Annotations

1. Including Students with Special Needs in a Writing Workshop Fu,

Danling;Shelton, Nancy R Language Arts; Mar 2007; 84, 4; ProQuest Research
Library pg. 325

-WHAT?
Working together in small groups creates an accommodating
environment
Group works allows for pushing everyone to succeed an also social and
emotional growth
Initial instruction focused on freeing the students to write
Oral language expression was used to help develop their written
language
Evaluated students based on their current performance, and then set
goals to help them improve their writing
In a writing workshop students could work together and each be seen
as a valued member of the writing community
-SO WHAT?
I have personally observed in a few inclusion classrooms that hoped to
incorporate students with special needs. I do not think that any of those
classrooms really made the connections between making the students a
valued part of their learning environment. This article really focuses on
incorporating these students in a way that makes them a valuable part of
their environment.
-NOW WHAT?
This information taught me a lot about what it would look like to set up
a classroom that was truly inclusive to any type of learner. I can apply this to
myself as a teacher by using some of the same ideas and strategies this
teacher used in regards to meeting every students needs. I think that
incorporating a writing workshop in the classroom would be very useful
because it allows the students to work together, and the teacher to be
monitoring and adding support where its needed.

2. Cullen, J; Richards, Sb; Frank, Cl. Using Software to Enhance the Writing Skills
of Students with Special Needs. Journal of Special Education Technology. 23,
2, 33-44, 2008.
-WHAT?
Many students with special needs experience difficulties in spelling,
written expression, punctuation, capitalization, and organization
Spell checkers will help children to spell and find their target words

A talking word processor translates text into speech and lets the
students hear the words spoken as they are typed
During software intervention each of the students grew in writing
Using software the number of words increased and the number of
misspellings decreased

-SO WHAT?
In the current classroom that I am observing in there are multiple
means of software intervention used to help builds the childrens reading and
writing abilities. The students are allowed to use a talking dictionary in order
to find out what words are and the meaning of words. There is also a software
that is used called Cowriter that allows the students to have assisted ad in
typing their papers. It predicts the words that they will use and saves high
frequency words. These softwares allow the students to work in an
environment that is not as stressful for them, and gives them confidence in
their writing.
-NOW WHAT?
In my future classroom I hope to use software to aid students with
special needs in writing and reading. Seeing the growth that software brought
to the students in this study is hard to ignore. It would be beneficial to use
these types of software for my own future classroom. In order to help
students have meaningful time with writing we need to give them tools that
will help them to be successful in the areas that they struggle in. I hope to
incorporate the most useful software for my students so that they will be able
to grow without inhibitions.
3. Reis, Em. Developing writing skills for students with bilingual special
education needs. Journal of Instructional Psychology. 20, 4, 298, Dec. 1993.
-WHAT?

Most of the readings for children with Bilingual Special Needs were
focused on oral language and reading skills
The process of writing for bilingual students began with listening, then
lead to speaking, reading, and finally to writing
The students language abilities were the focus of the writing strategies
They found that there is an emergence of writing abilities at young
ages just like an emergence of artistic abilities
Around age two and three children begin to use their writing as a
communicative message
Children are active developers of a writing system before they learn
the conventional system of their language

-SO WHAT?

Many students that I have observed with special needs have a hard time
communicating in a successful way. Adding a bilingual aspect on top of
already hard communication issues can add more challenges for students to
learn. This article really ties into allowing bilingual students with special
needs to first work on their language abilities in order to grow in their written
language abilities. There is only one child I met who was both bilingual and
had special needs. He struggled with communication because at home one
language was spoken and at school a completely different language was
spoken. I think these theories could have helped by first building upon his
language comprehension, and then using that to lead him into writing
abilities.
-NOW WHAT?
Living in Texas means that we are in an area that is prone to change and
growth. Many families from other countries are constantly coming into the
school systems with little to know knowledge of the English language. I could
use these theories in my future classroom to build up the students language
abilities, and then scaffold in writing instruction. In order to grow in their
writing abilities students will need continued language support for their
writing. To incorporate this will be difficult, but will also be very helpful for
students to succeed.

4. Kitterman, J. F. (2002). Children's books and special needs students. The

Reading
Teacher, 56(3), 236-239.
-WHAT?

Teachers are responsible for modeling appropriate attitudes toward

children with special needs
Childrens books can appropriately represent more abstract concepts
Teachers should include books about children and adults with special
needs
Books about people with special needs help students feel more
comfortable with people who are different than them.
Placing books like this in the classroom make students with special
needs feel a since of belonging
Helps explain disabilities in a less complicated form of information

-SO WHAT?
This article discusses incorporating books in the classroom that inform the
class of special needs and specific disabilities. The article emphasizes that
teachers should involve these types of books so that students in their classrooms
that may be different can have books that explain things about them more
clearly. Its important to make all of our students feel valued and like they are an

involved member of the classroom. This will also help other students understand
the needs of others in their classroom.
-NOW WHAT?
This article really showed me the importance of not only incorporating books
about special needs into my own classroom, but also about other needs that
may be unknown to my students. I think that by doing this students are more
likely to be more understanding members of a community, and less likely to feed
into their own ignorance. As a teacher I think we are responsible for dispelling
stereotypes and misconceptions about disabilities and special needs. I think
there is a great need for this in schools and classrooms, and even outside of the
school. As a teacher I hope to grow an informed community that can
appropriately communicate and understand each other.
5. Carr, J. (2012, October 25). Strategies for Teaching Learners and Students
with Learning Disabilities. Retrieved March 21, 2016, from
http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol8/802-carr.aspx
-WHAT?

Instructional strategies that work for students with learning disabilities

The strategy should not be entirely new so that teachers don't feel
overloaded.
The strategy has to be relatively easy to learn to keep time and
professional development costs down.
The strategy should be able to be used frequently, if not daily.
The set of strategies should be interdependent; one strategy can facilitate
the use of another one.

-SO WHAT?
This passage discusses how to set up instructional strategies that will be
helpful for students with special needs. Many learning strategies are used with
students with special needs, but not many of them are truly successful with
these students. As teachers we have to set up strategies that will be truly helpful
for our students so they have the right tools in order to be successful.
-NOW WHAT?
Reading this article has given me a lot of ideas about how to help students
with special needs set up strategies that will be useful to them. As a teacher I
hope to set up meetings for my students at the beginning of the year so that I
can figure out what strategies may help them. I hope to teach these strategies in
ways that make sense to my students, and truly be tools for them to build off of
while they are working. Setting up these successful strategies will also allow my
students to be more independent as they do their classwork.

6. Wearden, Z. (2002). Teaching English to Students with Learning Difficulties.

Retrieved March 21, 2016, from
http://www.usingenglish.com/articles/teaching-english-to-students-withlearning-difficulties-lds.html
-WHAT?

Identifying and acknowledging LDs as soon as possible is very important

to ensure that students receive the best support in their learning.
Up to ten percent of the population has learning disabilities
Focus on what can be achieved instead of what cannot be achieved
Praise every and any success
Have clear goals
Structure lessons clearly and purposefully
Reduce distractions
Stimulate all senses for learning

-SO WHAT?
This article shows ways to support students with learning disabilities. The
goal of this article is to show teachers how to support students with learning
disabilities so that they may reach their highest potentials. These strategies will
allow teachers to support students with learning disabilities in their classrooms,
and also still have room to support the other general education students. As a
teacher these skills are important to maintain a functioning classroom that
supports every learner.
-NOW WHAT?
I am specifically going into the field of special education where I will surely be
assigned with students who have learning disabilities. In order to help these
students I can put these strategies into place. Using these guidelines while Im
planning my instruction and implementing instruction will allow me as a teacher
to think through what is best for these students in their learning careers.
7. English and Autistic Spectrum Disorders. (2007, September 26). Retrieved
March 21, 2016, from
http://www.scips.worc.ac.uk/subjects_and_disabilities/english/english_autism.
html
-WHAT?

Students with autism may face many challenges when learning the
subject of English
Students with autistic spectrum disorders may be unable to alter language
style in different language situations
Individuals may often interrupt inappropriately and be unable to interpret
any cues

Students with autistic spectrum disorders are often resistant to change

and cope best in a structured environment in which any change is
predictable
Students may appear rigid and non-compliant and have difficulty taking
direction and coping with negative feedback
Students with autistic spectrum disorders are likely to need support and
assistance

-SO WHAT?
This article focuses on students who fall on the autism disorder spectrum,
and how to help these students with the subject of English. Every disability is
different and has different characteristics, so they all require specific instruction.
This article describes the characteristics of Autism and how it may affect your
students behaviors and attitudes toward English. This information is important
because it helps teachers understand what some issues are and how to
overcome them in their own classrooms.
-NOW WHAT?
After receiving this information, the next step would be to put these practices
into place with any students who fall on this spectrum. Allowing deeper support
for these students and understanding some of their behaviors and attitudes is
extremely helpful. As a teacher I hope to recognize these behaviors and be able
to dispel any nervousness my students may have. Also as a teacher my goal is
to teach every student to the very best of my abilities. To do so I need to
understand what my students are thinking and feeling, and where they are
coming from.
8. Burgoyne, K., Duff, F. J., Clarke, P. J., Buckley, S., Snowling, M. J. and Hulme, C.
(2012), Efficacy of a reading and language intervention for children with
Down syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology
and Psychiatry, 53: 10441053. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02557.x
-WHAT?

A study on language and literacy efficiency on children with Downs

syndrome.
Assessments were conducted at three time points: pre-intervention, after
20 weeks of intervention, and after 40 weeks of intervention
Delivered a reading and language intervention to children in individual
daily 40-min sessions
After 20 weeks of intervention, the intervention group showed significantly
greater progress than the waiting control group on measures of single
word reading, letter-sound knowledge, phoneme blending and taught
expressive vocabulary

Children who were younger, attended more intervention sessions, and had
better initial receptive language skills made greater progress during the
course of the intervention
Gains were largest in skills directly taught with little evidence of
generalization to skills not directly taught in the intervention

-SO WHAT?
This is a study conducted on children with Downs syndrome regarding
literacy and language development. The study found that after twenty weeks of
intervention there was growth in single word reading, letter-sound knowledge,
and phoneme building. This is important to realize because it shows us that
putting in more intervention with these students will allow these students to
grow and comprehend information.
-NOW WHAT?
Knowing this information, teachers have to be sure to create intervention for
students with these needs in order for them to grow in this subject. It is also
interesting that the younger the children were, the more successful they were with
the intervention. As teachers we have to be aware of the growth that is available to
students, and then provide students with these tools so that they can grow.