I'm so happy to have Kristin as our next guest blogger for February. Kristin is a great blogger with tons of practical ideas ...so make sure to follower her links at the bottom of the post!
The Power of
Inclusion
When I first started working in the school system, I dreaded
getting an IEP where the service minutes were in the general education setting.
I had my classroom all set up, I had activities I wanted to do with the kids, I
didn’t want to go into someone else’s room. On top of that, there were not too
many teachers who understood the concept of inclusion. Many teachers felt
uncomfortable with a specialist coming into their room to work with their
students. They didn’t know how to effectively utilize my services and trying to
get planning time in with them was next to impossible. So most of the time, my
inclusion minutes left me sitting on the side or next to the student helping
him or her finish their classwork. That was not effective and that did not get
my goals for the student met.
The idea behind inclusion is team work. Inclusion is really
powerful if it is done correctly and both parties truly understand it. This
year, I have been doing inclusion therapy with a new preschool teacher and the
end result has been amazing! The preschool classes at my school are a blended
model (meaning that some of the students are voluntary preK kids and some are
special needs kids.) The reason that this works so well is that the teacher has
welcomed me into her classroom with open arms. When I take over a lesson, she
doesn’t feel like I am trying to take her job. We work together to plan lessons
for the time that I am in her room yet she gives me enough flexibility to plan
activities that will help my students meet their goals.
When I go into the classroom, the class is already in their
whole group circle time. I join in the group and have some fun singing and
dancing with the kids before it is story time! When it’s my turn to lead, I
always introduce the story, let the kids make some predictions about it, and
introduce some vocabulary word. I include every student- no matter if they are
on my caseload or not. Below is a picture of me leading whole group. This week
we were reading Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman. The preK class
was on their Weather unit so I chose this book because it takes place in the
winter. This story and activity tied in great with what they were doing in
their classroom, yet I had the flexibility to use the materials I wanted to.
After whole group ends, we have small group. I allot 1 hour
in the preK room so I can also participate in small group as well. This is my
chance to really work on individual IEP goals. The class is split up into 4
groups (one is ran by me). This gives me the ability to work on my students
goals a little better and with less students. I usually create an activity (or
download a fabulous one from TpT!) that is related to the story. This week, the
kids and I played a matching game with vocabulary from the story. I love that I
have the flexibility to create my own activities so I can target what I need to
with my students.
I have been so pleased with the way inclusion has gone this
year. When it is done with team work, it is very powerful. Here are some tips
for successful inclusion therapy:
1. Talk with the teacher. If you have a clear plan on what
you want and what the teacher wants out of inclusion, it will work out well.
Know in advance what will be going on in class when you are in there. Have the
teacher share her lesson plans with you (I get them emailed to me weekly) or
even better, plan together.
2. Be flexible. Days can be unpredictable, we all know that.
Be flexible and understanding when the teacher has a special activity or is
running late in his or her daily schedule.
3. Make sure the teacher is aware of the students’ IEP
goals. This way he or she can find the best time available for you to work with
the students you share. For example, if you are working on comprehension goals,
literacy centers or the reading block may be a great time for you to come in.
4. Make sure the teacher is aware of your job description.
This may sound silly, but if he or she doesn’t truly know what your job
entails, you may end up being the “tutor” in the classroom. Make sure the
teacher is aware of your purpose in their classroom.
5. Be creative! I have found that teachers love when I add
something to a lesson or send something to them that I have used before that
relates to their lesson. As SLP’s we tend to look at everything through a
“language lens” We often see a way to present information and look at things
differently.
Kristin Cummings is a school based and private speech language
pathologist from St. Petersburg, FL. She is also the author of the [simply
speech.] blog. You can contact Kristin by:
Email: kcummingsslp@yahoo.com
Twitter: @simply_speech
Great post, Kristin! Your tips are great. I loved doing inclusion lessons when I first was in the schools. I used to be in only 2 schools that were about 25 miles apart, so it was easier to split my time evenly and have the opportunity to do inclusion with Kind classes. Now, it is more challenging to do it all. I have four different buildings and 20-40 miles in between them (and then put B-3 home visits in there) which doesn't seem to allow enough time to do inclusion by the time I see my pull out kiddos.
ReplyDeleteKristen, when you spend an hour in the room, are you counting it as 2 sessions for your kids? Most of my Pre-K kids have 2x30/week or 6x30/month on their IEPS. I do inclusion groups as one of the sessions, but typically only stay for 30 minutes then move on to the next class, then on another day, I take them to my room for their other session. My biggest problem is that (even though I state my expectations very clearly at the start of the school year), some of the teachers decide that speech group time is their break time :(
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great post! I go in to my kindergarten classrooms twice per week to do a language lesson but there is not much collaboration going on with the teacher. You've given me new inspiration!
ReplyDeleteStarting next week, our speech teacher and I are collaborating for a couple 2nd grade guided reading classes. I am already a special ed teacher collaborating with regular ed teachers (which is hard), and now I'll be collaborating with the speech path. I'm nervous, but excited! Our school just got some new Fountas and Pinnell books, with lesson plans included and Common Core alligned, so we picked out some great new books to use! I'll be reading the books with the groups first, then we'll be doing some vocabulary work in the following session. Kristen, it was great timing to see your post and the comments before we start our new adventure next week:)
ReplyDeleteWe are ALL Special!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It is so great when you involve the "typically" developing peers in the activities, too. There is something about getting a peer model that seems to really help them "get it." When you break in to your small group activities, does your group consist of just the kids receiving services at once or are they mixed?
ReplyDelete