Under NCLB, students with severe disabilities are expected to make progress on state academic content standards in language arts, math, and science. But what material should educators teach from these three content areas, and how should they teach it? With this groundbreaking textbook, future educators will finally have the answers they need. The first major research-to-practice resource on this critical topic, this text goes beyond functional and access skills and shows educators how to make the general curriculum accessible to students of all ages with significant cognitive disabilities. Twenty-five of the best-known researchers in the field prepare educators to: adapt lessons in language arts, math, and science for students with disabilities; identify meaningful instructional content; create effective learning environments through instructional procedures such as peer tutoring, cooperative learning, and co-teaching; set appropriate expectations for student achievement; and align instruction with state content standards and alternate assessment. For each content area, future teachers will get a solid research foundation blended with teaching examples, guidelines, and helpful figures and tables. A timely textbook for preservice educators--and a valuable reference for in-service teachers seeking guidance--this important resource will raise expectations for students with disabilities and ensure their progress in key academic areas. This book contains the following sections and chapters: Section I: Access to the General Curriculum, with: (1) Why Teach the General Curriculum? (Fred Spooner and Diane M. Browder); and (2) Promoting Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (Michael L. Wehmeyer and Martin Agran). Section II: Language Arts, with: (3) Building Literacy for Students at the Presymbolic and Early Symbolic Levels (June E. Downing); (4) From Sight Words to Emerging Literacy (Diane M. Browder, Ginevra Courtade-Little, Shawnee Wakeman, and Robert J. Rickelman); (5) Learning to Read: Phonics and Fluency (Debby Houston, Stephanie Al Otaiba, and Joseph K.); and (6) Balanced Literacy Classrooms and Embedded Instruction for Students with Severe Disabilities: Literacy for All in the Age of School Reform (Terri Ward, Cheryl A. Van de Mark, and Diane Lea Ryndak Torgesen). Section III: Math and Science, with: (7) Enhancing Numeracy (Diane M. Browder, Lynn Ahlgrim-Delzell, David K. Pugalee, and Bree A. Jimenez); (8) Addressing Math Standards and Functional Math (Belva C. Collins, Harold L. Kleinert, and Lou-Ann E. Land); (9) Science Standards and Functional Skills: Finding the Links (Fred Spooner, Warren Di Biase, and Ginevra Courtade-Little); and (10) Developing Math and Science Skills in General Education Contexts; Section IV: Alignment of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, with: (11) How Students Demonstrate Academic Performance in Portfolio Assessment (Jacqui Kearns, Mike D. Burdge, Jean Clayton, Anne P. Denham, and Harold L. Kleinert); and (12) Promoting the Alignment of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction (Claudia P. Flowers, Diane M. Browder, Lynn Ahlgrim-Delzell, and Fred Spooner). The following are appended: (1) Example of Adaptations to a General Education Lesson Plan for Science; and (2) Adapted Lesson Plan on Leaf Classification to Include a Student with Significant Disabilities in a Seventh-Grade Science Lesson (Karena Cooper-Duffy and Daniel G. Perlmutter). An index is included.