When working with Special Needs kids, it is probably obvious that you will be working with all types of personalities and learning modalities. I have learned this semester that a child's personality does affect the way the they learn. When using strategies to actively engage the children, you have to know the ways in which the children learn. In my time spent in my classroom so far I have noticed that different strategies take place every day. The main activity that we do daily is our class meeting where we discuss the days of the week, the weather, how many days we have been in school, any upcoming holidays etc. For each part of class meeting there are usually 3 or more counter parts.
1. Repetition: When discussing the days of the week, we first start with the teacher or class leader telling the day of the week it is, what yesterday was and what tomorrow will be. They then respond with "Please say it with me" and they now repeat it as a group. 2. Song or dance: Once the verbal has been completed we now physically or musically engage them, or sometimes both. We have a song called "jump down, turn around" The kids stand and while physically Jumping and turning around they sing the day of the week it is and date of the month. 3: Visual: Once 1 and 2 are completed we will then do some sort of visual activity like hiding the straws the resemble the number of days we have been in school or hiding the cards that state the days of week. This also teaches the kids mental math because after each item has been found, we respond with "there were 8 straws, 2 have been found, there are 6 left to find".
When we are participating in class meeting, everyone participates. If there is so much as one child that is not talking, singing etc. We stop and start over and we keep doing that until EVERYONE participates. Often times Ms. Kay will offer rewards to those who are participating in hopes to encourage those who are not.
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