Inclusive Practices Spotlight
What are ways that students can be authentically included in your classroom? Check out these suggestions!
WHY is inclusion important? (from the research)
- Inclusive practices result in better academic, social and emotional outcomes.
- Students have higher achievement of reading and math standardized scores when they are more engaged in the general education curriculum
- Student attendance improves when they are educated in inclusive settings
- Students with disabilities who are educated in inclusive settings have improved work habits, enhanced self-confidence, increased willingness to take risks, and more on task behavior.
(Cole et al., 2004; Cosier et al., 2013; Kurth & Mastergeorge, 2010; Sermier Sessemontet et al., 2012; Rea, Mclaughlin, & Walther-Thomas, 2002; Dore, Dion, Wagner, & Brunet, 2002; Foreman, Arthur-Kelly, Pascoe, & King, 2004; Waldron, McLeskey, & Pacchiano, 1999).
Supporting English Learners
Extending Classroom Conversations: How often do your pair-shares consist of 1 simple sentence that each student shares? Research indicates that all learners benefit from talking about their learning, and one thing emergent bilinguals need is more opportunities to practice using English. Providing sentence starters for asking clarifying questions (“Why do you think that?” “Can you say more about that?” “What do you mean by . . .”) will help transform partner talks into more in-depth conversations. In addition, consider using talking chips (use any sort of token) that each partner puts out each time they speak. If they have 2 tokens they must spend both of them, if they have 3 tokens, they must spend all three, etc. If a student has run out of tokens, they need to wait until their partner has used theirs before speaking again (this creates “equity of voice”). Once each partner has used all of their tokens, they can be re-distributed and played again if they want to continue the conversation.
Digital Citizenship
Teachers can easily access quick digital citizenship lessons! Please read more here: Digital Citizenship Made Simple and/or watch this 2-minute video: