Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties in Today's Classroom

Susan Winebrenner, M.S., is a full-time consultant in staff development.She presents workshops and seminars nationally and internationally, helping educators translate educational research into classroom practice.Lisa M. Kiss, M.Ed., is the director of special education at Tulpehocken School District in Berks County, Pennsylvania.Previously, she taught in special education and gifted education for over twenty years. She has supervised numerous student teachers and has presented at several state conferences on the topics of cluster grouping and inclusion to help all students be successful.She lives in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

• ContentsList of Digital ContentList of Reproducible PagesList of FiguresIntroductionDifferentiation for Students with Learning DifficultiesThe Power of Expectations: Strategies to Help Students Welcome Learning ChallengesWhat’s New in This EditionUsing the Book and Digital ContentTeacher Effectiveness Leads to Student SuccessChapter 1: Creating Active Learning for All StudentsWelcoming ActivitiesMore Ways to Create a Welcoming EnvironmentWelcoming English Language Learners into the ClassroomGetting Everyone Involved in LearningThe Name Card MethodCooperative LearningQuestions and AnswersChapter 2: Understanding Learning Difficulties and Intervening EffectivelyLearning DifficultiesBeing Gifted and Simultaneously Having Learning ChallengesOther Conditions That Make Learning DifficultOther Conditions That Create Special Learning NeedsAttribution Theory and Learned HelplessnessLeast Restrictive Environment (LRE)Working as a Team with Special Education TeachersGuidelines for Teaching Students with Learning DifficultiesQuestions and AnswersChapter 3: Using Students’ Learning Modalities to Facilitate Learning SuccessUnderstanding Learning ModalitiesLearning Modalities and School SuccessTeaching Students About Learning ModalitiesTeaching Your Students About Their Learning ModalitiesMatching Teaching to Students’ Learning ModalitiesQuestions and AnswersChapter 4: Ensuring That All Students Make At Least One Year’s AcademicGrowth During Each School YearThe Revised IDEACreating a Mindset for Success in Learning and in Life Goal SettingCommon Core As It Impacts Students with Learning DifficultiesBecoming Aware of One’s Own ThinkingProviding a Meaningful and Challenging CurriculumTurning Kids On to Learning through ProjectsPovertySeal the Deal: More Strategies to Make This Chapter Title Become a RealityUsing Technology As an Integral Component of Effective TeachingSummary of Teaching Strategies for Students with Learning Difficulties and Those Emerging intoEnglish FluencyHow Teaching Behaviors Can Improve AchievementThe School-Wide Cluster Grouping Model (SCGM)Questions and AnswersChapter 5: Teaching Integrated Language Arts, Including Literature, Sounds, and WritingReadingFormula for Success in ReadingGuidelines for Helping Students with Reading Difficulties Become Successful ReadersThe Language Experience MethodFluencyImproving ComprehensionLiterature-Based ReadingEffective Guided and Independent PracticeTeaching Reading: Sounds, Spelling, and VocabularyThe Evolution of PhonicsPhonics InstructionBuilding Reading VocabularySpelling and Vocabulary InstructionTeaching WritingWhat to Do When Students Hate to WriteWhat to Do When Students Don’t Know What to Write AboutWriting ProgramsThe Writing ProcessPenmanship and HandwritingMaking Writing Visual and KinestheticAssessing Students’ WritingQuestions and AnswersChapter 6: Reading and Learning with Informational TextsGetting Ready to LearnThe Magic of Using Graphic OrganizersUnderstanding Content from Written Sources and LecturesChunking a Science Fair ProjectQuestions and AnswersChapter 7: All Students Can Be Successful in MathWays to Get Struggling Students Hooked on MathTeaching Techniques to TryTeaching the BasicsWord ProblemsQuestions and AnswersChapter 8: Using Assessments to Support Student LearningWays to Improve Student AchievementAssessment and GradingEffective Assessment PracticesStruggling Students and Standardized TestsWays to Make Assessment More Meaningful for All StudentsInteraction Between Assessments and the IEPQuestions and AnswersChapter 9: Improving Students’ Executive Functioning SkillsBringing Order into the Disorganized Lives of Students with Learning DifficultiesMnemonicsTeaching Students How to StudyHomeworkWays to Improve Testing Outcomes for Struggling StudentsQuestions and AnswersChapter 10: Helping Students Choose Appropriate BehaviorsLooking Dumb or Being Bad—What Would Your Students Choose?The Relentless Cycle of ThreatIntervening with Inappropriate BehaviorHelping Students Learn to Choose Appropriate BehaviorImproving Behavior for the Whole ClassConflict Resolution and Peer MediationSchoolwide Behavior ModelsDealing with Bullying in Your Class and SchoolQuestions and AnswersChapter 11: Helping Parents Become Partners in Their Children’s LearningWays to Promote Parent Involvement at SchoolHomework IssuesProductive Parent-Teacher MeetingsOpen HousesQuestions and AnswersReferences and Resources