A teacher of fifth to seventh graders with learning disabilities describes a community-based gardening project which served elderly residents of a rest home while exposing the children to elderly people and encouraging development and application of environmental, writing, mathematics, and communication skills. The project integrated curriculum in…

"Lights, Camera, Action" is a culminating language arts video activity for middle school students with mild disabilities, designed to integrate reading, writing, listening, speaking, acting, drawing, technical, and time-management skills. The cooperative learning activity resulted in production of a short videotaped program which was later viewed…

Seventeen resources for using music in the education of students who are disabled or gifted are described. The resources focus on programs, practices, and teaching suggestions, including ideas for promoting inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classrooms. (DB)

Considerate instruction, defined as combining effective teaching practices with effective teaching tools such as textbooks and media, is seen as successfully enabling students with sensory and mild cognitive disabilities to achieve. The concept is applied to the teaching of mathematics, science, reasoning, and history. (DB)

Steps for effective coteaching by special education and regular education teachers are identified. Examples of coteaching in elementary and junior high schools are given. The need for communication between teachers is emphasized as the key ingredient to successful coteaching. (CR)

Strategies are presented to effectively motivate students with disabilities and encourage general and special education teacher collaboration. The five steps in "enrichment remediation" include collaboratively assessing reading skills; assessing students' interests; gathering materials for students' choices; integrating curriculum materials; and…

An inclusive kindergarten class of students with and without hearing impairments is described. The "Education Together" program used total communication, a combination of whole language and basal instruction, behavior management techniques, and extensive teacher collaboration. Issues such as communication problems, discipline, curriculum, building…

A step-by-step guide is presented for developing and implementing a social interaction intervention based on a study of an inclusive preschool program. Steps include developing a data collection system, selecting observation time, collecting baseline data, identifying target children, developing social interaction skills intervention, monitoring…

This article addresses program planning for successful inclusion of students with mild disabilities in rural schools. It discusses preplanning with staff and peers, developing a communication system, structuring collaborative planning time, dealing with resistant teachers, gaining administrative support, involving parents, designing a grading…

A best practices checklist is provided to assist special education teachers in self-evaluation and peer evaluation, and assist administrators in providing feedback to teachers. The checklist covers introducing the lesson, presenting the lesson, encouraging student participation, and providing corrective feedback. Each area identifies specific…

Guidelines are presented for assisting students with disabilities in their transition to college. A higher education transition model is described with three curricular elements: (1) psychosocial adjustment (such as college-level social skills); (2) academic development (such as career awareness); and (3) college/community orientation (such as…

This discussion of child abuse in children with disabilities focuses on teachers' rights and responsibilities for reporting abuse and the need to overcome barriers to reporting abuse. Recommendations to protect teachers from unwarranted allegations of abuse are also given, including creating an open classroom environment, distinguishing between…

This article addresses effective techniques for teaching students with emotional disturbances and/or behavior disorders in group settings. Three stages of group development are described with specific teaching strategies for each stage identified and related to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, including needs for safety and trust, belonging and…

The teaching of music-related leisure skills to secondary students with disabilities is discussed. Areas of discussion include the limits of music education programs; music-related skills that can be taught in the classroom (including accessing, appreciating, and engaging in musical experiences); and teaching music-related skills (including…

The Council for Exceptional Children's 1996 Teacher of the Year, Donald Butzko, a high school teacher of students with learning disabilities and mental retardation, is profiled. Characteristics of Butzko that have enhanced his effectiveness are identified, including his relationship with parents, his attendance at students' extracurricular…