EdSpecNS

Welcome to BTSA. I am thrilled you are getting involved with our new paperless system. If you have any questions, please write me a note. Barbara Schulman schulmanb@svusd.org

= How are you attempting to engage all students? (post answers directly below) =

Sorry Barbara....posted it under discussion!- Jenn Blossom

Jen, thanks so much for responding. I copied your info to place here for all to see. :-) All of my students have individual needs that need to be met in all different ways. They all tend to be engaged when the material is relevant or interesting to them. I try to include activities that are exciting and that use imagination, many visuals and auditory learning. Students become engaged when they feel included in the task at hand. I agree that having students use their imagination along with visual and auditory help. Barbara Schulman

Although I work in small groups of students in special education, it can still be challenging to keep students engaged in learning especially if they are easily distracted or frustrated with trying to learn the material. I find that having students use small whiteboards to work out problems, especially in math, helps to keep students engaged. If I add a competitive angle, whereby I keep track of points as a motivator and they earn additional points for a number of problems solved, then I find students are more willing to stay focused and attempt to solve the problems. I can even employ this strategy while simultaneously differentiating the materials among the group of students. Whiteboards are also useful with language arts when reviewing comprehension strategies and skills. or vocabulary. I recently employed whiteboards for review of comprehension of an expositiory text during a game of jeopardy. Each team got a whiteboard and had a chance to answer the questions, so all students in the group were actively participating. Juliet Vanderlinden

Juliet- How do you handle the disappointment that may result from not "winning" the competition? And/or can you explain how you handle the point system? Thanks for being willing to share- we can all benefit:) Lisa Paisley

I work at a school in Program Improvement where all of the teachers have been working on incorporating Anita Archer's strategies into our classrooms. I have been focusing on a few easy ways to keep all students engaged during whole group instruction. (These strategies work for small groups too!) I often ask my students to, "whisper to a partner", then as a choral response I say, "Now whisper to me." This sets the students up for success and gets the shy ones to participate. Anita Archer also taught us that we need to give our students thinking time, and extra time for those students who have disabilities and may take longer to process information. When I ask a question I'll prompt them to think before calling out and put my hands up to my brain as a signal for 'thinking time.' When my hands come down to my sides that means I'm ready for a choral response. I love this strategy because it addresses those students who love calling out the answer and spoiling everyone else's turn. These simple strategies are easily taught, allow the opportunity for everyone to speak, and reduces paper/pencil work.