1st Edition
Curricula for Students with Severe Disabilities Narratives of Standards-Referenced Good Practice
Students with severe disabilities comprise 2 percent of the population of learners who are impacted by intellectual, communicative, social, emotional, physical, sensory and medical issues. Increasingly, however, teachers are required to meet the challenges of creating a pedagogical balance between an individual student's strengths, needs and preferences, and core academic curricula. The need to embrace the current initiative of curriculum state standards in the debate of curricula relevance, breadth, balance and depth for students with severe disabilities is not just timely—it contributes to the evolving debate of what constitutes an appropriate curriculum for severely disabled learners.
Curricula for Students with Severe Disabilities supports the development of greater understandings of the role that state curriculum standards play in the pedagogical decision-making for students with severe intellectual disabilities. The book first discusses the nature and needs of these students, the curriculum for this group of learners and the recent contributions of state curriculum standards, before presenting narratives of real classrooms, teachers and students who have meaningfully integrated state curriculum standards at the kindergarten, elementary and high school levels.
Acknowledgements
Section One
Introduction
Chapter One: The Changing Landscape of Teaching: What are the issues?
Chapter Two: Building Understandings of Students
Chapter Three: Curriculum Considerations and Pedagogical Decision Making
Chapter Four: What Are Curriculum Content Standards?
Section Two
Introduction
Chapter Five: Fact or Fiction with Vilmary Tautiva
Chapter Six: Hatchet with Lora Reese
Chapter Seven: Rhyming Literary Device: Green Eggs and Ham with David Hass
Chapter Eight: Difficult Decisions? Let’s Graph it Out! with Krysta Avery
Chapter Nine: Perfect Pairs: Finding Animals on the Coordinate Plane with Kristen Kasha
Chapter Ten: "It's in the Bag": Using Measurement to Decorate Shopping Bags with Helen Pastore
Biography
Phyllis Jones is a Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of South Florida, USA.
In a beautifully crafted text, Phyllis Jones weaves the threads of current pedagogy, innovative classroom practice and academic curriculum standards into a tapestry which illustrates what dynamic teaching and deep learning can look like for students with severe disabilities. The tapestry wraps around the child, celebrating their attainments and dignifying them as a learner. This book shows that in the hands of the inquiring teacher there are no barriers to achievement, only pathways to success.
—Professor Barry Carpenter, CBE, OBE, PhD, University of Oxford, UK
Curricula for Students with Severe Disabilities is a treasure trove of research-based information and resources to guide teams as they plan and deliver quality instruction for students with complex learning needs. Detailed standards-based lessons and learning activities illustrate how educators can provide academic instruction, aligned with meaningful IEP goals, in a variety of natural contexts. Resources and supports used in each lesson are described, including assistive technology, software, communication supports, and more! This book is an invaluable resource for educators who desire to improve outcomes for students with severe disabilities.
—Vicki Barnitt, Director of Program Development, Florida Inclusion Network, Florida State University, US
