Storytelling Unit Opener, Part 2

My task for the Unit Opener (the link to the theme) was to help make memories and stories of past events that are treasures a family can share. I came up with a great idea. I die-cut doll bodies in five Lakeshore People colors in assorted shades of browns to represent most of the colors of the children in the classes. Ahead of time, I made one of myself from a darker brown die cut, short hair that I drew on, small stud earrings, and a dress, with a backpack and a ruler. I shared this with the students who thought it was so cute. I told them that, for the exercise, they were going to make one of their own to tell their own story.

As I held up my example, I asked the students who it was. “It’s you!” they all said.
“How do you know?” I asked.
There was various answers. All correct.
“Good. I’m glad you get it,” I said. When you get yours, I want to be able to tell what your “story” is about.
Since this assignment was all about memories and connections, and since I love reading and doing read alouds, I chose Natasha Anastasia Tarpley’s “I Love My Hair”.
My connection(s): The little girl in the story had braids. My mother used to braid my hair; I now braid my daughter’s hair.
So that everyone could see, I made an 11″ X 17″ poster of the front of “I Love My Hair”. I passed around a picture of my daughter with braids for the class to see. (The students always love to see my children. I think it’s because they think that teachers aren’t real people and don’t have real lives.)

I also used some real life examples. A couple of the little girls in some of the classrooms had braids, so I had them stand up and instructed everyone to look at their braids. This served two purposes. It’s a real life example, plus the student who’s receiving all the attention feels special.
I had three copies of the book- a board book, a hardcover book, and a book made by my daughter Phillise. As I read, I let two students in the class (usually the ones who have behavior problems) be my helpers and hold up the board book and Phillise’s book so that everyone could see. After reading the story, I had other students pass out the construction paper for them to glue their die cuts on, the doll die cuts, scissors, glue/glue sticks, crayons, ribbon, and pencils to draw with.
It turned out really well. I had a wonderful time. The children had a wonderful time. It was great. How funny that I always think that I’m not going to be able to fill the time, or that the children won’t be engaged. It’s never happened. Although I had one little girl say that she didn’t want to do it.
“Oh stop it girl,” I said. You are at school. You don’t have a choice. You are here to work.
“Isn’t that why you came to school?” I asked her.
She shook her head.
“Okay then, get to work”.
“Do you need help?”
(blank stare) So I go and help her.
She didn’t finish, but she didn’t give me trouble either. Mission accomplished.
I worry for nothing!

Unit Opener (Storytelling) was fantastic!

Even though I am exhausted afterwards from standing on my feet, I have to say that I really look forward to the Unit Openers.
I love the team spirit amongst the other third grade classes. We all work together to come up with something related to the unit that will wow the kids. It’s fun. The children are always engaged and learning.
It’s a bit of a break from the everyday dealings with my classroom. I love interaction. By participating, my class gets a chance to be a part of things like everyone else. I get a chance to interact with so many other children during the day besides my own. It is a refreshing change.
The first time I did a Unit Opener, for the Imagination Unit, I started off with a DVD of Harold & the Purple Crayon. Before I started the video, I tried to access prior knowledge by asking if anyone had every heard of it. There were one or two who had. We discussed it and talked about what we liked about it.
I also explained to them that Harold used his imagination, so while they were watching the movie they were to use their imagination to think of a super power they would have if they could use their imagination and think up a new character. For this assignment, they were to make up their own character and three superpowers. It turned out great. I’m doing my weekly lesson plans now so I will write about it later.

OCR Unit Opener (Imagination)

Tuesday was my very first Unit Opener ever. We decided to do it on Tuesday because of the break. We just didn’t think that it would be a good idea to have the students try to focus too much on the first day back at school after a three week break.

I mentioned earlier last week (here) that everyone else were such pros at coming up with great ideas and I felt that I had lost my thing; my “itness”. I felt so incompetent. I was having trouble coming up with something for the Unit Opener, but thank God that I found someone else’s Unit Opener on Imagination (here). For her U.O. she did Harold & the Purple Crayon.

“Perfect,” I thought.

I love Harold & the Purple Crayon. My creative juices were beginning to flow. The only problem was narrowing down my choice. Once I made my choice, coming up with activities to supplement it wasn’t hard at all.

If I could toot my own horn for a minute (toot, toot), I have to say that it was a resounding success. Of the four other third grade classes, two of them are unruly. I did not have a problem with them. I worked with them just like I work with my own class. I stopped them at the door, told them my rules and my expectations. Once they were aware that I meant business, I did not have problems with them.

I borrowed the video from the public library (since I only have a VCR in my room) and let the students watch it. Before they watched it, I frontloaded them with a little background info on Harold. Then we talked about how Harold used his imagination. I then told them to use their imagination while watching it to come up with a superhero character of their own. One that no one else had thought of.

I told them that I watch a lot of cartoons (I do) and that as a result they couldn’t trick me. Of course they decided to test me by naming “real” superheroes. (I passed) Once they realized that they couldn’t trick me they came up with ones of their own. I used a spider graphic organizer that you can find here.

Since I had extra spider graphic organizers, I asked who wanted extra ones to do at home. Almost everyone who I offered one took it. I felt so good.

I was so thankful for finding this blogger when I did. I have to give most of the credit to her. Even though I don’t know her, she helped save my hide. She is the one I got the idea from. Thank you very much mysterious blogger.

Well, this got kinda’ long, so I’ll cut it off here. Until next time people!

Mission Impossible #3: Open Court Unit opener

I’ve been tagged by Mathew from Open Court Resources to post my unit opener. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. As we speak/talk/read, I am working on the Unit Opener for Monday.

For those of you who don’t know, I am in the final stages of interviewing for a special ed teaching job. I have been observing the class all week so that I could see where the students are at academically and plan a direct instruction Open Court lesson for all the students at once.

This may not seem so hard, but let me clue you in to what I’m working with. It is a 3rd-5th grade Special Day Class (SDC), with levels ranging from non-verbal to 4th grade reading level. I have been reaching out to all my sources on this one. This is not an easy task (understatement), but it’s just like I said in my post from yesterday, I can do this.

I can totally afford all this cheese!

Mission Impossible. I’d say so. But just like the Mission Impossible team accomplishes all their tasks, I can also. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Mystery To Medicine Unit Opener

Nope, I didn’t get around to posting this yesterday. Anyway, here’s what I did:

First, before I did anything, I picked the worst of the “bad” students and made them my helper.

Then I presented the worksheet I created with two sides. It was like a before & after sheet. One side instructed the students to draw what they thought a germ looks like (before we started). While the other side instructed them to draw what a germ actually looks like (after we finished).

After they completed the worksheet, I began the presentation by asking them if they knew the correct way to sneeze if they didn’t have a piece of tissue handy. One of my “helpers” demonstrated the proper technique. I then moved on to the discussion phase to engage them. When I felt that I had them hooked, I sprung the poster on them which had these images on them:

The sneezing man served to illustrate my point of spreading germs by not covering your mouth.

The germs served to help them complete the worksheet.

The picture of the hand served to illustrate my point of them washing their filthy little, McNasty hands when they use the bathroom. After we finished discussing the above interesting little tidbits, we moved on to the book “Germs Make Me Sick” by Melvin Berger. The book is a little long, so I only read the first four pages. After that, I ended with the piece de resistance- the microscope to look at the germs. They looked through the microscope in awe as they feigned disgust.

Gross! Eww! Nasty! was all you heard. It was a nice ending. I lined them up at the door and gave them stickers. We all had fun. I love it when a plan comes together.

So, there you have it, my Unit Opener for Mystery to Medicine- a resounding success.

Some Thoughts On The Mystery To Medicine Unit Opener

Let me just say that I am so proud of myself. I say this because even though I am on my way to getting my sea legs, I don’t have them yet. Sometimes, I am not confident with my teaching methods or plans; especially when it comes to the Unit Opener.

“These aren’t just my students,” I think. I have other students that I’m teaching now who could possibly think that I’m incompetent; or, I sometimes think about the teachers who could probably be wondering what in the world I’m teaching their students.

With my students, there are 100 4th graders altogether. So, not only am I responsible for my 13, I am responsible for 87 other 4th graders as well. This is a lot of pressure to say the least.

Well, as it turns out, I didn’t have to worry about that. The three times that I’ve participated in the Unit Openers I have been wildly successful with fantastic results. I don’t know why I always think that I’m going to bomb miserably and have so much time left over. It’s never happened during the Unit Opener. It did happen during my first month of teaching. I simply ran out of material. But, as far as it happening during the Unit Opener, no, it’s never happened.

I am tired and I’m going to take a nap. I will post about my activity later. The kids loved it. So, until I wake up people!

Time Is Of The Essence…

Yes, time is of the essence. That is part of the reason that I have not been my usual Blogmëister self and writing up a storm like I usually do. I have so much to do by the end of next week. It is going to be such a hectic week. This is what I have to do:

Do my final presentation for my Literacy class. (Monday)

Do a inquiry-based science lesson plan presentation for my Methods class. (Monday)

Complete the remainder of the work for my science-based lesson plan presentation (weekend)

Organize about 35 handouts for my final, May 5th, that’s open notes (Monday)

Plan my weekly lesson for English/Language arts (weekend)

Plan my weekly lesson for Math (1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th grade) (weekend)

Plan my weekly lesson for Science (weekend)

Plan a lesson for the Principal that’s supposed to wow! her (Tuesday)

Storytelling Unit opener (Friday)

Still Learning!

Although I abandoned Open Court three weeks ago, I participated in the Unit Opener yesterday so that my children wouldn’t feel left out. I enjoyed it. The other teachers were really supportive. They try to make sure that my children are included.

I only decided to participate the day before, so I didn’t really have anything well prepared. I had a brilliant idea (@ midnight might I add) for the Unit Opener. My idea was to read Math Curse, by Jon Scieszka, to them. This was my way of thinking on this- I was going to read a snippet of Math Curse to them about the little girl who can only think about things as a math problem. I was going to equate this to thinking about something that they want. After we had the discussion on something they wanted, I was going to ask them how they were going to get it; how would they earn money.

I was then going to introduce the bubble map so they could brainstorm ways to earn money. Needless to say, the idea wasn’t quite so brilliant when I tried to present it, so I tried to pull out of the Unit Opener.  Damn that midnight thinking 🙂.

I called one of the other teachers and told her that I was going to pull out. The problem- the teacher was in the middle of her lesson, so the AP, who was observing in the class at the time, answered the phone. As usual, since she can’t have a decent conversation without yelling or talking very loudly, I had to hold the phone away from my ear as she talked.

“You can’t do that”, she yelled said. You are scheduled into the rotation. The other teachers are counting on you.

This is so laughable. No one is concerned about me any other time. However, there was a visit from the Big Boss (who’s so cute by the way), who wanted to see the Unit Opener, so of course there was now concern about what the Special Ed. teacher was doing.

Oh, now I’m included! Was I included in any of the trainings? Field trips? Anything?

That would be a resounding no!

When I first started and I believed her when she said that I could come to her anytime, I asked for help many times, only to be yelled at. Who wants to get yelled at? So imagine my surprise when she’s offering help. I knew it wasn’t a sincere offer but I was in a desperate spot, so I took it. It’s not that I am not grateful for her help. It’s that she only offered help because her neck was on the line. If her neck was not on the line, she would not have offered.

Even with all that, things went well, with all but one class. I don’t consider it my fault though. No, I’m not in denial. This class has major problems. Even the teacher of record has many problems with this class. There are a lot of discipline problems. Last time I didn’t have problems with them. However, this time I just didn’t have it in me.

Okay, on to what I’m talking about. I know that as a new teacher, I have a lot to learn about the profession, but believe when I say that I learn more and more everyday. I have to keep learning so I don’t get eaten by the sharks know as Administration.

Here are some of the things I’m learning.

• I’m learning not to take people at face value.
• I’m learning not to believe the promises of a future employer who are desperate to fill a vacancy.
• I’m learning to shut my big fat mouth.
• (Even though I already knew this, I have learned it anew this year) Just because someone seems trustworthy it doesn’t mean that they are.

Yes, all of this is related to the Unit Opener. From my experience today, I learned that I do have “it” in me. I am more resilient than I think I am. I will not be one of the statistics that quit the profession within five years.

What happened today took me back to a time when I was 29 years old and I made supervisor at my job. One of the other supervisors who was much older didn’t like a 29 year old being supervisor, so she decided to make my life hell. Finally, a meeting was called in which the Office Manager wanted us to iron out our differences. In the meeting she brought up that she was old enough to be my mother.

“But you are not my mother,” I told her. It doesn’t matter how old you are. We both have a job to do. I told her that I didn’t care how much misery she tried to cause me, I was going to live my life outside of that office.

“This office is not my life,” I said. I have my sons and my husband (I didn’t have my daughter at the time), and when all is said and done, that’s all that matters to me.

That’s my train of thought right now. It doesn’t matter what anyone tries. I am going to live my life outside of that school. Even though I love those children and invest a lot of my time and energy into them, the bottom line is that I still have my husband and my children to come home to. Nothing else is as important as them. I will continue to not only survive, but thrive as well!

Okay, I started rambling and this got long, so I’ll end it here. Until next time people!

Scholastic Treasury of Storybook Classics

I just bought Scholastic’s Treasury of Storybook Classics. There are 16 DVDs with 100 stories of beloved classics.

There are so many stories in there. I have most of the books in the collection, but I have been on a quest to buy all the books in there. I am using this as a teaching resource.

For the Unit Opener for the Imagination Unit, I have the perfect idea.  I am going to be introducing & reintroducing compare and contrast. I found this graphic organizer here and am using this as a complement to the DVD and the book of Harold & The Purple Crayon.

First I read the book to them, then let them watch the tape. We explored the difference between watching it and having it read to you or reading it yourself.

That’s just one of the uses for this. There are so many good stories in there; so many that I love. Phillise loves Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, David loves Where the Wild Things Are, and I love Harold & the Purple Crayon.

I purchased it at Costco for $65 after tax. That is less than a dollar per story. Some are even in Spanish.So do yourself and your child a favor and purchase this. You won’t regret it.

Until next time people!

Not So Alone Anymore

Boy am I glad that I had these all day faculty meetings. If not, I would not have been able to participate with the other teachers on site. We planned the Unit Opener for Imagination. Everyone seemed to have so many tricks in their bags. They were like Felix the Cat. Whenever something came up they went to their rooms and came back with something. Me? This is my first Unit Opener. Ever!

I offered the little input that I could. It wasn’t much though. I’m okay with that because I am still learning. This job is all about on the job training.

I have to say that having this time to plan was a godsend. Just think, I didn’t even want to go. I don’t feel so alone now. I feel like I have some support. One of the teachers (she’s so nice) gave me her e-mail address and told me to e-mail her with my concerns. Another things is that she’s good at Math. I, on the other hand, am not. Math is one of my weakest subjects. She offered to give me a bunch of manipulatives that I could use with my students.

Here’s to continued collaboration!

Faculty Meeting

I am fresh back from an all day meeting. This is weird for me because I am not used to going back early. I was kinda bummed about going back a couple of days early.This is my first time. When I was an assistant I just showed up. I didn’t have to do any advanced planning, copying or meetings of any kind. 

I had a blast. I had a chance to plan the Unit Opener with four other teachers. We were also treated to a very nice presentation by another teacher. It was very thorough. I can’t think of anything that I would have added to that. It was very enlightening.
I am so happy that I went. Who knew that an all day faculty meeting could be so productive.

Until next time people!

Me, as a Reporter (Part II)

Dear Readers,

Even though I wrote the original article nearly three years ago (April 4, 2018 @ https://specialedandme.wordpress.com/2018/04/04/me-as-a-reporter/ ), I have decided to revisit the subject because I’m ready to move forward and get serious about my writing career. As a bonus, I’ve also decided to continue teaching, although in different forms. I mentioned last week or the week before that I was in the process of developing poetry workshops. So, although I will not be in the classroom anymore when I decide to leave, I will still be teaching (just on my own terms).

This is not me, but she’s around my color, so I’m able to picture myself in her position!

So, I’ve been sending around feelers for different writing jobs, on the side for now. I’ve even sent some resumes out for internships. I’ll just have to do it on my own time, separate from my teaching job.

I have an article I’m working on regarding distance learning during the pandemic that I hope to finish by the weekend and get published within the next two weeks. Once it publishes, I’ll post the link here.

Once I decided to change my life and things I didn’t like about it, I jumped in with both feet. Come to think of it, I’ve always been like that. So, me and my two-footed-jumping-in-self are on the way to seeing how I like being a writer full-time within the next year.

Stay tuned for me reporting on all the good stuff happening in my life! Bye for now!

Here’s a video to celebrate how I’m feeling: GOOD NEWS by Mandisa

[Guest post by Jo Ashline] From Autism to Rare Disease: One Family’s Journey to an Unexpected Diagnosis

by Jo Ashline

Guest Post by Josh Ashline

He had just turned two when he was diagnosed with autism.

It was 2004 then, and autism was rarely discussed in the pediatrician’s office, but Andrew’s missed milestones had begun piling up and his doctor was no longer able to ignore what was right in front of him: a child unable to speak or play with his toys or point to airplanes in the sky. A child who had lost what few vowels and consonants he had managed to string together before his first birthday, and whose chubby arms would begin flapping whenever he was excited or stressed. Gone was his eye contact, his beautiful blue eyes always seemingly fixed on something right past us. Gone too were the silly games we used to play together, his ability to reciprocate having seemingly vanished into thin air overnight.

We watched as our friends’ children, similar in age to our son, met their milestones with ease, while Andrew seemed suspended in developmental limbo. It wasn’t long before those same kids were surpassing Andrew in every way, and our firstborn son was regressing before our very eyes. A few weeks after being diagnosed with autism, Andrew collapsed in our front yard, his first drop seizure rendering him unable to move his body; it’s difficult to describe the fear and helplessness we felt as we watched seizure after seizure take our little boy hostage. As the months passed, epilepsy was added to his autism diagnosis, with global developmental delay and intellectual disability following soon after.

Before the ink had dried on Andrew’s medical records, we had joined local and national autism foundations, hoping to find answers and support in a growing community we now found ourselves a part of. To this day, we remain friends with many of the families we met in those early years of our autism journey, bonded forever by a shared passion for improving quality of life for our children and bringing autism awareness into world. But despite our involvement in these organizations, connections with other autism families, and seeing autism become a mainstream subject in schools, medical communities, and society as a whole, there was a loneliness to the road we were on with our son.

While autism certainly encompassed a part of Andrew’s challenges and unique perspective on the world, so much of our son still seemed unaccounted for. The intractable epilepsy, hypotonia. severe intellectual disability and global developmental delay all remained part of the bigger picture of who our son was and the many struggles he was facing in his life. Years of genetic testing had yielded nothing more than negative results, and though hope remained a quiet background presence, we resigned ourselves to likely never knowing Andrew’s full story, and instead threw ourselves into advocacy work, therapy appointments, IEP meetings, and helping our son live his very best life anyway we could.

And then it happened.

His new epileptologist wanted to run a genetic panel, hoping it would uncover answers about Andrew’s epilepsy and guide us towards better treatments and seizure control. We were sent home with a small box filled with everything our phlebotomist needed to collect the necessary samples. We made the appointment, had Andrew’s labs drawn, scheduled a FEDEX pick up date, and then forgot all about it.

Until the phone rang two weeks later.

He was 16 when we got the news.

I will never forget sitting in the epileptologist’s office, watching as he held Andrew’s genetic report in his hands. He began reading from the first page and my eyes blurred from the tears as I heard him say the words “genetic variant,” “rare disease,” and “SynGAP1.” I didn’t know what any of it meant yet, but in that moment, I knew we finally had the answer we had been so desperate to find. The specialist handed me the report and as I read the symptoms and clinical presentation of SynGAP, it was like reading our son’s own developmental history, as if someone had written nearly word for word what we had witnessed and what he had been through over the years. The missed milestones, the regression, even his clumsy gait was on there. For the first time in sixteen years, we had our child’s complete diagnosis: he had a rare disease called SynGAP, and it caused his epilepsy, global developmental delay, intellectual disability, and autism.

It’s been three years since we found out. There are days I’m still wrapping my brain around the news. Our identity for so long was wrapped up in all of Andrew’s separate diagnoses and while having them all explained by SynGAP has been amazing, it’s also taken some adjustment. Am I still an autism mom? Yes. But now I’m also a SynGAP mom, and in a lot of ways, it feels like we are starting over. Where I have been well-versed in all things ASD, I still stumble when it comes to this rare disease, learning as I go while navigating a new community of families and advocates. One of the greatest gifts of receiving this diagnosis has been the amazing people we’ve met so far along the way. We joined the SynGAP Research Fund founded by two SynGAP parents and dedicated to funding science to accelerate treatments aimed at improving our loved ones’ quality of life. In the same way autism families have propelled meaningful changes over the years, SynGAP families too are doing what is necessary to give their children access to the best treatments and services. While rare disease is very different in a lot of ways from autism, the common denominator among these two groups I am grateful to be a part of remains the same: wanting a better life for the people we love.

Ever since Andrew’s diagnosis, I think about how many more people out there have undiscovered SynGAP. The most current SynGAP census shows 883 patients globally, and 246 in the United States, with the oldest known individual with SynGAP to be in her 60’s. But we know the number of people with SynGAP is much higher, which is why stories like Andrew’s matter, and they need to be shared. As the autism community well knows, there is strength in numbers; it’s how we’ve moved mountains for individuals with ASD. The rare disease has its own mountains we need to move and helping families with SynGAP get

properly diagnosed is imperative for furthering our mission to fund science, expand supports and resources, and bring awareness to the world. Not to mention, every diagnosed family can join the SYNGAP1 Registry which improves the understanding of the disease for all patients, including those not yet diagnosed.

If what you’ve read has resonated in any way, and you suspect your loved one may be a candidate for genetic testing, I urge you to speak to your treating physicians and specialists and share the wealth of information you’ll find on the Syngap Research Fund website. Autism is a diverse spectrum, and certainly not everyone with autism has SynGAP, but maybe you know and love someone like Andrew too, and like us, you too are searching for more. While Andrew remains the same amazing person he’s always been, knowing the full story behind his many challenges has empowered us as a family in ways we never could have imagined, and reignited our hope for giving him the best possible chance at living his very best life.

Guest Post by Bea Burgess

Dear Readers,

Today’s post is written by Bea Burgess of http://www.abclawcenter.com. I usually don’t post articles that link back to businesses, but this one was quite informative. The article is short, sweet, and to the point. I enjoyed it. Check it out, you might enjoy it, as well! Here’s the title that caught my attention-

Students with Disabilities More Likely to Be Punished in Schools- Especially If They Are Black

Recent reports have indicated that disabled students, and especially black students with disabilities, face inequitable disciplinary action in schools. Here, we’ll first discuss how schools punish students with disabilities at much higher rates than their non-disabled peers. We’ll then examine the intersectionality of disability and race as they pertain to school suspensions and lost instruction.

Across The United States, Students With Disabilities Are Disciplined Inequitably

About 25 percent of students who are suspended, referred to law enforcement, or arrested while at school have a disability, even though students with disabilities comprise only about 12 percent of all public school students. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reported that students with disabilities are over-represented by 13 percent for suspensions and 15.5 percent for law enforcement referrals and arrests. There was a substantial disparity in all types of public school, including charters, magnets, alternative schools, and special education programs. Affluent schools were not immune; in fact, there was an over-representation of 20 percent in suspensions (1).

A study by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights revealed similar trends. They found that children with disabilities made up 28 percent of school-related arrests, 26 percent of out-of-school suspensions, and 24 percent of expulsions. Moreover, those served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) accounted for 71 percent of students restrained and 66 percent secluded. These conclusions come from a dataset that includes over 50 million students at more than 96,000 schools.

The executive director of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Denise Marshall, told Disability Scoop that she was concerned about these findings:

“Our kids continue to be harmed by the failure of the Department (of Education) to take action to address the gross inequities and disparity in treatment. How many more generations will it take?” (2).

Racial Disparities In School Discipline And Lost Instruction

Researchers from Harvard University and UCLA recently collaborated on a study examining how lost instruction due to discipline varies based on disability and race. Their report is called “Disabling Punishment: The Need for Remedies to the Disparate Loss of Instruction Experience by Black Students with Disabilities.”

They found that black students with disabilities are suspended much more frequently than white students with disabilities – they have on average 77 more days of lost instruction. Of course, this greatly affects how much they learn.

Tomiko Brown-Nagin, director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School, told Harvard Law Today that “Far too many school districts are punishing and pushing out black students with disabilities.”

Under IDEA, states must review racial disparities in discipline at the district level, and address the underlying issues.

The Trump administration has made moves toward rescinding certain IDEA regulations, including guidance aimed at reducing disparities in school discipline; this is what prompted the Harvard/UCLA study. Author of the Disabling Punishment report, Daniel J. Losen, told Harvard Law Today that, “We hope the information in this report will serve as a call to action to educators and advocates in every state.”

The report contains recommendations for education policymakers, civil rights advocates, teachers’ unions, and other groups involved in the education system (3).

Conclusions: An Intersectional Approach To Combating Inequality In Our Schools

The high rates of disciplinary action for students with disabilities are fairly distressing even withoutaccounting for racial differences, but when considering the intersectionality between disability and race, the numbers are even more shocking. To promote change, disability rights organizations should collaborate with racial justice advocates. The issues experienced by students with disabilities are not identical to those experienced by racial minorities, but there is certainly a lot of overlap. And for students who are disabled and black, the problem of inequitable punishment must be understood and addressed from both angles.

 

Here’s the link: https://www.abclawcenters.com/blog/2018/05/07/students-with-disabilities-more-likely-to-be-punished-in-schools-especially-if-they-are-black/ 

CEC Shoutout!

Dear Readers,

I was wondering why my blog has had an increase in traffic. Well, the mystery has been solved. I was shouted out by The Pennsylvania Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) @ http://community.cec.sped.org/pa/home. I found the link by looking at my Referrer links.

I feel so honored!

I was also shouted out by The Edvocate in an article entitled 10 Must Read Special Education Blogs @ http://www.theedadvocate.org/10-must-read-special-education-blogs/

I feel so loved. Thanks to The Advocate & The Pennsylvania branch of the CEC!

EDUCATIONAL SITES

Dear Readers,

I found these sites on another blog and decided to steal them. I know some of them may be advanced for Special Education students, but you never know. Don’t underestimate your students. Let them see for themselves if they can do it.

SITES

GLOSSARY– Math terms- http://www.math.com/school/glossary/glossindex.html

GEOMETRY SONGS– http://www.songsforteaching.com/math/geometry/

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/online/geometry.php (Geometry games) EXCELLENT!

MULTIPLICATION

http://www.fuelyourbrain.com

http://www.mathplayground.com

http://www.multiplication.com

http://www.softschools.com/math/multiplication/2_digit_multiplication/2_digit_by_2_digit_multiplication/ (Learning double digit by double digit multiplication)

FRACTIONS

http://www.visualfractions.com

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/fractions/memory_equivalent1.htm (Equivalent fractions)

http://www.hoodamath.com

ORDERED PAIRS

www.funbrain.com

PLACE VALUE

http://www.free-training-tutorial.com/place-value-games.html

http://www.gamequarium.com/placevalue.html

http://www.funbrain.com/tens/index.html

http://www.toonuniversity.com

www.ixl.com (4th grade)

www.ixl.com (5th grade)

GEOMETRY

http://www.songsforteaching.com/math/geometry/perimetercircumferenceareavolume.php

http://www.mathsisfun.com/angles.html (Angles)

http://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/parallel-lines.html (Parallel games)

http://www.absorblearning.com/mathematics/demo/units/KCA004.html#Interioranglesinquadrilaterals (Polygon game)

http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=70 (Geometric solids)

HANDWRITING

Landscape Handwriting Paper

atozteacherstuff.com

ORDERED PAIRS

http://funbasedlearning.com/algebra/graphing/points/default.htm (Graph mole game)

SCIENCE

http://www.quia.com/pages/hostettersciencecs.html#plants (Ultimate Science site)

www.discoverychannel.com

www.cellsalive.com/cells/cell_model.htm (Animated cell)

http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?id=L174 (How Big is Your Heart activity)

http://www.kidsbiology.com/human_biology/circulatory-system3.php (Heart video)

http://www.medtropolis.com/VBody.asp (The Virtual Body)

http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/htbw_main_page.html (How the Body Works)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8-E6cDCr5U&NR=1&feature=endscreen (Carbon & Nitrogen Cycle)

http://www.5min.com/Video/Learn-about-The-Nitrogen-Cycle-117570701 (Nitrogen Cycle video (1:12)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03iO_Yu9Xw&feature=related (Nitrogen Cycle video)

http://www.realtrees4kids.org/sixeight/letseat.htm (Photosynthesis)

http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX5f4866425a444c725f6045&t=Photosynthesis (Photosynthesis video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJxZH_Y5D4s&feature=related (Photosynthesis video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGD7S1FUn7w&feature=related (Funny Photosynthesis video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXrnHff2Kjc&feature=related (Parts of a flower)

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/gpe/index.cfm (The Great Plant Escape)

http://library.thinkquest.org/3645/ (Virtual Telescope)

http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/const.html (ALL 88 Constellations)

http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/cm.html (Constellation maps)

http://www.curiosityintheclassroom.com/parents.cfm (Did God Create the Universe?)

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/index.html (NASA 4 Kids)

http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_kids/AskKids/index.shtml (Ask an astronomer for Kids)

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/dictionary.htm (Astronomy dictionary)

http://www.frontiernet.net/~kidpower/astronomy.html (Astronomy site)

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/earth.htm (Astronomy videos)

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html (Astronomy resources with easy quiz)

http://www.kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/index.php?educational-movies-type=Astronomy (Astronomy videos)

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/animaldiet/omnivore.htm (Herbivores, carnivores, omnivores)

http://www.planetpals.com/foodchain.html#chart (Food chain)

http://www.quia.com/cz/247223.html?AP_rand=1817687495 (Food chain game)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/science/organisms_behaviour_health/food_chains/activity.shtml (Food chain)

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/foodchaingame.htm (Make a food chain game)

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/foodchain/decomposers.htm (Food chain games)

http://library.thinkquest.org/26159/ (Carnivorous plants)

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq.html (Carnivorous Plants 101- FAQ about carnivorous plants)

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/gpe/case1/index.html (Plants)

http://www.schooltube.com/video/7ef63fe536015231930c/Needs%20of%20a%20Plant%20%28song%20for%20kids%29 (Photosynthesis)

http://www.realtrees4kids.org/threefive/conifers.htm (Trees)

http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/edresources/soil.html (What on Earth is Soil)

SPELLING

www.spellingcity.com (Interactive spelling games)

http://www.kidsspell.com/  (Interactive spelling games)

http://www.kidsspell.com/custom_spelling_lists.php (Custom spelling list)

ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS

http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/journal-writing-prompts.html#1 (Writing prompts)

Fry’s Word List (1,000 High Frequency words)

Dolch Word List (http://www.kidzone.ws/dolch/kindergarten.htm (Kindergarten sight words list)

http://www.kidzone.ws/dolch/grade1.htm (1st grade sight words list)

http://www.kidzone.ws/dolch/grade2.htm (2nd grade sight words list)

http://www.kidzone.ws/dolch/grade3.htm (3rd grade words list)

http://www.learningbooks.net/xDolchSpanish.html (words in Spanish & English)

Dolch Word List  https://sightwords.com/sight-words/dolch/#lists

http://www.theschoolbell.com/Links/Dolch/Contents.html. (This site contains a wealth of information. It has a complete lesson plan that can be used, along with all the materials necessary. I highly recommend this.)

Catch the Spelling (High frequency/site words)

www.wackytales.com (Make a silly tale)

http://www.idiomsite.com/ (Idioms)

http://www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/lang/lscr/lscrindex.html (Interactive English Activities)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/english/games (Interactive English Activities)

http://www.manythings.org/cts/  (Interactive English games) NOTE: There are only a few that 4th/5th graders would understand, but it’s still worth a look.

http://www.quia.com/pages/havefun.html (Jeopardy-like English games)

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games_vocab.htm

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/lang_elem.htm (Cut & paste. I’ve disabled the link because, for some reason, it will not work from this page.)

http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/adjectives/what-is-an-adjective.html

http://www.english-zone.com/spelling/sup1.htm (Superlative Adjective quiz)

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/compcontrast/map.html (Compare & Contrast Map)

ELKONIN BOXES

classplayground.com/elkonin-boxes

GEOGRAPHY

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/states_experiment_background_noClip10s.html

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/USA_Geography/USA_G0_click_1024.html

http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-games/latitude-longitude-map-game.php

SOCIAL STUDIES

(Gold Rush)

http://museumca.org/goldrush/fever01.html

http://comspark.com/goldminer-mall/chronicles/gold.htm

http://ceres.ca.gov/ceres/calweb/geology/goldrush.html

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist2/gold.html (Long read, but very informative)

http://www.calgoldrush.com/

http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/nativecrafts/cornhusk.cfm  (How to make a corn husk doll)

ONLINE BOOKS

http://www.techsupportalert.com/free-books-children (Students can use these links to read books online)

http://www.storylineonline.net/ (Online books read by famous actors)

http://www.magickeys.com/books/ (Short stories online)

http://www.readtomelv.com/ (Online books)

http://kids.nypl.org/reading/index.cfm (e-books)

http://kids.nypl.org/reading/Childrensebooks.cfm (e-books)

http://www.mightybook.com/story_books.html (Online animated books)

http://storynory.com/ (Online audio books)

http://www.bookshare.org (Online audio books- very useful for Special Education students [free])

Sure Would Like to Go!

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum cordially invites you to attend the 2011 LOS ANGELES DINNER FEATURING GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13 Beverly Hilton Hotel 9876 Wilshire Boulevard Beverly Hills, California5:30 p.m. Cocktail reception 6:45 p.m. DinnerJoin us in honoring Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein, who was just 15 years old when the German army invaded her hometown of Bielsko, Poland. In 1945, Gerda was liberated by the Fifth Infantry Division of the US Army after a death march. One of her liberators, a young GI named Kurt Klein, would become her beloved husband of over 55 years. Now an acclaimed author whose autobiography All But My Life has been in print for 54 years, the subject of the Emmy and Academy Awards winning documentary One Survivor Remembers, an accomplished humanitarian, and the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Gerda exemplifies the tenacity of the human spirit and the values the Museum was established to protect. Tickets are $500 per person. RSVP by December 2 at www.ushmm.org/events/2011losangelesdinner/.