I have collected some tips that have been helpful in dealing with certain behaviors and difficulties. I would like to share them with you in hopes that they will also be helpful to you. I would also appreciate feedback regarding their success so that I can determine the effectiveness of these methods over a broad spectrum of students. If you try them, please let me know how they work. If you have tips that you would like to share, let me know. I can be reached at kwaites@kidquest.com
Fun things the children have said....
September 1, 2000, I received a fine complement today. One young man said "Mrs. Waites, you are just like a mommie, only older."
| Do we teach our limitations? | Does our reluctance to teach what we don't really know well limit our students? |
| Leading the child to good decisions | Sometimes the child does not want to do as asked. This method can help overcome their resistance. |
| Inappropriate touching | Every teacher knows that when children want to tell you something they will get you attention any way possible, without regard to where they touch you. This interactive method method teaches the child how to get your attention by your example. |
| Withdrawal | Some children who become overwhelmed during their lessons hide under the table when frustrated. The teacher must create a level of comfort that helps the student manage that instinct. |
| Learning to write alpha-numeric characters | Some students find it difficult to write characters without assistance. We often provide dots for them to connect to form a letter, but sometimes these are too abstract to serve as a guide. This method provides quides for the student who wants to draw letters but isn't quite able to follow dots yet. |
| Recognizing numbers and counting | Sometimes using dice to make working with numbers can keep a child's attention. |
| Reducing head-butting | Some children tend to butt their heads on the table when they become frustrated. As teachers, we can help reduce this tendency by reducing the anxiety level in our activities. Here is a technique that helps to develop a comfortable raport with the student, and ultimately eliminated much of the stress from the student. |
| Learning to Count With Cards | This activity is a fun game that makes learning to add a tolerable experience for the student. |
| Reducing motion by hyperactive students (while they are performing a task) | Redirecting their motion to productive activities doesn't always work if the skill simply doesn't require motion. I am planning to try the Chinese glass (plastic) balls that are rolled around in the hand to relieve stress (or so I'm told). |
| Using music to re-enforce reading lessons | I recently shared a book and accompanying tape with another teacher. She included it in a lesson, and a student that hadn't written anything all year wrote the story with no hesitation after the session. I believe the combination of reading the story and playing the audio version that included songs about the topic made the difference. |
| Why is special education training important for all teachers? | It is up to the teacher to adapt to the student's limitations and interests when we don't seem to be getting the message across. Being able to understand the dynamics of the child's mind is necessary to make the right choices. The formal training re-enforces the instincts that we developed while raising our own children. |
I hope that you have found my tips interesting. I am always looking for additional methods, information and resources that are useful in special education, so if you know of any that I don't have links to, let me know about them. If you have a helpful tip that you would like to share, but don't have a web site, send it to me, and if I publish it, I'll include your e-mail address with it so you can get feedback. Have a great day!
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