Get experience with all types of learners. Part 3

Yesterday I did my first observations in a 6th grade class that of 17 students has one student with autism, one student with speech and language impairments, one student with severe ADHD who also has been diagnosed as oppositional defiant, and one "miracle" student who is Trisomy 18 - Mosaic. I spent a little over an hour in the classroom right after lunch. Right away it was evident that this was a class with a lot of energy! I assume that the time period after lunch is a struggle many days because students are coming in from recess where they were able to run and play. It is never easy to come back to class, calm down, and return to work.

I thought the 6th grade teacher did a great job of keeping the students interested and focused. She also transitioned well from one activity to the next. Each day after lunch the students have a classroom job they are responsible for. One student cleans out the hamster cage, another picks up trash from the floor, and another changes the daily "Grieser Teaser" on the board. The jobs rotate from week to week and they give the students a sense of ownership with their room. This activity also served as a transition time for students. They were able to move around, but they also began to recenter back into school mode as they worked through their tasks.

Next, the teacher read aloud to the class as they worked on illustrating original books. She kept their attention by asking questions as she was reading to make sure they caught important details. This time quieted students down and helped focus them for the rest of the afternoon. After this activity they were able to move into more traditional school work of a grammer worksheet.

In the hour I spent in the classroom the one student who jumped out at me was the student with
severe ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder. She had difficulty sitting at her desk and remaining on task. Several times during the hour I observed she asked questions that were not related to what the class was doing. Her ADHD combined with an outgoing personality also made her a distraction to other students.

One of the best things the teacher did was continually have the students moving around. They did not sit still for long periods of time. The students took turns coming to the board to correct sentances, they worked in small groups around the room, and they had jobs that had them out of their seats. I think this strategy was helpful for the student with ADHD as well as the other students.

During my next observations I am going to be focused on paying attention to the other three students in her class with special needs.