Strategies to engage middle school students in listening to stories, retelling them, and improving their communication and social skills are offered. For students with disabilities, teachers should adapt strategies, keep individualized education program goals in mind, and focus on activities that are meaningful to the student. (DB)

This article describes an 11-step "buddy" skills training procedure that helps children in an inclusive preschool work and play together more cooperatively. Steps include initial assessment, sensitization, peer training, implementation, positive reinforcement, evaluation, targeting specific interaction skills, teaching interaction skills, and…

Group friendship activities can help young children with disabilities in preschool programs develop social skills. Suggestions for successful implementation address the size of the group, activity length, choice of activity, selecting expressions of friendship, and participation of individual children. (DB)

This article explains how to use instructive feedback (presenting extra information during feedback following students' responses to direct instruction) to intentionally and methodically boost students' learning. The process involves identifying information to be supplied, deciding how to present the information, using the method consistently, and…

The president of the Council for Exceptional Children notes the launching of a diversity initiative within the organization's strategic plan and throughout the organization's various components. The need for understanding and valuing diversity within a unity of mission is stressed. (DB)

A clay therapy program, tested and evaluated with children (mostly with emotional or behavioral disorders) across seven settings, is described. Affective goals of the program, required materials and equipment, and lesson plan topics are briefly considered. (DB)

This article describes a learning activity in which preschool children learn cooperative skills and metacognitive strategies as they master sharing strategies guided by leaves on a "sharing tree." Leaf colors (red, yellow, green) cue the child to stop, slow down and think about sharing and playing with others, and go ahead with a sharing activity.…

This article briefly summarizes what is known about how phonological awareness fits into the beginning reading process and effective methods for teaching phonological awareness. Special difficulties with phonological awareness of children with learning disabilities or from culturally diverse backgrounds are noted. (DB)

This article briefly defines phonological core deficits in cases of dyslexia; considers student classification based on federal and state learning disability placement guidelines; and suggests 10 interventions such as teaching metacognitive strategies, providing direct instruction in language analysis and the alphabetic code, and teaching reading…

This annotated bibliography provides brief descriptions of 13 selected readings and resources concerned with teaching reading to young children with learning disabilities. Included are journal articles, research reports, and teaching guides. (DB)

Students' class participation can be increased by having each child display a response to each of the teacher's questions. Suggestions are given for evaluating and using pre-printed response cards and write-on response cards. Evidence for the effectiveness of response cards in increasing learning and on-task behavior is offered. (DB)

The Mediated Learning Program (MLP) is a comprehensive preschool curriculum for children with and without disabilities, based on theories of mediated learning, with a mediator facilitating children's thought processes and problem-solving strategies. MLP includes 19 curriculum units broken into specific daily principles or objectives used to teach…

This article describes an ongoing support program in a Head Start program for grandparents who are serving as the primary caretakers of their grandchildren. Information is provided on the program's purpose and goals, the grandparents who attend, how meetings are run, experiences and incidental learning, and the progression of the group. (DB)

Suggestions are offered to teachers for obtaining minigrants from community resources other than the school in order to acquire assistive technology devices for students with disabilities. The approach involves the steps of obtaining information about potential donors, making contacts, and specifying benefits to the community and to the donor…

Special educators experiencing stress are urged to take greater responsibility for their own well-being by maintaining a balanced lifestyle, planning for success, expanding their support network, creating a positive belief system, making learning a lifelong priority, and learning to cope with complexities and challenges. (DB)