Special Education Teacher

Hello! This blog is dedicated to share some of my personal experiences, thoughts, and reflections on being a special education teacher. I will be posting using both English and Bahasa Indonesia (my mother tongue).

[specedteachertisa]

The truth about being Special Education Teacher 😊

[thegirlthatteaches]

Practice Makes Progress

While I was observing another class the teacher brought up a very important message. When she asked her room full of grade ones why we practice our math skills so much, one student said “because practice makes perfect”. Her reply that practice does not make perfect, as no one can be perfect.

She then said “practice makes progress”. Because no one can be perfect, but everyone can make progress.

[weareteachers]

For some kids, learning to read comes naturally. For others, it’s a challenge. Helping kids with reading struggles can be like solving a puzzle. All of the pieces have to be in the right place for the big picture to come together. It can be hard to know which pieces each individual student may be missing. And even if we know what’s missing, we may not know how to teach the specific skills our students need. So we asked the experts at Lindamood-Bell to tackle six tough questions about teaching reading.

Q: “I have two second grade students who struggle to read basic words. They are able to read at Guided Reading Level B, but when we work spelling, they have a difficult time saying individual phonemes and then writing them. What are some activities they can do to strengthen their word recognition?” —Faye M.

Q: “I have a third grader who mistakes ‘said’ for ‘says’ and ‘they’ for ‘them.’ He mixes up other small words every time he reads. He also sounds out almost every single word as he reads it, which impedes his fluency. He reads at a first grade level. How can I help him improve?” —Danielle K.

Q: “How can I help my students remember high-frequency words and phonics patterns? We sing the words, I point them out, I’ve tried everything I can think of, but nothing seems to help. Any suggestions would be great!” —Lydia P.

Q: “I have a second grader who can read all the words on a page of Junie B. or Magic Tree House and then have no idea what it says! She ends up guessing at meaning. How can I improve comprehension?” —Mary R.

Find answers to these questions and more–> http://bit.ly/1OjRwZU

[weareteachers]

24 Ways to Motivate Beginning Readers

Many kids come to school excited about learning to read, but it can be tricky to maintain that early momentum. We’ve collected 24 of our favorite ideas to keep kids motivated in those early stages of learning to read. 

1. Read aloud every day. It just takes a single story to captivate a child and propel him or her forward in reading. We share some of the best books to readaloud here, and many of them are perfect for beginning readers.

2. Make thematic connections.

Making connections is what good readers do. A better understanding of the underlying concepts makes comprehension easier. If you can find read-aloud books and other activities to tie into key curricular themes, students will have an easier time decoding and comprehending words when they encounter them in books.

3. Track progress. Kids love to see when they’ve made progress. Track their growth and share it with them periodically. When you can show children that they’ve actually learned 10 letters and sounds just since the beginning of the year, that will motivate them to learn the next 10.

Find 21 more ideas on our site: http://bit.ly/1TBzbzW

[weareteachers]

Three Downloadable Classroom Posters: Supporting English Language Learners. See them all at http://bit.ly/1OC7ArJ

[weareteachers]

Manipulatives are awesome, but math students need to learn to visualize what numbers mean in their heads as well. Here are four teaching strategies from experts that teach that important skill.

[specedteachertisa]

#WorldAutismAwarenessDay #SupportPeopleWithAutism – View on Path.

[diversityinya]

Living with disability is a fascinating and complex journey. It is a balancing act of tolerance and love. I don’t just want books that put a few kids in wheelchairs, I want books that tell the truth of this experience in all its complexity. As much as I love The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, I’d love to read about more characters with autism who aren’t high-functioning. I want to see kids who are distant and difficult and the wonder of how they are loved even so. We don’t need to sell disability or put a polish on it. We need to show the humanity that lies beneath the difference.

Cammie McGovern, “Beyond the Magically (Dis)abled” (The Horn Book)

[weareteachers]

The boys with ADHD who moved more during the test performed better than the boys with ADHD who did not move around. They also performed better than the boys who moved around but who did not have ADHD. Rapport has shown in previous research that kids with ADHD only show excessive movement when they’re using executive functions like working memory, reasoning and problem-solving. The new study appears to show that physical movement not only occurs alongside these important brain functions, but seems to facilitate them. Instead of encouraging children to sit quietly in their chairs, we should consider allowing them to sit on activity balls or at exercise bikes while they work, according to Rapport. ‘Movement is functional rather than purposeless.’

Have We Taken The Wrong Approach To Treating Kids With ADHD?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/22/kids-adhd-treatment_n_7110910.html?ir=Parents&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000037

(via weareteachers)

[toddparr]

Back-to-School Checklist. Do use a tissue to wipe your nose. Don’t use your finger. Love, Todd

[weareteachers]

Love love Todd Parr. 

[weareteachers]

[specedteachertisa]

Hi!

Tulisan kali ini adalah tentang event Celebrate Diverse Learners 2015. Sejarah singkatnya adalah sebagai berikut.

Tahun 2011 Special Education Department Sekolah Cita Buana mengadakan sebuah acara untuk memperingati World Autism Awareness Day yang diperingati setiap 2 April. Acara ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kesadaran masyarakat (para siswa, guru, orang tua dan khalayak ramai lainnya) mengenai autisme & gangguan perkembangan dan/atau kesulitan belajar lainnya. Sampai tahun 2013 acara ini masih bernama Autism Awareness Day/Week Sekolah Cita Buana. Nah, barulah pada tahun 2014, nama acara ini diganti menjadi Celebrate Diverse Learners.

Mengapa diganti? Karena sekolah kami juga menangani gangguan perkembangan & kesulitan belajar lain selain autisme. Semangat yang diusung pun menjadi semakin berkembang dengan inklusi sebagai inti penyelenggaraan acara ini.

Mengapa inklusi?

Jawabannya mudah: karena individu dengan kebutuhan khusus juga manusia yang setara dengan manusia lainnya. Kesetaraan inilah yang membuat mereka berhak mendapat kesempatan yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan & kemampuan mereka. 

Semangat inklusi berarti mengikutsertakan individu ini dalam keseharian masyarakat, misalnya ketika bermain, bersekolah, mengikuti pertandingan, mengungkapkan pendapat, dan sebagainya.

Foto di atas adalah beberapa kegiatan yang Special Education Department Sekolah Cita Buana lakukan dalam acara Celebrate Diverse Learners 2015. Saya pada waktu itu menjadi pembicara sesi Sharing Knowledge bagi murid-murid SMP & SMA. Tema sharing-nya adalah "Our School: an Inclusive Environment". Saya mencoba mengajak para siswa reguler SMP & SMA untuk semakin menyadari kehadiran teman-temannya yang berkebutuhan khusus di sekolah ini. Saya berusaha menggali apa saja yang telah dan akan mereka lakukan sebagai bentuk inklusi terhadap teman yang berkebutuhan khusus. Sungguh bangga, acara berjalan lancar & para siswa bisa mempertahankan atensi & semangatnya dalam sesi ini. Hasil diskusi reflektif mereka pun dapat menghasilkan saran-saran yang baik dalam usaha meningkatkan semangat inklusi di Sekolah Cita Buana. 

Selain sesi Sharing Knowledge, ada juga sesi pembuatan lagu berjudul "More Than I Am". Para guru yang membuat liriknya loh! Guru-guru bekerjasama dengan guru musik di departemen kami, Pak Syafrullah Darwis, untuk membuat lirik yang dapat menyentuh hati mereka yang mendengarnya. Bangga & terharu sekali ketika lagu ini akhirnya dinyanyikan oleh para murid Special Education Department. Lebih bangga lagi ketika para guru & orang tua mengapresiasi karya kami ini. Mudah-mudahan lagu ini bisa tersebar luas & semakin meningkatkan kepedulian kita terhadap individu berkebutuhan khusus.

Tulisan berikutnya akan membahas tentang acara Celebrate Diverse Learners/Autism Awareness di tahun-tahun sebelumnya. So, stay tuned! Sampai jumpa!

[primarilypeace]

Get your checklist for WORLD KINDNESS WEEK (Nov. 10th-16th) from RippleKindness.org!

[primarilypeace]

Imagine landscaping rocks like these surrounding your home, school or business. The aura would be incredible.

Via Ripple Kindness Project. Follow them on Facebook & Twitter.

[primarilypeace]

I made this in response to today’s Twiter activity among peace & kindness educators. I’ll be using it with the Peace Kids Club during The Great Kindness Challenge.

[realsocialskills]

Honesty

When you’re teaching vulnerable kids social skills, it’s important to tell the truth.

They need skills for living in the world as it is, not as you would like it to be.

For instance: If you teach them to walk away from bullies, you have to tell them that sometimes bullies will follow them.

If you teach them to tell an adult, you have to teach them that sometimes the adult won’t care, or will take the bully’s side, or will tell them to stop tattling.

If you teach them to say “That hurts my feelings!”, you have to teach them that some bullies will laugh at them.

If you don’t teach kids that, when those things happen, they will think it is their fault. Or they will think that you don’t care. Either way, they’re not likely to be able to come to you for further support.

It’s much better to admit that your answers are imperfect. It’s much better to admit when you don’t know how to help. It’s much better if you can listen.

Sometimes the best thing you can say is “I’m sorry that people are being so mean to you. Do you want to talk about it?" 

[nasetmembers]

Apps For Special Education Teachers

In our changing world, many educators are utilizing apps to help them complete many of the tasks that teachers deal with on a daily basis.  Apps can be helpful for helping Special Education teachers to stay organized and productive.  The National Association of Special Education teachers has developed the following apps, which are available for purchase on iTunes:

IEP Goals, & Objective with Common Core State Standards

NASET has updated its very popular IEP Goals and Objectives app. This vastly updated application allows you to easily build a list of students, and for each one, choose & build a list of IEP Annual Goals, Short Term and Behavioral Objectives, that include Common Core State Standards (CCSS). For each behavioral objective, you are provided with the option to add a Mastery Level. The output of each student’s list of Goals and Objectives can then be sent by email or text message.

This App Allows You to:

Build a list of students and then save, edit, add, and/or delete selected Goals and Objectives that are unique for each student

Develop multiple Goals and Objectives for each student

Export the assembled annual goals, short term objectives and behavioral objectives for each student via email or text message

Plan certain significant components of each student’s educational curriculum

Build an exportable list of enrichment experiences to enhance each student’s development from a list of over 2,700 Suggested Activities

What’s New in this Version:

More than double the number of Annual Goals and Short Term Objectives from which to choose

Includes Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

Optional Mastery Level selections offered for each Behavioral Objective

Allows you to build a list of students and then save the selections of goals and objectives for each student

Easier to use the collected choices by including the student’s first name in the final behavioral objectives list that you compile

More flexibility that allows you to add, delete and/or edit the selected goals and objectives

Watch a video demo of our app:  https://youtu.be/1EFsu2g1hXY

Read an impartial review of our app:  http://www.lessonplanet.com/professional-development/courses/ed-tech-iep-goals-and-objectives-with-ccss

Download the app:  https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=570070557&mt=8

Special Education Dictionary

The NASET Special Education Dictionary gives you thousands of terms used in special education with their respective definitions and easy-to-understand explanations. This practical app is the most comprehensive dictionary available in special education. You can look up any definition by means of the main search or alphabetical search. If you work in the field of special education or are a parent of a child with special needs, you should have the NASET Special Education Dictionary in your app library.

Features:

Thousands of special education terms and definitions at your fingertips

Extremely clear and simple definitions are easy for anyone to understand

Complete sentence-based definitions in English

Alphabetical scroll list and or search options

Export terms and definitions by message, email, Facebook, Twitter and even copy to device clipboard

Download the app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/parent-teacher-handouts/id669833262?ls=1&mt=8

Parent Teacher Handouts Application for iPhone and iPad

Parent/Teacher conferences are an integral part of being a special education teacher and afford the opportunity to communicate very important information to a parent that will facilitate the progress of his/her child. As a result, many parents may not remember what exactly was said at the meeting and these handouts can easily reinforce the discussion in a very concrete manner.

NASET’s Parent Teacher Conference Handout Collection provides over 90 handouts covering a wide variety of topics that are discussed by teachers and parents on a daily basis. From this application you will be able to select and then; view, print, download, or email your selection(s).

The Parent Teacher Conference Handouts provided cover a variety of topics in special education. These handouts can be given at the end of parent teacher conferences, to reinforce concepts and help parents further understand information discussed at the conference. They are also useful in answering parent inquiries or providing tips to parents on how they can assist their child with his/her education. These handouts will provide you with a means of educating parents, delivering requested information, providing clarity, reducing misinformation & speculation on the parts of parents. It also helps to present you as a source of guidance, information, and assistance to all the parents of children in your class.

Download the app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/parent-teacher-handouts/id669833262?ls=1&mt=8

To learn about becoming a member of the National Association of Special Education visit http://www.naset.org/benefits.0.html

[specedteachertisa]

This is a reblog of an app from iTunes (for Apple gadgets). Does anyone know of similar app for Android gadgets? Kindly let me know :)