Special Needs Best Practices Video

This video shows a school with a "whatever it takes" attitude for the success of each student.  The students in the video have various physical needs, which are met through assistive technologies.

Raz-Kids allows students to listen to stories read to them as well as the option to record their own oral reading of the text. 

Click here to listen and read a book from Raz-Kids.

Webspiration allows students to create concept maps based on visuals chosen, in order to connect themes and ideas. It is a great tool to help aid with brainstorming, during the prewriting process.  

Webspiration Tutorial for Teachers (visual thinking tool)

New Technology to promote literacy: Augmented Reality for Reading

• Technology based flashcards
• 3D images as well as videos on topics

Letters Alive Reading Curriculum

Response To Intervention

RTI Videos:

The video below describes the Response To Intervention (RTI) Model

The videos below shows examples of schools implementing RTI

RTI Model

A Parent's Guide to Response to Intervention

The IEP

All About The IEP Article

This describes all the steps to developing and writing an IEP. It tells who is on the IEP development team, and when the team meets.

This article is also available in Spanish.
Here is a useful guide for parent's on the steps to an IEP as well as resources.

Here is an example of goals for an IEP:

Annual goals must be measurable and contain these 5 elements:

The student…(WHO)

Will do what...(BEHAVIOR) 

To what level or degree...(CRITERION) 

Under what conditions...(CONDITIONS) 

In what length of time...(TIMEFRAME)

Here is an example of a properly written goal that contains all of the elements above: • Jacob (WHO) will read 90 –110 words of connected text (CONDITION) per minute (BEHAVIOR) with 100% accuracy (CRITERION) at the end of 36 weeks (TIMEFRAME).

IEP Process

Source: Alabama statewide training on standards-based IEPs (January to March 2006)

Tips for Understanding Standard-based IEPs:

Tips for Parents:

• Provide expectations and concerns regarding your child’s school performance to the IEP team in a organized and concrete manner.

• Confirm that all information used to develop your child’s present level of performance is based on a variety of information that is objective and documented.

• Expect all language in the IEP to be clear, understandable, and focus on what your child can be expected to do, not what your child can’t do.

Tips for Teachers:

• Be familiar with the standards for the grade level you are teaching.

• Carefully consider the entire standard and decide if the student needs to master all of a particular standard or only part(s) of the standard.

• Analyze test results to determine the student’s present level of performance relative to the standards for his enrolled grade.

• Include the priorities and concerns of the student and the student’s parents.

• Define the student in terms that translate directly into instructional intervention.

• Document all data sources used to develop the student’s present level of performance.

Source: 
Understanding the Standards-based Individualized Education Program (IEP) National Center for Learning Disabilities • www.LD.org

Webquest For Parents, Students, and Teachers About Special Education

This website is a webquest that contains resources to utilize such as resources that bring awareness to students, teachers, and parents about the field of Special Education. The webquest provides websites to visit to get more information about students with disabilities (ex: National Learning Center for Children with Learning Disabilities) and teacher resources (ex: lesson plans) that help to make accomodations within the classroom.

Special Education Webquest

Twitter Accounts For Teachers and Parent To Follow About Special Education

On Special Education is the Education Week blog by a reporter baned Nirvi Shah. Shah discusses news and trend that pertain to the community of Special Education: 
On Special Education Twitter Account

The Council of Exceptional Children post updates about the field of Special Education on their twitter page:
Council Of Exceptional Children Twitter Account

This twitter account provides news articles about the field of special education:
Disability Scoop Twitter Account

Special Education Wordle

Book Builder Presentations About Special Education

This first book is about the many various roles that special educators play:

Special Education: One Teacher...So Many Hats