What Really Works With Exceptional Learners


Book Description

Your desk reference for success with exceptional students Today’s teachers, especially the many who work with students with special needs, are pressed to know a little something about everything. Expertise is needed in different content and pedagogical areas, but knowledge of different types of disabilities is required as well. Wendy Murawski and Kathy Lynn Scott have assembled another reader-friendly What Really Works resource full of experiences and evidence-based practices to empower any educator. Each chapter is presented in an easy-access and practical format suited for busy professionals. The editors and authors examine how special educational needs affect Content areas like reading and math Specialization areas like autism and learning disabilities Pedagogical areas like culturally responsive practices and accommodations Other critical areas like legal issues, behavior challenges, and home-school collaboration As education trends promote the inclusion of students with exceptionalities, this book is the perfect resource for teachers and administrators who need to know what works...and what doesn’t.




Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children


Book Description

While most children learn to read fairly well, there remain many young Americans whose futures are imperiled because they do not read well enough to meet the demands of our competitive, technology-driven society. This book explores the problem within the context of social, historical, cultural, and biological factors. Recommendations address the identification of groups of children at risk, effective instruction for the preschool and early grades, effective approaches to dialects and bilingualism, the importance of these findings for the professional development of teachers, and gaps that remain in our understanding of how children learn to read. Implications for parents, teachers, schools, communities, the media, and government at all levels are discussed. The book examines the epidemiology of reading problems and introduces the concepts used by experts in the field. In a clear and readable narrative, word identification, comprehension, and other processes in normal reading development are discussed. Against the background of normal progress, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children examines factors that put children at risk of poor reading. It explores in detail how literacy can be fostered from birth through kindergarten and the primary grades, including evaluation of philosophies, systems, and materials commonly used to teach reading.




Differently Wired


Book Description

It’s time to say NO to trying to fit square-peg kids into rounds holes, and YES to raising them from a place of acceptance and joy. Today millions of kids are stuck in a world that doesn’t embrace who they really are. They are the one in five “differently wired” children with ADHD, dyslexia, giftedness, autism, anxiety, or other neurodifferences, and their challenges are many. And for the parents who love them, the challenges are just as numerous, as they struggle to find the right school, the right support, the right path. But now there’s hope. Differently Wired is a revolutionary book—weaving together personal stories and a tool kit of expert advice from author Deborah Reber, it’s a how-to, a manifesto, and a reassuring companion for parents who can so often feel that they have no place to turn. At the heart of Differently Wired are 18 paradigm-shifting ideas—what the author calls “tilts,” which include how to accept and lean in to your role as a parent (#2: Get Out of Isolation and Connect). Deal with the challenges of parenting a differently wired child (#5: Parent from a Place of Possibility Instead of Fear). Support yourself (#11: Let Go of Your Impossible Expectations for Who You “Should” Be as a Parent). And seek community (#18: If It Doesn’t Exist, Create It). Taken together, it’s a lifesaving program to shift our thinking and actions in a way that not only improves the family dynamic, but also allows children to fully realize their best selves. “In this generous and urgent book, Deborah Reber lets the light in. She helps parents see that they’re not alone, and even better, delivers a positive action plan that will change lives.”—Seth Godin, author of Linchpin “Differently Wired will help parents of children who think differently to accept their child for who they are and facilitate their successful development.”—Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures and The Autistic Brain




Faking it


Book Description

If Chris hadn't faked it through school, concealing his dyslexia, he wouldn't have made it through school. This is his story.




Powerful Writing Strategies for All Students


Book Description

Highly-effective, field-tested lesson plans that will help transform struggling elementary and middle school students into skilled writers




Teaching Reading Comprehension to Students with Learning Difficulties, 2/E


Book Description

This practitioner resource and course text has given thousands of K-12 teachers evidence-based tools for helping students--particularly those at risk for reading difficulties--understand and acquire new knowledge from text. The authors present a range of scientifically validated instructional techniques and activities, complete with helpful classroom examples and sample lessons. The book describes ways to assess comprehension, build the skills that good readers rely on, and teach students to use multiple comprehension strategies flexibly and effectively. Each chapter features thought-provoking discussion questions. Reproducible lesson plans and graphic organizers can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. New to This Edition *Chapters on content-area literacy, English language learners, and intensive interventions. *Incorporates current research on each component of reading comprehension. *Discusses ways to align instruction with the Common Core State Standards. *Additional instructional activities throughout.




Comprehensive Literacy for All


Book Description

An essential resource for educators, speech-language pathologists, and parents--and an ideal text for courses that cover literacy and significant disabilities--this book will help you ensure that all students have the reading and writing skills they need to unlock new opportunities and reach their potential.




Literacy for Visual Learners


Book Description

This book takes a fresh look at approaches to teaching reading, writing and communication skills. It presents a wealth of innovative ideas specifically designed to support visual learners, including those with autism spectrum conditions and special educational needs. Some children are more responsive to visual stimulation than spoken words, and this book shows how to engage these children in literacy lessons by using strategies that cover everything from the latest assistive technology to getting creative on a limited budget. There are tips for sharing stories with children who find it hard to sit still, supporting reluctant writers, enabling the pre-verbal child to answer questions and helping the child who never stops talking to develop listening skills. The strategies are supported by practical resources, examples and case studies, to show how to instil in children the confidence to create and share their thoughts. This is a must-have resource for special education teachers and coordinators, as well as speech and language therapists, looking for new strategies for teaching literacy.




The Essentials


Book Description

Introduction to the core concepts of teaching and supporting children with disabilities alongside their peers will help teachers ensure that all children meet their potential.




Teaching Exceptional Children


Book Description

Teaching Exceptional Children: A Curated Anthology provides pre-service educators with deeper insight into the lives and realities of individuals with exceptionalities, and the challenges they, their families, and their teachers experience. The collection is comprised of illuminating articles from a variety of perspectives that help readers build the critical thinking necessary to thoughtfully consider and approach their work with students with exceptionalities. The anthology is organized into 21 chapters that build conceptually beginning with general information about special education, laws, response to intervention, and individualized education programs. Additional chapters focus on specific exceptionalities such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, communication disorders, and traumatic brain injury, among others. Universal design for learning, teaching multicultural and bilingual students, and working with the parents of students with exceptionalities are covered. Each chapter features an introduction to establish context for the readings and reflection questions to stimulate critical thought and lively discussion. Written to well prepare future educators, Teaching Exceptional Children is an ideal resource for courses and programs in education.