In the workshops I offer teachers about fostering student self-esteem, I pose the following questions: “Do you believe you have a long-lasting impact on the lives of your students? Five, ten, twenty years from now, will your students remember you or experiences from your class? And if so, what do you hope they will remember?”
Genesis Gonzalez began her career as a paraprofessional in Shira Moskovitz’s special education classroom, and that’s where the mentorship began. Now, Genesis has a special ed. class of her own but the lovefest of their mentor/mentee relationship isn’t over.
Three- to five-year-olds are exuberant little learners, as they make new discoveries and acquire new skills and competencies every day. As discussed in the section “What Are Learning Styles?” children learn best when they experience through all their senses – hearing, seeing, touching, feeling, moving, smelling.
After a long period of neglect in education, attention to teaching handwriting in the primary grades may finally be returning. This attention can benefit many youngsters, including those with learning disabilities (LDs) involving handwriting, which may accompany reading disabilities, writing disabilities, nonverbal learning disabilities, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The first step is for educators to recognize anxiety, as it presents itself in a variety of ways in the classroom. Here are some behaviors exhibited by students attempting to manage anxious feelings:
The movement toward inclusion of students with disabilities into general education classes has become the overwhelming trend in education (Chow & Kasari, 1999; Mamlin, 1999). Not only does inclusive education for children with disabilities bring improved academic functioning (Manset & Semmel, 1997; Sideridis et al., 1997), but it also offers them the opportunity for socialization with their peers without disabilities in general education classrooms (Giangreco, Dennis, Cloninger, Edelman, & Shattman, 1993; National Center for Educational Restructuring and Inclusion, 1994).
Playing with friends is a daily ritual for most children. But kids with learning disabilities are often isolated and rejected. Their problems making and keeping friends are compounded by their poor social skills. The challenges confronting learning disabled children in their lives both in and out of the classroom are examined in this video program designed for both teachers and parents.
When children encounter an unfamiliar word in reading, they may make use of context cues, that is, information from pictures or from sentences surrounding the unknown word. One of the most misunderstood topics in reading instruction involves the extent to which children should be encouraged to rely on context cues in reading.
