This article discusses ways service providers can enhance their working relationships with families of children with special needs. It offers practical guidelines to service providers when selecting materials they plan to use and share with children and their families, such as curriculum packages, information packets, brochures, CD-ROMS,…

This article discusses multicultural children's literature, the need for teachers to include multicultural children's literature in their teaching, how teachers can encourage pluralism, and evaluating and selecting multicultural literature titles. A selection of 17 multicultural books for use in the classroom is provided. (Contains references.)…

This article presents strategies teachers and families can use to provide the best and most culturally sensitive educational, health, and social services for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances. It discusses understanding families of culturally diverse learners, communicating with families, meeting with families, and supporting…

This article describes how teachers can use two African and Asian games (Mancala and Sungka) to help students with learning disabilities succeed in school. It discusses the history of the games, how to play, the benefits of the games for children with disabilities, and choosing which game to use. (Contains references.) (CR)

This article discusses using movies to teach students about disabilities. It addresses considerations in choosing movies, gauging the accuracy of the portrayal, and identifying positive images and negative stereotypes. A checklist for evaluating positive and negative representations is provided, along with a format to assess disability portrayal…

This article argues that teachers need instructional techniques that do not simply water down content learning for students with disabilities, but are effective. It describes one research-based teaching technique, Content Enhancement and the Unit Organizer Routine, and illustrates instructional procedures, offers practical tips, and cites…

This article describes how educational professionals, community members, students and parents in Jessamine County, Kentucky, worked together to help students with moderate and severe disabilities transition after high school graduation. It discusses how elective coursework was successfully combined with functional, community-based, education…

This article presents a research-based strategy for helping students with disabilities develop self-advocacy skills. Steps in the ASSERT process include: awareness of disability, state disability, state strengths and limitations, evaluate problem and solutions, role play solution, and try it in the real setting. Activities for each step are…

This article describes using graphic organizers as a way of assisting students with disabilities in the note-taking process and helping them link the new information to their existing schema of knowledge. It discusses the concept behind graphic organizers, graphic organizer activities, and steps for creating a graphic organizer. (Contains…

This third installation of the "Paraeducator Supervision Notebook" focuses on practical ways teachers can make decisions about which classroom tasks to delegate to a paraeducator. It discusses effective time management, the benefits of delegation, reasons school professionals fail to delegate, and steps for delegation to paraeducators. (CR)

This article describes how students with disabilities in regular classes are using the WebQuest lesson format to access the Internet. It explains essential WebQuest principles, creating a draft Web page, and WebQuest components. It offers an example of a WebQuest about salvaging the sunken ships, Titanic and Lusitania. A WebQuest planning form is…

Discussion of reading assessment of students with learning disabilities considers theoretical models of reading, curriculum-based assessment, and miscue analysis. A comparison of the reading strategies of two second-grade readers using miscue analysis is detailed. Emphasis is on instructionally relevant student assessment. (Contains seven…

This article describes the one-week "rotational internship" program developed by the University of Washington and intended for practicing teachers, teaching assistants, and other early childhood program staff. It explains how the internship functions and illustrates how this approach can be merged with ongoing inservice activities. (Contains…

This article discusses methods for more fully including parents in the development of a child's individualized education program (IEP). It summarizes what the law and research say about parental participation and decision making, identifies barriers to such participation, and offers suggestions to teachers to facilitate meaningful parental…

This article describes the involvement of students with emotional and/or behavior disorders on effective student advisory boards. Examples are given of student advisory board input in elementary school conflict mediation and mentor programs, a middle school composure room program, and a high school in-school factory program. Stressed is the…