EC Newsletter
Exceptional Supports for Literacy & Learning
Positioned for Learning
We can enhance student learning by providing opportunities for good seating and positioning. To learn more, check out the links and video below or contact your school-assigned occupational or physical therapist.
Active Kids Learn Better
A 2013 report from the Institute of Medicine concluded that children who are more active “show greater attention, have faster cognitive processing speed and perform better on standardized academic tests than children who are less active.” - From New York Times "Why Kids Shouldn't Sit Still in Class"
Resources you can use to incorporated movement in your classroom:
Language and Literacy Skills are Intertwined
Read & Write For Google Chrome Extension (R&WGC)
Do your students struggle with reading or writing? Get read aloud and writing supports through R&WGC!
Read&Write Toolbar
Classroom Acoustics
Classrooms are noisy! With students interacting, furniture moving, fans running, and teachers instructing, the noise level of a classroom can become distracting. Because classrooms are made of hard surfaces (floors, walls, ceiling and windows), sounds in the classroom bounce around the room, amplifying small noises. This noisy environment can make it difficult for students to concentrate, and in some cases the students may not be able to filter the important sounds (like the teacher's instruction) from others. Here are some simple and inexpensive ways to improve the listening environment of your classroom:
- Use old/donated tennis balls or pieces of felt on the bottom of chairs
- Add rugs or carpet to hard floors (check with carpet suppliers for donated remnants)
- Encourage students to wear soft-soled shoes
- Cover windows with curtains made of approved fabrics
- Turn off computers/SmartBoards when not in use
- Keep classroom door closed
- Turn off classroom fans (AC/heat) when not needed
Get a "Grip" on Writing
Do you have difficulty reading your student’s writing? Check out this short video with easy to use strategies to promote functional grasp patterns for writing.
Print Accessibility
Some tips for making print more accessible for students who have visual impairments:
- Encourage students to use any assistive technology or low vision devices provided to them to compensate for their vision loss.
- Keep worksheets on a single page. When multiple worksheets are reduced to fit on a single page, the amount of magnification needed makes the print too distorted to read.
- Allow extra time for the student to complete reading assignments.
- Require the student to complete the same assignments as the rest of the class. Only if necessary, the amount of work may be reduced as long as the skills and concepts remain the same.
- Provide worksheets that are clear—no blurred or faint copies.
- Seat the student in the front of the class or the presentation.
- Use black or dark blue markers on the board as some students are unable to see the colors.
- Decrease glare on the board by closing blinds.
- Understand that some students may look away from their reading assignment when they need a short visual break due to visual fatigue.
- Inform the teacher for visually impaired students when there is a problem with visual access.
CMS Exceptional Children
Vision: Programs for Exceptional Children positively impact academic and social outcomes for students with disabilities so they can be productive citizens.
Programs for Exceptional Children
Email: ashley1.kogutkiewicz@cms.k12.nc.us
Website: http://my.cms.k12.nc.us/departments/exceptionalchildren/Pages/Default.aspx
Location: 4421 Stuart Andrew Blvd. Suite 500 Charlotte, NC 28217
Phone: 980-343-6960