1. Special Education in the English Classroom By: Martha VanHorssen

2. BIG QUESTION How do you teach students that are behind grade level?

3. RESEARCH PROCESS 1.Interviews 2.Program example: Charlotte High School 3.So What 4.My video!

4. LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL SPECIAL EDUCATION: RESOURCE TEACHER What does your program look like at Lincoln High School? At LHS students eligible for special education services are placed in team taught General Education classroom. The content area teacher and special educator collaborate.

5. RESOURCE TEACHER Do students in your program graduate with a GED? Some students just "don't fit" or "can't fit" into the typical high school setting

6. RESOURCE TEACHER How many go to college? most of the students have reading difficulties and/or social-emotional barriers that block them from developing the skills needed

7. RESOURCE TEACHER How often do teachers seek your help in modifying lessons and homework? Not very often because the pressures of time

8. CHARLOTTE HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHER What does your program look like at Charlotte High School? Thematic units of study; we are currently working in vocabulary across the curriculum

9. ENGLISH TEACHER What types of disabilities do you have in your classroom? Learning disabilities, special ed. How often do you seek your help in modifying lessons and homework? Not often for modifying; a lot for accommodating.

10. ADVICE FOR FUTURE ENGLISH TEACHERS Be prepared, but be flexible Call parents Insist on polite behavior in students Get to know and help support staff Try to find as many hands-on activities as possible

11. PROGRAM EXAMPLE Charlotte High School 3 levels available to everyone “ORIOLE time” is for everyone ZAP (Zeroes Aren’t Permitted)

12. PROGRAM EXAMPLE Level 1: “at risk” students identified classroom intervention Freshman Mentoring Program (FMP) Level 2: Academic intervention/Teacher referral Oriole Time Tutor Homework during lunch Level 3: Failing 2 or more classes Credit recovery

13. SO WHAT Difference between modifications and accommodations: “Are you changing the lesson and expectations? Or are you making it possible to be completed and learned?” (Ms. Fletcher) Work that applies to their lives Challenge students, when they are bored, they won't work What is true for Sp. Ed. students can be true for all students May be behind grade level because of uninteresting lessons that are unrelated to their lives

14. USEFUL RESOURCES Special Education : MSU : ENG408 interviews/lesson plan examples Including Students with Special Needs : a Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers by Marilyn Penovich Friend; William D BursuckMarilyn Penovich FriendWilliam D Bursuck Experiential Education in the English Classroom Special Needs - Teacher Resources Keep at-Risk Students in School by Keeping Them up to Grade Level by David P. Sklarz Teachers Network: Assessing Student Writing How to Improve Literacy