skills and past job and student performance. Stress the above three things that administrators are looking for. Take a small bottle of water with you. I do not suggest taking a big binder portfolio. Instead, condense it into a five page document with colored pictures that you can leave with the interview team. Highlight activities that make you stand out as a teacher above the other candidates.

Tip Number Nine – Send a thank you note after your interview.

I can’t tell you how important this is. If you don’t get the job, it will keep you in the mind of the administrator interviewing you and when another principal calls him/her your name will be at the forefront of their mind.

Tip Number Ten – If you can’t get the job you want right away, substitute teach, but you will need to excel at it if you hope to land a full-time teaching job.

I can’t stress this enough. If you are a bad substitute teacher, you will not get a job as a teacher, particularly if you take a long-term assignment (such as a maternity leave) and do poorly at it. However, if you take a long-term assignment and excel at it you will get more assignments and you will land a full-time job. Make sure you get a recommendation from your building principal if you do a long-term assignment in their building.

Is Reading and Writing Still Critical to Learning?

admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:36:16 +0000

“There is some feeling nowadays that reading is not as necessary as it once was.” This quote is from 1940 from How to Read a Book. How many of us believe that we are presently in the same situation? After all, we have video, iPods, computers, and televisions that have taken over many of the functions of books, newspapers, and journals. What happens when you stop reading is that you don’t ‘make up your own mind’ about something. Instead, you just accept the opinions of others without bothering to give much thought about the idea.

This is one of the reasons reading is so critical. Reading teaches everyone to think for themselves. Remember, reading is an actual activity. You just can’t be passive when you read. You need to actually put out some effort and process the information the writer is giving you. Reading becomes almost like playing catch with a ball. The writer throws the ball and the reader catches it.

Your success in catching the ball, reading, is then determined by how much you receive, understand, and utilize the information you have read. Reading is so much more than just word calling. Reading is the active understanding, contemplation, and utilization of the written word. The result is a greater understanding of the topic than you had before you started to read.

There are several goals of reading: to gain information, to have increased understanding, and to be entertained. Reading for entertainment is the least demanding kind of reading and requires the least amount of effort. This is why we start our children off with reading stories for entertainment. This helps to provide both ease and love of reading.

Once the process of reading is relatively easy, we add reading for information in the way of history, geography, and science. With this in mind, anytime your children read for pleasure -be it comic books, short stories, or novels – rejoice because it will be easier for them when they read for information. Pleasure reading is just that, pleasure reading. So, it is well and fine to read a book written at an easier grade level than their textbooks.

Our goal here is to create readers. As we create readers, we start teaching them how to process, retain, and comprehend the written word. The best way to do this is to teach your reader how to take notes from what they read using simple note-taking graphic organizer forms after they have read a short stories or book. Teach the process with material that is easy and fun. Once children are familiar with taking notes and writing summaries, it is easy to move on towards the goal of reading for information, understanding, utilization, and enlightenment with their text books.

There are painless ways to do this. Note taking and writing projects don’t have to be hard. Using specially designed graphic organizers will make the process quick and pain free!

Online Education – The Best Way to Update Knowledge

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:42:56 +0000

If you really want to see yourself at the topmost position of your company, you can attain it by enhancing your education. Many of us feel regret for going into the workforce instead of completing our education. But after getting a job, we feel that we should update our knowledge for getting any higher position in our company. We don’t want to leave our job for updating our knowledge. But thanks to advanced Internet technology, there are so many online colleges and universities available that are perfect for working professionals. In the past, we have to attend evening classes after coming back from office. But now we can attend Online Classes at the comfort of our convenience. These classes are available anywhere anytime.

Online Education is a viable option for updating our knowledge and for earning a degree. So you don’t worry for your busy schedule and can attend your classes at 24×7. These Online Classes can open new paths of education and career for everyone. They are specially designed for work around as per our time schedule. In most of the classes, we can attend lectures or assignments whenever we log onto our computer. Here, we can learn at our pace. If somebody is a fast learner, he can go ahead and continue his learning. Furthermore, online education also offers good selection of great online education degree programs that we hardly find in tradition schools and colleges.

Classontheweb is one of the premier online education portals that imparts education by using animations for easy learning of complex concepts of Science, Maths and Social sciences for class I to class XII of TN matriculation, State board and CBSE Board. This site also offers career enhancement programs for college students that would permit the students to enhance their careers at college time.

Online Education – The Best Way of Learning

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:42:55 +0000

Online education, in contrast to traditional education, provides a way to access a much wider audience, comprised mainly of non-traditional learners. For others, it works as a new education tool that will ultimately transform the education process entirely. On top it all, it is a cost-effective way of furthering an education and acquiring online degrees. In the mist of electronic age, online education has shown to have received a favorable reception. In fact, with the expanded reach of the Internet, more and more learners are opting for an online education experience rather than a traditional one. The most prominent attraction of online education for any student is the fact that physical attendance within the four walls of a classroom is not necessary. Learners who are unable to travel due to work and family commitments or other limitations can easily pursue an education over the Internet. Online education is also a great option for physically handicapped individuals for whom physical attendance may be difficult or impossible.

They can now enroll in online courses without having to attend a physical institute of education. Online universities can prove instrumental in enhancing the education experiences regardless of age and prior education and experience. In addition, it typically proves to be more affordable as compared to traditional schooling and online schools, which involves traveling and relocation expenses, in addition to tuition fees. Online study comprises self-paced study and it has been proved that learners are able to concentrate better on studies in an online format as compared to hours spent in a classroom. With online classrooms, the need for learners to take down notes is entirely eliminated, as the information delivered will remain online.

Parents Role in Improving Public Education

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:42:54 +0000

Parents can help improve public education in several ways. First, parents should take an active role in our child’s education by communicating effectively with their teacher. As parents, we should take the initiative to become involved by asking questions. We should open a line of communication with the teacher by asking questions such as; how does my child best learn, is he/she talkative, is he/she interested in learning, how can I help my child engage in class discussion? The teacher will then be more open to helping the child & parent because he/she knows that there’s a genuine interest in the education of that child. As we all know, open and effective communication is the key to any successful relationship. Not only will the child see that there’s an interest in both parent & teacher, but he/she will understand that there’s expectations of him/her. Expectations on behavior in the classroom while the teacher is teaching his/her lesson, on asking questions in order to fully understand a lesson, etc.

Second, the parent can help improve the public education system by becoming involved in the PTO / PTA group. As members of the PTO / PTA group, parents can have access to other teachers, development staff, counselors, etc. In addition to access, there’s also other parent that you can communicate with and ask questions. All too often, as parents, we assume that the role of teaching should be left to the teachers entirely. We couldn’t be more wrong! It is our job as parents to become involved and understand not just our children, but the educators as well. Finally, we should make sure that basic needs are being met for our children. Basic needs such as; food, shelter, and clothing. In addition to these essential things, we should provide our children with a sense of security and well-being. We should create an environment that is conducive to learning. We should also make our children read. I read an article once that claimed children will learn how to cope with problems in their lives with the tools that we, as parents teach to the age of 6.

In conclusion, there is a strong need for parents to become involved in the public education of their children. We can do so by openly communicating with our children’s teachers, joining the PTO/PTA group, and providing security for our children at home. It is not just up to the school system to educate our children, it begins at home with you and me.

Information about Womens Education Status in India

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:42:54 +0000

As per the Indian Education Commission – 1964-66 the education has been spelt out due to some social changes in the country. Inducement of social changes in the country, act as one of the fundamental functions that gives a separate identity to educated people. From the days of independence womens education is always remain in the headings of education department. Where they committed to open new schools, launched new schemes, providing more facilities and education services to girl students. As it always been seeing from last few decades that girl students are not allowed to pursue education or they are giving preference by their families to get higher education. It is only reason why girls remain behind from boy students. As we put some light on previous recorded data the crime on girls after marriage increases day by day. The reason is girl’s dependence upon their laws. If girl get proper knowledge and education during her primary and high school time, she will be able to get good job which improves her condition as well as improves her image in her laws.

From the last few years, Indian government has taken several steps in order to improve and develop the women education in india. It always move with the aim to make women education more practicable, purposeful and productive that enables women to nourish their mind with knowledge, refines their spirit, disciplines their mind and sharpens their intellect. As per the words of Dr.Radhakrishnan 1948 said that “There cannot be educated people without educated women. If general education has to be limited to men or women, that opportunity should be given to women from them it would most surely be passed on to the next generation”.

Women play an important role in the society that makes us to give more attention towards higher education of womens in India. To reduce social and cultural differences, to strive to promote equality social justice and to provide society with competent men it is necessary to provide higher education to women. But there are some points that makes hurdle while offering higher education to women in India like marriage is one of the main cause of early withdraw, gender stereotyping, sexual harassment as well as occasional student violence, lack of transport facilities in case of university or colleges situated at outside city area and lots more. There are several other reasons that makes very hard for women pt pursue higher education.

Bangalore Education That Promote IT Capital of India

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:42:53 +0000

Bangalore is famous for IT hub where you will find most of the prominent and prestigious education centers offers different types degree courses comprises engineering, medical, management, law, technology courses and other types of professional courses. Here you will find branches or sub branches of many leading companies of the world. That makes Bangalore as on of the famous and favorable education destinations of the nation. Students not only from different states of India but also from different countries come here to pursue their higher education.

Bangalore comprises different types schools, colleges and universities. The state government along with education department plays an important role in promoting education of Bangalore at international standard. Students from different countries even from small islands or small section of globe come here to get awesome educational training as educational institutes of Bangalore offers wide verities of degree courses at affordable rates. As go through some previous records you will find Bangalore universities and colleges offer A grade internship programs together with great exposure to deal with international clients during their training programs.

Like Indian institute of Science, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Bangalore Institute of Technology, BMS college of Engineering, Garden City College, National Institute of Creative Communication, Bangalore Medical College, Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Swapni International Institute of Medical Sciences are some of the famous colleges of Bangalore. Most of the colleges in Bangalore are affiliated to university of Bangalore. Karnataka CET, CAT, COMED-K PGET, COMED-K UGET are some of the famous entrance exams that allow you to apply in different colleges of Bangalore. In Bangalore you will find around 400 colleges that offers quality education to their students with latest degree courses, diverse degree programs, awesome study environment and many other facilities are also available to students coming here to pursue their higher education.