Lesson Accommodating Included Student
As I reflect on the units and lessons I planned during my student
teaching experience, I realize that a teacher with included special
needs students needs to make accommodations and decisions on their
behalf at every turn. There were many times where a lesson was
shaped, guided, or altered with the knowledge that certain students
in my class with special learning needs may have difficulty with
particular tasks and activities. Nevertheless, the more experience I
had in an inclusion classroom, the more natural these decisions
became. Accommodations became built into my lessons as my awareness
was heightened. Below is an overview of one of my earliest lessons. I
did this lesson with my afternoon class and thought it would be
interesting to consider how I would have adapted the lesson to
accommodate the needs of a child with cerebral palsy in my morning
class.
Theme: Fire Prevention & Safety for Children
This lesson is meant to precede the firefighters' visit to our
classroom.
1) Explain that since it is Fire Prevention Week, we will be
doing some special activities and learning some fire safety lessons.
Read the book Clifford the Firehouse Dog by Norman Bridwell.
Young children can easily learn the "stop, drop and roll" technique
and other fire safety lessons. Clifford, the big red dog, goes to
visit his brother Nero who lives in the firehouse. Clifford gives
seven fire safety rules at the end of the book to be reviewed with
children.
2) Learn and sing the song "Firefighter" (the song is to the tune
of Frere Jacques)
3) Practice the "stop, drop and roll" technique so that each
child feels confident doing this in the event of a fire.
4) To accommodate a special needs student with cerebral palsy and
resulting physical impairments, I would alter the culminating
activity in this lesson. While he could freely engage with the story
and the song, learning and practicing the "stop, drop and roll"
technique would pose a huge challenge. A child without the capacity
to roll on the floor independently would not only struggle with the
"stop, drop and roll" technique in a classroom activity, but would
also have difficulty using this strategy in the event of a fire. In
order to ensure that this child learns the skills necessary to
function the safest way he can if a fire occurs, I would work with
him on "stopping and dropping to the floor." The goal would be for
this child to learn this strategy and practice it. Since all children
will need to actively practice fire safety techniques, such an
accommodation would appropriately meet the individual learning needs
of each student in my class.
