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Literacy Beyond Picture Books

Teaching Secondary Students With Moderate to Severe Disabilities

By: Dorothy Dendy Smith, Jill Fisher DeMarco, Martha Worley

Engage students' interest and build foundational literacy skills!

This accessible, step-by-step guide shows teachers how to select appropriate texts and plan inventive themed units that help secondary students with significant disabilities develop literacy skills. Perfect for special education and inclusive classrooms, this resource includes hands-on activities and sample lessons, ideas for adapting general education materials, graphic organizers and other materials, and information on how to:

Build vocabulary
Choose and use age-appropriate themes and literature
Teach functional skills on a daily basis
Incorporate media and assistive technology
Coordinate with general education teachers and involve parents

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Product Details

Grade Level: 6-12
ISBN: 9781412971140
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2009
Page Count: 224
Publication date: June 02, 2009

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This book is not available as a review copy.

Description

"I was rejuvenated by the opportunities for exciting and meaningful instruction. My creative thoughts ran rampant with how I could use these ideas with my novice teachers as well as within my classroom."
—Jayne Englert-Burns, Consulting Teacher, Special Education
Montgomery County Public Schools, Germantown, MD

"The authors have done a nice job of describing how to make teaching student-centered by focusing on individual student interests and learning styles and by making classroom instruction exciting and fun."
—Dennis H. Reid, Director
Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center

Engage students' interest and build foundational literacy skills!

Teaching literacy to middle school and high school students with significant disabilities can prove challenging when available reading materials often don't match students' reading levels and interests. This accessible, step-by-step guide shows teachers how to match students with appropriate texts and develop inventive themed units that encourage literacy learning.

Teachers can build whole units around a selected text and create hands-on activities that engage multiple senses. This valuable resource includes sample activities and lesson plans, ideas for adapting general education materials, and essential information on how to:

Build vocabulary and use retelling and guided reading
Teach functional skills on a daily basis
Incorporate media and assistive technology
Coordinate with general education teachers and involve parents
Assess students' learning and meet IEP goals

Perfect for special education and inclusive classrooms, this resource features everything teachers need to motivate students with disabilities and help them develop literacy skills!

Key features

A sensitive, accessible description of how to organize, plan, and execute inventive themed unit plans for secondary student with disabilities, the text includes essential information on how to:

build vocabulary
choose and use age-appropriate themes and literature
use retelling and guided reading
include functional skills on a daily basis
incorporate media and assistive technology
coordinate with general education teachers
involve parents
create and meet IEP goals with thematic activities
assess students' learning

The conversational teacher-to-teacher tone and many illustrative materials--photos, tables, graphic organizers, etc.--in addition to the proposed sample lessons, will make this step-by-step guide a valuable and appealing resource for practitioners.

Author(s)

Dorothy Dendy Smith

Dorothy Dendy Smith has taught in the field of special education for 26 years. She is currently the autism specialist for Buncombe County Schools. She was Special Educator of Excellence for Buncombe County Schools for the 2006-2007 school year, and Teacher of the Year for the Progressive Education Program in Buncombe County Schools for the year 2000-2001. Smith was the Teacher of the Year for Walnut Cove Primary School and first runner-up for Teacher of the Year in the Stokes County School District in North Carolina. She graduated from Western Carolina University in 1972 with a BS in special education. She received a master of arts in education, special education, severe disabilities from Western Carolina University in 2002. She has certifications in learning disabilities, mental retardation, and severe disabilities.

Jill Fisher DeMarco

Jill Fisher DeMarco worked with adults with disabilities for 15 years before beginning her career in special education. She has taught high school students in the Occupational Course of Study and currently is in the seventh year of teaching at the Progressive Education Program at Valley Springs Middle School in Arden, NC. She was the 2005–2006 Teacher of the Year for the program. She has a bachelor of science degree in vocational rehabilitation from Appalachian State University and a master of arts in teaching degree and a master of science degree in human resources from Western Carolina University. She has certifications in mental retardation and learning disabilities.

Martha Worley

Martha Worley has taught for 15 years in the public schools as a speech pathologist. She is currently a speech pathologist at the Progressive Education Program at Roberson High School in Asheville, NC. She also works with other schools in Buncombe County to provide access for students with mild to significant disabilities. She was the Special Education Teacher of Excellence for Buncombe County Schools in the 2001-2002 school year. She has a bachelor of arts from Baylor University and a master of science degree from Vanderbilt University.

Table of Contents

List of Tables

Foreword by Karena Cooper-Duffy

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Introduction: A Quest for Change

1. Research and Program Overview

2. Establishing a Foundation for Planning

3. Building a Theme

4. Setting the Stage

5. Providing Access Through Assistive Technology

6. Instructional Delivery

7. Home Involvement

8. Assessment

9. Collaboration With General Education and Inclusion

10. Functional Skills

Appendix I: Lesson Plans for Black Stallion

Appendix II: Lesson Plans for Island of the Blue Dolphin

Appendix III: Lesson Plans for Stone Fox

Appendix IV: Lesson Plans for The Secret Garden

Appendix V: Lesson Plans for Where the Lilies Bloom

Appendix VI: Lesson Plans for the Wizard of Oz

Resources

Glossary

References

List of Universal Resource Locators

Index

Reviews

"I was rejuvenated by the potential opportunities for exciting and meaningful instruction. My creative thoughts ran rampant with how I could use these ideas with my novice teachers as well as within my classroom."

Jayne Englert-Burns, Consulting Teacher, Special Education
Montgomery County Public Schools, Germantown, MD

"Provides everything needed to start an appropriate curriculum that is motivating and challenging for students with moderate to severe disabilities. This book is a winner!"

Karen Kozy-Landress, Speech/Language Pathologist

"We’ve tried for the last few years to adapt the grade level material to help our students feel like part of the general education setting, while still meeting their IEP goals. It’s been a real challenge, but this book helps bring the concept to more of a reality."

Michelle Strom, Language Arts Teacher
Carson Middle School, Fort Carson, CO

"Each chapter is chock full of excellent ideas that have stood the test of time. The conversational tone of the authors conveys their enthusiasm for the work they share and the students they teach."

Iris Goldberg, Director of Early Childhood Education
Westchester Graduate Campus, Long Island University

"Presents a wealth of information for using a thematic approach for teaching literacy skills to students with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. The teaching approach is comprehensive, with procedures built in to facilitate team teaching, parent involvement, use of assistive technology, and inclusive practices. The authors have done a particularly nice job of describing how to make teaching student-centered by focusing on individual student interests and learning styles and by making classroom instruction exciting and fun for students."

Dennis H. Reid, Director
Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center

Other Titles in: Special Education | English/Language Arts (Middle/High School)

Select Format:

Review Copies

This book is not available as a review copy.