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This site talks about the different levels of vision impairment in students. It can provide guidance to educators on how to support students with visual impairments. It talks about things such as braille and using audio formats. It gives different teaching and assessment strategies that teacher’s could use.

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This site can be helpful for educators because it gives them several different strategies to create an inclusive learning environment so all the students can be fully engaged in the classroom activities.

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This website is teacher-related and disability-related, because it teaches educators better teaching strategies for students with a visual impairment.

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Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience more obstacles in their path to success than the average student. The symptoms of ADHD, such as inability to pay attention, difficulty sitting still, and difficulty controlling impulses, can make it hard for children with this diagnosis to do well in school.

Classroom treatment strategies for ADHD students

There are some school-based management strategies shown to be effective for ADHD students:

Behavioral classroom management

The behavioral classroom management approach encourages a student's positive behaviors in the classroom, through a reward system or a daily report card, and discourages their negative behaviors. This teacher-led approach has been shown to influence student behavior in a constructive manner, increasing academic engagement. Although tested mostly in elementary schools, behavioral classroom management has been shown to work for students of all ages.

Organizational training

Organizational training teaches children time management, planning skills, and ways to keep school materials organized in order to optimize student learning and reduce distractions. This management strategy has been tested with children and adolescents.

Teaching and supporting positive behavior‎

These two management strategies require trained staff-including teachers, counselors, or school psychologists-to follow a specific plan to teach and support positive behavior.

Special education services and accommodations

Most children with ADHD receive some school services, such as special education services and accommodations. There are two laws that govern special services and accommodations for children with disabilities:

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Learn more about IDEA vs Section 504
The support a child with ADHD receives at school will depend on if they meet the eligibility requirements for one of two federal plans funded by IDEA and Section 504:

What are the main differences between an IEP and a 504 Plan?‎

* IEPs: Provide individualized special education services to meet the unique needs of the child and is governed under the Federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

* 504 Plan: Provides services and changes to the learning environment to meet the needs of the child as adequately as other students and is part of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Accommodations

IEPs and 504 Plans can offer accommodations for students to help them manage their ADHD, including the following:

Extra time on tests

Instruction and assignments tailored to the child

Positive reinforcement and feedback

Using technology to assist with tasks

Allowing breaks or time to move around

Changes to the environment to limit distraction

Extra help with staying organized

Did you know?‎

Parents of children with ADHD report receiving more services through an IEP than through a 504 plan.

There is limited information about which types of accommodations are effective for children with ADHD. However, there is evidence that setting clear expectations, providing immediate positive feedback, and communicating daily with parents through a daily report card can help.

What teachers can do to help

For teachers, helping children manage their ADHD symptoms can present a challenge. Most children with ADHD are not enrolled in special education classes but do need extra assistance on a daily basis.

Helping students with ADHD‎

CHADD's National Resource Center on ADHD provides information for teachers from experts on how to help students with ADHD.

Close collaboration between the school, parents, and healthcare providers will help ensure the child gets the right support. Here are some tips for classroom success:

Communication

Give frequent feedback and attention to positive behavior.

Be sensitive to the influence of ADHD on emotions, such as self-esteem issues or difficulty regulating feelings.

Provide extra warnings before transitions and changes in routines.

Understand that children with ADHD may become deeply absorbed in activities that interest them (hyper-focus) and may need extra assistance shifting their attention.

Assignments and tasks

Make assignments clear-check with the student to see if they understand what they need to do.

Provide choices to show mastery (for example, let the student choose among written essay, oral report, online quiz, or hands-on project.

Make sure assignments are not long and repetitive. Shorter assignments that provide a little challenge without being too hard may work well.

Allow breaks-for children with ADHD, paying attention takes extra effort and can be very tiring.

Allow time to move and exercise.

Minimize distractions in the classroom.

Use organizational tools, such as a homework folder, to limit the number of things the child has to track.

Develop a plan that fits the child

Observe and talk with the student about what helps or distracts them (for example, fidget tools, limiting eye contact when listening, background music, or moving while learning can be beneficial or distracting, depending on the child).

Communicate with parents on a regular basis.

Involve the school counselor or psychologist.

Parent education and support

How to best advocate for your child‎

What every parent should know

School support and services are regulated by laws. The U.S. Department of Education has developed a "Know your rights" letter for parents and a resource guide for educators to help educators, families, students, and other interested groups better understand how these laws apply to students with ADHD so that they can get the services and education they need to be successful.

Healthcare providers also play an important part in collaborating with schools to help children get the special services they need.

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ADHD in the Classroom: Helping Children Succeed in School

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Resources for parents, teachers, and healthcare providers to help children with ADHD succeed in the school.

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This site discusses ADHD in the classroom and gives an insight on the resources schools can offer to help students with this.

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One section of the article lists strategies for teachers on ways to create a comfortable learning environment for a student with ADHD. It talks about behavioral classroom management, organizational training, and things like an IEP or 504 plan for the student.

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This website is disability-related because it can help the parents of the student know what to do or talk about, and it is teacher-related because it can help an educator know what will make a student with ADHD more comfortable and able to learn!

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These days playing games in the classroom is an integral part of the learning process. We know that kids learn through play, and the research is piling up that proves the value of classroom games for students as it makes learning concepts some kids might otherwise resist into something fun and irresistible. Gameplay in the classroom has become similar to parents hiding broccoli in their kids' hamburgers, and it's working.

From connecting kids to the material they've learned to providing rewards and motivation, you know there are benefits to classroom games. But what's the science? How can games help students learn, and what's the real value of games in education? The teachers of Teach Starter did a deep dive into the research of game-based learning to find out what's really going to work in your classroom and pulled together some of our favorite teacher resources plus some simple learning game ideas for math, reading, social-emotional learning, and more.

Short on time? Head straight to our teacher team's favorite printable games!

What Are the Benefits of Games in the Classroom?

If you're anything like the teachers on the Teach Starter team, you love knowing the ins and outs of why something works in your classroom. There's been a lot of research into learning through play and how to build the best classroom games for students, so this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Still, there's some pretty solid proof of the value of games in education.

More Motivation

Studies show that playing games in the classroom can increase overall motivation. Students become more motivated to learn, pay attention, and participate in-class activities. They can also be a great classroom management tool, helping to motivate a class. One important thing for you to keep in mind: A 2011 study completed by researchers in the United Kingdom found games in the classroom provided more motivation if the learning was the playful part and not just a side note to the activity.

Student Attentiveness

We all want our students to pay attention, but setting them loose to play may seem counterintuitive to drawing focus. Or maybe not ...

As games can move quickly, a student needs to be alert and attentive for extended periods, and a study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison found games actually benefit students by helping them shape their attentiveness and training the brain in how to learn.

Using different instructional approaches in the classroom, such as playing games, enables students to encounter the content in various ways, making it easier for them to pay attention after the activity has ended.

Explore our teacher team's favorite active games that get students up and moving and help increase focus!

Problem-Solving

When Taiwanese researchers looked at digital game-based learning for kids in a study published in the journal Computers & Education in 2012, they found that kids who designed their own cities using simulation games showed stronger problem-solving skills than peers who learned about cities in more traditional ways. The study isn't the only one to find that gameplay in education can enhance kids' problem-solving skills. Another study completed at the University of Manchester in 2016 had similar results - the small study concluded that "playing interactive educational games may have a positive impact on children's problem-solving skills and engage them in advanced mathematical thinking."

Language Development

Kids develop language when they encounter it - it's why reading is such a powerful vocabulary builder - and that includes playing games in the classroom. In fact, a study by University of Connecticut researchers found a game doesn't even have to be language-focused for it to enhance language for kids in K-12.

Self-Esteem Boosting

There's often a fair amount of negativity around digital gaming - loner in his mom's basement stereotypes are rampant, albeit unfair.

But harnessing kids' love of video games for use in the classroom with games like Minecraft that can be incorporated directly into a lesson can have a powerful effect on kids' self-esteem. In one Australian study, for example, researchers found that playing video games in the classroom was tied to students' sense of pride and emotional connectedness to their peers - although we should note that this seemed more prevalent in boys than in girls.

Increased Class Cooperation

Studies show kids as young as 3 enjoy working in teams vs individual activities, but you don't need us to tell you that getting kids to work together smoothly is not always easy. Gameplay can go a long way toward building their cooperation skills as researchers at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom found. Games in the classroom allow students to learn how to work together as a team, take turns, build respect, listen to others, and play fairly.

Memory Workout

We often think of playing brain games as a means for older folks to keep their memories in shape, but that benefit extends to kids too. Several studies have shown that video games, in particular, actually help kids build up their memories - and the benefits last well into adulthood!

Download a game all about separating wants from needs.

Reaching Them on Their Level

Today's kids live in a digital world - it's why they're often called digital natives. They're used to a gamified experience at every turn, and research has shown games in the classroom help relate to digital natives in a language they understand.

Kids Want to Learn

Yes, this is a simplistic way to put it, but the research is solid. Studies from as far back as 1992 show that simply re-working a lesson as a game makes kids more receptive to learning a concept.

Learning From Mistakes

As much as games in the classroom are about learning a concept, they're also about learning from what goes wrong, which gives students both the problem-solving development we already mentioned and the social-emotional benefits too. As Stanford researchers point out, kids learn to abandon the game, even when they've lost.

Dive into a digital escape room game that takes your whole class on a library adventure!

Classroom Games for Students

So you know classroom games are good for your kids - and you - but maybe you want some fresh ideas? Here are some favorites from members of our teacher team.

Math Games

When it comes to math, there are plenty of games you can play with a simple pack of playing cards and a few other resources you probably already have in your classroom.

Here are some other favorite math games among our teacher team:

Or check out any of these math games for the classroom.

Writing Games

Here are some of our favorite classroom games for making writing fun:

Or check out any of these writing center activities and games for the classroom!

Reading Games

Hangman alternatives are fun games kids love for practicing spelling. Here are some of our other favorite classroom games for teaching reading:

Or check out any of these reading center activities for the classroom.

Social-Emotional Learning Games

Work on social-emotional skills with classroom games that get your kids thinking and collaborating!

Or check out any of these social-emotional games for the classroom!

Health & Fitness Games

Incorporate a little daily exercise in the classroom to help your students get their wiggles out with these fun active games!

See our full array of learning games for teachers, and let us know your favorite ways to incorporate gameplay into your lessons.
Banner image via Shutterstock/eggeegg

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10 Benefits of Classroom Games for Kids (And Teachers Too)

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Learning games have changed the classroom, but what is really going on? Here's what the research says about playing games in the classroom!

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This website lists the benefits of play and educational games in the classroom. It discusses things like increased motivation, attentiveness, problem solving, language development, cooperation, self-esteem boosting, memory workout, and learning from mistakes.

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This site is important because parents can do research and understand the positive impact of play and educational games. I think this is important for anyone to see how students self esteem can be boosted, and memory can be exercised by playing. I also think it important for society to see that there is more being done in classrooms than just handing out a packet, they are hands-on and learning in all different ways.

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This website is school-related, because it can show parents and society why teachers do the things they do in the classroom.

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If you're considering becoming a special education teacher, you likely already have a passion for helping students with unique needs and abilities achieve their full potential.

However, teaching special education comes with its own set of challenges and often requires a different approach than you might use in a traditional classroom setting. In fact, if your goal is to become a teacher that works with special needs students, it's important to start planning now on how you can develop teaching strategies for special education.

Early preparation will not only help you build the skillsets you need to become an effective educator but also make a favorable impression on potential employers when you begin interviewing with school districts for special education teacher jobs.

Why Special Education Requires Unique Teaching Strategies

Students with special needs have unique learning challenges that require specialized attention and support. There are different types of special needs students, including those with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, and intellectual disabilities.

These students face unique challenges that may affect their academic progress and social development, and it's yourrole as a special education teacher to utilize teaching strategies that can help them not only overcome these challenges but thrive in an educational environment.

For example, students with special needs face several challenges that can impact their academic progress and social development. They may struggle with understanding complex instructions, staying focused on tasks, organizing their thoughts or expressing themselves verbally or in writing.

Special needs students may also face social challenges, including difficulties in making friends, understanding social cues and following social norms. They may also face bullying, exclusion or discrimination from their peers.

Special education teachers must develop customized teaching strategies that cater to these specific learning styles, abilities and needs of each student. This might include adapting the curriculum, modifying classroom routines, providing visual aids, using assistive technology or breaking down complex concepts into smaller, more manageable parts.

In addition to adapting the teaching methods, special education teachers must also be skilled in building strong relationships with their students and their families. This involves understanding and empathizing with their unique challenges, establishing trust and rapport, and creating a safe and supportive learning environment.

Teaching Strategies For Special Education

Effective teaching strategies for special education students require focusing on children's unique needs, learning styles and abilities. Below are some effective strategies that special education teachers can use to support their students' academic and social development:

Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction involves tailoring teaching methods and materials to meet the individual needs of each student. It involves assessing each student's strengths, weaknesses and learning styles ... and adapting instruction to meet those unique needs.

For example, a special education teacher may use a variety of instructional methods, such as visual aids, hands-on activities and verbal instructions, to help students understand complex concepts. They may also provide students with different levels of support, including one-on-one instruction, small-group instruction or peer tutoring.

Multisensory Learning

Multisensory learning is using multiple senses, such as sight, sound, touch and movement, to help students learn and remember information. This approach is particularly effective for students with learning disabilities or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who may struggle with traditional teaching methods.

A special education teacher may use visual aids like pictures or diagrams to help students understand concepts. They may also incorporate movement into learning like using dance or yoga to teach social skills or mindfulness.

Technology Integration

Technology can be a valuable tool for special education teachers to enhance learning. For example, students with visual impairments may use text-to-speech software to access written materials, while students with hearing impairments may use closed captioning to access audio content.

Special education teachers can also use technology to create interactive and engaging lessons like educational games or simulations that provide students with hands-on learning experiences.

Peer Tutoring

Pairing students with different abilities to work together on academic tasks can be a great way to improve academic performance and social skills for both.

An example of this in action would be pairing a student who excels in math with a student who struggles with math. The tutor can provide one-on-one instruction and support to the other student while also improving their own leadership and communication skills.

Collaboration With Parents

Collaboration with parents is an important part of special education teaching strategies. Parents are a valuable source of information about their child's needs, strengths and challenges. They can also provide support and encouragement at home, which can improve their child's academic and social development.

Working with parents is also an important component of developing individualized education plans (IEPs). An IEP is a legal document that outlines the individual needs of a student with a disability as well as any specific educational services that educators or a school must provide to meet those needs.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates the use of IEPs, which must be regularly updated in collaboration with parents to address any challenges that arise.

5 Tips For Effective Teaching Strategies

Becoming a special education teacher is a rewarding and fulfilling career that allows you to make a difference in the lives of students. While the teaching strategies above can help you focus on students' unique needs and abilities, here are five additional tips that can help you put these strategies into practice:

1. Know your students. Effective teaching begins with understanding your students as individuals. Take the time to get to know each student and his or her unique learning style.

2. Plan and prepare. Effective teaching requires careful planning and preparation. Develop lesson plans that are tailored to the needs of each student and incorporate different teaching strategies that address individual needs.

3. Use visuals. Visual aids can be valuable tools for helping students understand complex concepts.

4. Provide positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement, whether it's praise or rewards, can be powerful motivators for special needs students. Acknowledge their progress and provide positive feedback to encourage them to continue to improve.

5. Make learning fun. Learning should be engaging and fun for all students, including those with special needs. Incorporate games, activities and interactive lessons that keep students engaged and motivated, and most importantly, have a positive outlook on educating these students. Children can pick up on subtle hints of frustration, which is why it's crucial for them to know you have their backs and are invested in their education.

Effective teaching strategies for special education students require a combination of different approaches that address their unique abilities. By implementing these teaching strategies and tips, special education teachers can make a positive impact on the lives of their students and help them reach their full potential.

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Teaching Strategies For Special Education

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If you are looking to become a special education teacher you will want to know the different teaching strategies for special education students. There are

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This website starts off by explaining why special education requires unique teaching strategies. Then it lists some of the strategies such as differentiated instruction, multisensory learning, technology integration, peer tutoring, and collaboration with parents.

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This website gives educators tips for using the teaching strategies, such as knowing your students and understanding their learning preferences. It highlights the importance of planning and preparing. It talks about using visuals and making the learning fun, as well as positive reinforcement to keep them motivated.

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This website is teacher-related. An aspiring special education teacher could use this website to get ideas for strategies in the classroom, and to understand why normal teaching strategies may not work.

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Autism in the classroom: Strategies for success | Autism Speaks

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This excerpt from the School Community Tool Kit offers strategies for teachers to help support students with autism so they get the best education possible.

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This website lists 14 strategies for teaching a student with Autism and how to accommodate them in the classroom.

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Some of the recommended strategies are being calm and positive, being welcoming, keeping a routine and seating chart, and being positive and descriptive when giving directions.

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The second strategy listed is to understand the characteristics of Autism. It gives a link, and highlights the importance of understanding the students.

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This website is disability-related, and it would be good for special education teachers to implement these strategies in their classrooms.

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According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), there are about seven million students age 3 to 21 receiving special education services in the U.S. - 14 percent of all public school students. Because special education students have distinct needs, they rely on a teaching environment that's tailored to them. With that in mind, our nation's schools have evolved over the years to refine their approaches to educating special needs students.

One notable change has been the shift toward a more inclusive classroom structure that allows such students to learn in the general education environment alongside their peers. This means it isn't just special education teachers who need to be well-versed in the laws and regulations that impact students with special needs - all teachers should have a solid understanding of special education laws and policies.

To help get you up to speed, we've outlined four laws that have worked to preserve special needs students' educational rights.

4 Special education laws that helped shaped the U.S. school system

Familiarizing yourself with these laws can help you gain a better understanding of how special education has progressed over time.

1. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act

To ensure that special education services are available to children who need them

To guarantee that decisions about services to students with disabilities are fair and appropriate

To establish specific management and auditing requirements for special education

To provide federal funds to help states educate students with disabilities

2. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

What was known as the EHA eventually became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990. The following six pillars are what IDEA ensures:

Public schools are required to create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each student who is found to be eligible for special education services. IEPs must be designed to meet the unique educational needs of that child in the least restrictive environment appropriate.

To the maximum extent appropriate, IDEA ensures that all students are given the opportunity to learn in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) - an inclusive classroom environment in which a special needs student can achieve the most academic success.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is an educational right that ensures education and related services are designed to meet handicapped persons' individual needs as adequately as the needs of non-handicapped persons.

IDEA includes a set of procedural safeguards designed to protect the rights of children with disabilities and their families, and to ensure that all special-needs students receive a FAPE. The safeguards include the opportunity for parents to review their child's full educational records, the right of parents to request an independent educational evaluation and more.

IDEA ensures the use of appropriate evaluation processes. This minimizes the number of misidentifications, provides a variety of assessment tools and strategies, prohibits the use of any single evaluation as the sole criterion and provides protections against evaluation measures that are racially or culturally discriminatory.

Cross collaboration is key for a student to receive the education necessary for success. IDEA enables parents, teachers, school psychologists and other relevant parties to work in tandem when developing IEPs, determining the proper LRE and discussing other important considerations for each student.

Simply put, IDEA replaced EHA to place more focus on the individual learner, as opposed to the condition that individual may have.

3. The Assistive Technology Act

Under the law, each U.S. state receives a grant to fund Assistive Technology Act Programs (ATAP) that provide services to persons with disabilities for their entire lives. The 56 ATAPs created under the law provide a place where users can go for product demonstrations, low-cost loans for their purchases and information on these products.

State financing activities

Device reutilization programs

Device loan programs

Device demonstration programs

4. The Handicapped Children's Protection Act

The HCPA came to be after the United States Supreme Court's ruling in the 1984 case Smith v. Robinson. It was found that existing enforcement mechanisms of disability rights did not cover how, when and/or where legal costs are to be resolved.

Protect the dignity of students with disabilities

As you review some of the core special education laws that have shaped how we accommodate special needs students, you may find yourself eager to get involved. Whether you already have some classroom experience under your belt or you're just starting out, it's possible you're now trying to decide if you have what it takes to be a special education teacher.

If so, there's no better time to explore the field - our nation's teacher shortage has hit special education particularly hard. To help you determine if you're a good fit for this type of teaching position, it's worth looking into the most sought-after traits employers look for in qualified special education teachers. Learn more by heading over to our article, " 5 Signs you'd excel in educating special needs students ."

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laws protecting students with disabilities

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4 Laws that shaped special education in the U.S.

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Special education has come a long way in the United States, but it wouldn't have been possible without these critical laws that every teacher should know

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This site discusses the importance of early childhood education, and how impactful the first few years of schooling are for children, especially those with disabilities.

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This site also discusses the main laws and acts regarding children with disabilities, and how to ensure you are following them in the classroom.

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This site is teacher-related because it can be helpful for teachers to have reminders and a brief overview of each law they must abide by.

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5 Top Tips for Teachers to Help Bilingual Students Succeed in a Monolingual Classroom

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On 5 October we celebrate World Teachers’ Day not only to honour teachers for their unwavering passion and dedication, “but also to reflect on the support they need to fully deploy their talent and…

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This site discusses the importance of making sure bilingual students feel welcomed and included in the classroom!

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This website is super informative but easy to follow! I love websites that have a numbered list and each thing is explained. This website highlights things such as acknowledging the students home language often, asking parents for help, and embracing translator tools!

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This site is teacher-related, because it is extremely helpful and well explained tips and advice for teachers who have a bilingual student in the classroom. This is a website I definitely want to remember!

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1 Multiple studies: Collins, 1990; Elkind, 1993; Elkind, Black & Murray, 1996; Higgins & Raskind, 1995; Higgins & Raskind, 1997; MacArthur, 1993, 1998; MacArthur, Schwartz, & Graham, 1991; McNaughton, Hughes & Clark, 1997; Priumus, 1990; Raskind & Higgins, 1995; Raskind, Higgins & Herman, 1997.

2 Higgins, E. L. & Raskind, M. H. (2000). Speaking to Read: The Effects of Continuous vs. Discrete Speech Recognition Systems on the Reading and Spelling of Children With Learning Disabilities. Journal of Special Education Technology, 15 (1), 19-30.

3 Raskind, M. H. & Higgins, E. L. (1999). Speaking to Read: The Effects of Speech Recognition Technology on the Reading and Spelling Performance of Children With Learning Disabilities. Annals of Dyslexia, 49, 251-281.

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Assistive Technology for Kids with Learning Disabilities: An Overview

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If your child has a learning disability, he or she may benefit from assistive technology tools that play to their strengths and work around their challenges.

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This website explains how assistive technology can be beneficial for students with learning disabilities!

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This website goes through a number of different types of assistive technology for students with learning disabilities. Examples include audiobooks, online math worksheets, optical character recognition, talking calculators, and speech to text.

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This website is teacher-related. I spend a lot of time at school with children with learning disabilities, and these resources are so crucial in order for them to have a fair chance and be successful.

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This website discusses how to include and navigate having a student in your classroom with hearing loss/hearing impairment.

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I really like the way this website is laid out. Again the step by step in bold, with subtext underneath is so easy to comprehend and digest.

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This site is teacher-related because it gives good ideas and tips for hearing loss in the classroom. It talks about things like the importance of revisiting IEPs, being mindful of background noise, stressing the importance of clear communication to the other students, and using assistive technology.

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U.S. Department of Education. (2005). To assure the free appropriate public education of all Americans: Twenty-seventh annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Accessed January 16, 2008, http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/osep/2005/index.html

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Helping Children with Communication Disorders in the Schools

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Answers to frequently asked questions on how to help children with communication disorders, particularly in regards to speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

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This website shows how to include students with communication/ speech impairments in the classroom. It explains the different kinds of speech impairments, and how they affect students’ learning.

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This site gives helpful tips and a lot of information/stats about students with speech impediments.

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This site is teacher-related, because they can use it to get helpful tips and understand the importance of making sure each student is included and that they can share their thoughts too. I really appreciate the way this article is set up, with the boxes and bold letters!

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How to Identify and Support Gifted Students in the Classroom - Graduate Programs for Educators

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Just because a student is gifted doesn’t mean they don’t need support. Learn about how to identify and support gifted students in the classroom.

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This website is teacher related because it explains to teachers the best way to identify and support gifted students in the classroom.

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I really appreciate the way that this website explains how to identify a gifted student, then gives a step by step numbered list of how to better support them in the classroom! I think this is very well written and in depth but not too long where it gets confusing.

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I think this website has several good ideas and explains them well. It talks about creating tiered assignments, allowing students to work together to expose them to the gifted students ideas, and making sure that the gifted student isn’t often bored and feeling held back.

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Teaching Students with Physical Disabilities - Accessible Campus

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There are many teaching strategies you can use to ensure effective and productive learning environments and experiences for all students, including those with disabilities. Accessible Education[i] is the process of designing courses and developing a teaching style to meet the needs of people who have a variety of backgrounds, abilities and learning styles. Just as […]

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This website is teacher-related because it can be a super good resource for them to get tips and learn more about teaching a student with a physical disability.

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I like how the website first explains what a physical disability could look like, and the best ways to ask them if you can help them with anything without offending them.

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This website explains the basic things and how to help a physically disabled student in the classroom. Underneath that there are drop down links that go into greater detail and give several good tips for teachers!

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It was extremely hard to find a good website about IEP Goal development. I think this one is the best, but it isn’t even great.

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I like how this this very in depth, but it is almost too long. There is a lot of content to take in, and nobody can comprehend that much if they just look up quick tips and ideas.

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I do appreciate how this talks about not only how to reach the goals, but also how to set them.

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I think this is teacher related because it teaches the teachers about creating the goals, setting them up for the students, and achieving them throughout the year.

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This website leads you to a pdf, which usually I wouldn’t like, but this one is set up very well and I think it could be very beneficial.

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This is teacher related because it explains examples of emotional and behavioral disabilities in the classroom, but it also provides strategies for teachers to best accommodate these students!

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This website touches on important things such as not just dismissing the behavior problems, remembering that they are children, and learning more about the students individual needs with parents or specialists. This is so easy to read and comprehend I really appreciate the way this website is set up.

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September 2010
A legacy resource from NICHCY
This info in Spanish | Esta información en español
IDEA requires that students with disabilities take part in state or districtwide assessments. These are tests that are periodically given to all students to measure achievement. It is one way that schools determine how well and how much students are learning.

This page will tell you how students with disabilities participate in this type of testing. Here's a quick Table of Contents.

In a nutshell
IDEA's exact words
Short-ish story on assessment accommodations
The long story
In a Nutshell

To support the participation of children with disabilities in such large-scale testing, accommodations or modifications may be necessary in how the test is administered or how a given child takes the test. It's the responsibility of the IEP team to decide how the student with a disability will participate, and then to document that decision in the child's IEP.

Alternatively, the IEP team may decide that a particular test is not appropriate for a child. In this case, the IEP must include:

an explanation of why that test is not suitable for the child, and

how the child will be assessed instead (often called alternate assessment).

Let's take a look at both of these scenarios and what type of information is then included in the IEP.

IDEA's Exact Words

What, precisely, is the provision in IDEA related to assessment accommodations? Found at §300.320(a)(6), it states that the IEP must contain:

(6)(i) A statement of any individual appropriate accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the child on State and districtwide assessments consistent with §612(a)(16) of the Act; and

(ii) If the IEP Team determines that the child must take an alternate assessment instead of a particular regular State or districtwide assessment of student achievement, a statement of why-

(A) The child cannot participate in the regular assessment; and

(B) The particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the child...

In these words, you can easily see the two scenarios we're going to discuss now.

1. If the child participates in the assessment, how?

2. If he or she does not participate, why not and what alternate assessment will be used instead?

The Short-ish Story on Assessment Accommodations

Children with disabilities must participate in their state's grade-level assessments to determine their level of content mastery, just as their peers without disabilities must participate, unless a child's IEP Team determines that a given assessment is not appropriate for the child. Recognizing that disability has its impact, IDEA permits children with disabilities to participate in large-scale assessment programs with accommodations. Those accommodations are individually determined for a given child by his or her IEP team.

What Kind of Accommodations Are There?

Making an accommodation in testing generally means that some aspect of the testing condition has been altered so that a child with a disability can more fully show what he or she knows or can do. Accommodations in the classroom and those in assessment situations tend to fall into several types of changes-timing, scheduling, setting, presentation, response :

Presentation Accommodations-Allow students to access information in ways that do not require them to visually read standard print. These alternate modes of access are auditory, multi-sensory, tactile, and visual.

Response Accommodations-Allow students to complete activities, assignments, and assessments in different ways or to solve or organize problems using some type of assistive device or organizer.

Setting Accommodations-Change the location in which a test or assignment is given or the conditions of the assessment setting.

Timing and Scheduling Accommodations-Increase the allowable length of time to complete an assessment or assignment and perhaps change the way the time is organized. (p. 29)

The type of accommodation any one child with a disability receives is based on an individual consideration of that child's needs.
Presentation accommodations:

Large print

Magnification devices

Sign language

Braille

Tactile graphics

Human readers

Audiotape or CD

Audio amplification devices

Response accommodations:

Scribe

Word processor

Tape recorder

Responding in test booklet (not on answer sheet)

Monitoring of test response, if answer sheet is used

Calculators

Spelling and grammar devices

Setting accommodations:

Reduce distractions to student

Reduce distractions to other students

Change setting to permit physical access

Change setting to permit use of special equipment

Extended time

Multiple or frequent breaks

Change schedule or order of activities

Assessment accommodations tend to be-and should be-similar to classroom accommodations children with disabilities receive, so that the children are familiar with the accommodation before using it in a formal testing situation. However, IEP teams should not confuse classroom accommodations with assessment accommodations. What is permitted in class may not necessarily be permitted in state or districtwide assessments.

Finding Out More About Your State's Policies

The best place, of course, to find out more about your State's policies for assessment accommodations-what's allowable, in other words-is your State Department of Education. (Local policies may also be a factor to consider, so the LEA should also be contacted.) That said, one place you might consult for this information and to gain a sense of what other states are doing as well:

What about Alternate Assessments?

What happens if an IEP Team determines that it is inappropriate for a specific child with a disability to participate in a state or LEA's large-scale assessment, even with accommodations? Well, alternate assessments happen, and so do statements in the IEP explaining why this is an appropriate approach to use with a given child.

IDEA requires states to develop and implement at least one alternate assessment, unless all children with disabilities in the State can be assessed via the general assessment, with or without accommodations. Alternate assessments may be based on:

grade-level academic achievement standards,

modified academic achievement standards, or

alternate academic achievement standards. (U.S. Department of Education, 2007)

These options are discussed at length below, under "The Long Story." Here, we're interested in giving you a broad overview of the possibilities. Keep in mind that a state is not required to make all of these options available to children, so it's important to know what your state's policies and options are.

Additional information on alternative assessment is widely available. A few "Starter" resources include:

Alternate Assessments for Students with Disabilities
http://www.cehd.umn.edu/nceo/TopicAreas/AlternateAssessments/altAssessTopic.htm

State Alternate Assessment Policies
http://www.cehd.umn.edu/nceo/TopicAreas/AlternateAssessments/StatesAltAssess.htm

Where to Find Out More About Accommodations

Here's a brief "Starter List" of resources on assessment accommodations that will undoubtedly lead you to yet more resources. Be aware that these may include discussion of classroom assessment accommodations and are often linked to discussion of classroom accommodations in general.

An Introduction to Assessment Accommodations:
http://www.specialconnections.ku.edu/~kucrl/cgi-bin/drupal/?q=assessment/assessment_accommodations

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
http://www.cehd.umn.edu/NCEO/TopicAreas/Accommodations/Accomtopic.htm

Types of Assessment Accommodation
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/teaching-methods/educational-testing/4170.html

The Long Story on Assessment Accommodations

More? Oh yes. Namely-more about the assessment options available to children with disabilities that the IEP team will consider.

The 5 Assessment Options

According to the Department of Education (2007), there are five basic assessment options, as follows:

Participation in a general grade-level assessment.

Participation in a general grade-level assessment with accommodations.

Participation in an alternate assessment based on grade-level academic achievement standards.

Participation in an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards.

Participation in an alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards. (p. 11)

These options sound uncomfortably alike, don't they? What, exactly, are "academic achievement standards" and the difference between those that are alternate, modified, or at grade-level?

To start, it's useful to know that grade-level assessments must be closely aligned with grade-level content standards. Content standards establish the information or skills that a child in a specific grade is expected to learn. Grade-level assessments are intended to find out if the child, in fact, has learned that content and to what level of proficiency. Keep this in mind as you read through the options described below.
Options 1 and 2: Participation With or Without Accommodations
You've already read about Options 1 and 2, above.
Option 3: Participation in Alternate Assessment Based on Grade-Level Academic Achievement Standards
This type of alternate assessment is intended for children who cannot take the regular assessment, even with accommodations, but for whom the State's grade-level academic achievement standards are nonetheless still appropriate.

An example of this might be a child who has a severe physical disability that cannot be accommodated in the general assessment without invalidating his or her test scores but who nonetheless is working to achieve the academic standards established for his or her grade level. This type of alternate assessment allows the child's mastery of grade-level content to still be determined.
Option 4: Participation in Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards
This type of alternate assessment is a new option recently made available to states (April 2007) with the publication of final regulations in NCLB governing its use. States are not required to develop such assessments, but they can if they so choose.

Alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards are intended for a small group of children "whose disability has precluded them from achieving grade-level proficiency and whose progress is such that they will not reach grade-level proficiency in the same time frame as other students" (U.S. Department of Education, 2007, p. 8). For these children, the general grade-level assessments are too difficult, and the alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards are too easy (they're meant for children with the most significant cognitive disabilities; Option 5, described below). Either type of assessment will not provide teachers, children, families, and others with accurate information on what a child with a disability knows or can do and, thus, what type of instruction or supports will help the child progress toward grade-level achievement.

The Department of Education (2007) has responded to this gap in assessment options by giving states "the option of developing modified academic achievement standards for a small group of students with disabilities who can make significant progress, but who may not reach grade-level achievement in the time frame covered by their IEP" (p. 20).

Using this approach does not alter the content standards established by a state for a specific grade level. In fact, such an alternate assessment must cover the same grade-level content as the general assessment. However, "the achievement expectations are less difficult than those on the general test" (emphasis added), which means that "the same content is covered in the test, but with less difficult questions overall" (p. 28).
Two final points about alternate assessments that are based on modified academic achievement standards.
First: A child may take this type of alternate assessment in one subject (e.g., reading), yet take the general assessment in another subject (e.g., math). Deciding how the child will be assessed in each applicable subject area is the responsibility of the IEP team. However, just as it is the state's choice to develop (or not) an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards, it also can decide to modify academic achievement standards only for certain grades (e.g., grades 6 through 8, or for high school) and develop only those alternate assessments corresponding to those modified standards. Similarly, the state can choose to "develop an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards in only one subject (e.g., reading), but not in all subjects (e.g., math, science)" (Ahearn, 2006).

Second: Every year the IEP team must review its decision to assess a child based on modified academic achievement standards. As the Department of Education (2007) states:

We expect that there will be students with disabilities who take an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards one year, make considerable progress during the school year, and then take the general grade-level assessment the following year. Therefore, an IEP Team must consider a student's progress annually based on multiple, objective measures of the student's achievement before determining that the student should be assessed based on modified academic achievement standards. (p. 23)

The option that states now have to develop and implement alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards clearly adds another dimension to how children with disabilities may participate in a state's assessment programs. However, as has been said, a state is not required to develop such assessments.

For your convenience, here are direct links to the new regulations, the Department's 51-page guidance for states, and its two-page Fact Sheet on this option to assessment.

Regulations on Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards:
http://www2.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/finrule/2007-2/040907a.html

Department's Non-Regulatory Guidance:
http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/nclb/twopercent.doc

Fact Sheet: http://www.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/twopercent.html
Option 5: Participation in Alternate Assessment Based on Alternate Academic Achievement Standards
Option 5 sounds almost the same as Option 4, but it isn't. Fortunately, the difference between modified academic achievement standards and alternate ones can be easily described. Alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards are intended for children with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

While this type of alternate assessment must be linked to grade-level content, it typically does not fully represent grade-level content, only a sampling of it. Moreover, this type of alternate assessment may be linked to "extended content standards" that a state develops, standards that may restrict or simplify grade-level content in order to make it accessible to children with the most significant cognitive disabilities (U.S. Department of Education, 2007, p. 18). The state may define these content standards in grade clusters (e.g., grades 3-5). (In contrast, Option 4, alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards, must define content standards grade by grade.)

Summing Up The Options

Each of the five options described above represents a way in which children with disabilities may participate in large-scale assessments. Looking at them one by one is useful for grasping what each is about, but when it comes to choosing among them-that is, deciding which represents the appropriate way to assess a specific child with a disability-a comparison of their key elements can be a handy tool.

To that end, the Department of Education provides a chart of comparisons in Appendix 1 of its non-regulatory guidance on alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards. This chart is available online at: http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/nclb/twopercent.doc

Decisions, Decisions

The IEP team needs to know which of these options are available to it (based on state and/or on local policies) and determine which one of those is appropriate for the child. How a team determines what's appropriate for the child will vary from state to state based on state policy, which the state must make clear to IEP teams so that they can make informed and appropriate choices.

So what goes in the IEP?

Let's bring the discussion full circle and back to the component of the IEP that this article addresses: any "individual appropriate accommodations" necessary for the child's functional and academic achievement to be measured on a state and districtwide assessment. If participating in such an assessment is appropriate for a specific child with a disability, then that child's IEP Team must enumerate in the IEP any individual accommodations the child will need during testing. Some children may need no accommodations. Many will need accommodations. It's important for IEP teams to know what type of accommodations can be made without invalidating a child's test scores and which accommodations the state permits.

References

Ahearn, E. (2006). Standards-based IEPs: Implementation in selected states. Alexandria, VA: Project Forum, National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE).

Thompson, S.J., Morse, A.B., Sharpe, M., & Hall, S. (2005, August). Accommodations manual: How to select, administer, and evaluate use of accommodations for instruction and assessment of students with disabilities (2nd ed.). Washington, DC. Council of Chief State School Officers. Available online at: https://osepideasthatwork.org/node/109

U.S. Department of Education. (2007, April). Modified academic achievement standards [non-regulatory guidance draft]. Washington, DC: Author. Available online at: http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/nclb/twopercent.doc

Would you like to read about another component of the IEP?
If so, use the links below to jump there quickly.
_________________________________________________

Annual Goals
Once a child's needs are identified, the IEP team works to develop appropriate goals to address those needs. Annual goal describe what the child is expected to do or learn within a 12-month period.

Related Services
To help a child with a disability benefit from special education, he or she may also need extra help in one area or another, such as speaking or moving. This additional help is called related services. Find out all about these critical services here.

Accommodations in Assessment (you're already here!)
IDEA requires that students with disabilities take part in state or districtwide assessments. The IEP team must decide if the student needs accommodations in testing or another type of assessment entirely. In this component of the IEP, the team documents how the student will participate.

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Accommodations in Assessment for Students with Disabilities

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September 2010 A legacy resource from NICHCY This info in Spanish | Esta información en español IDEA requires that students with disabilities take part in state or districtwide assessments. These are tests that are periodically given to all students to measure achievement. It is one way that schools determine how well and how much students are learning.

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This website is teacher related because it explains the importance of following students plans, with testing accommodations, and explains the different kinds.

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I like how the website how the disabilities labeled, and then the testing accommodations for that disabilities underneath it!

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This could be beneficial for teachers to use when creating a plan or IEP goals for a student because there are so many testing accommodations listed and they could ensure it fits the students needs.

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Literacy Instruction at a Distance: Strategies for Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities

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Explicit instruction in core literacy skills (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) combined with multisensory supports, are key to helping children with language-based learning disabilities thrive in a virtual learning environment. Try these ideas and online learning tools with your students.

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I think this website is laid out well, with the categories then subcategories it is easier to comprehend and find what you are looking for.

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This website is teacher related because it could be good for them, to learn more about teaching and literacy skills in special education, and some stratagies they can use in the classroom.

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I like how this website goes into specifics with the categories, rather than the subcategories. For example, a category is mapping the sounds in words to print, then it is briefly explained. I think that this makes it very easy to comprehend.

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Nine Powerful Ways to Promote Inclusion in the Classroom

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In the United States, the landscape of education has been steadily evolving towards inclusivity.

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This website is teacher related because it explains the importance of inclusive classrooms, and gives strategies for the teacher to ensure it is inclusive.

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It is important for teachers to understand WHY their classroom should be inclusive, but also ways to make it inclusive. This article touches on things such as equity, conversations, and getting to know the students!

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This website is set up good and I like how the ways to promote classroom inclusion are numbered then explained.

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Supplemental Health Care - Supplemental Health Care is a national leader in employment and workforce solutions for the future of behavioral health, education, and healthcare services.

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How to Empower Students With Disabilities in a School Setting - Supplemental Health Care

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Children with disabilities can face many different challenges in school, ranging from learning difficulties to physical challenges.

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This website is teacher related because it tells them how to help and support students with health disabilities in the classroom.

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I like how this website talks about the impact of disabilities on students. Also, this is the first article I have read that talks about who all is working with the students with disabilities, because it is often far beyond just teachers.

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This website has a LOT of information, and I like how on the side there are drop down tabs so you can look more into other things that are semi-related to the topic.

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School of Education and Human Sciences, University of Kansas

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Exploring special education teacher certification: Requirements and exam preparation

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Discover the essential steps and resources for obtaining special education teacher certification. Apply to a KU online master’s-level program today.

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This website is student related because it could be a good resource for students who are aspiring to be teachers and considering special education. It can also be beneficial for teachers to switch to special education.

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This article is lengthy and the information is just kind of thrown around. The website is confusing and not easy to follow.

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This is an important topic because it is important for special education teachers to be passionate and know what they are going into, so I think the website could benefit from some drop down links or tabs or anything to organize it better.

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Effective Teaching Strategies Used in Today’s Classrooms - Graduate Programs for Educators

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There are a variety of ways to teach students, but which are most effective in a modern class? Learn about teachings strategies used in today’s classroom.

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I absolutely love how this article is set up. This is my favorite way to see an article. With subtitles and then them explained, all the different categories, and it flows well.

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This is teacher related because it can give them ideas of effective strategies to use in their classroom, but it could also be parents related because they could use it to see the kinds of ways teachers are running their classrooms nowadays!

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At the end of this article you can enter your full name and email into a form to get more information about the topic, I think that is a cool touch for the website!