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Teaching Guide Making Physical Adaptations for Children
with Disabilties Menu General
Goals Learning
Objectives What do you do? You are a Physical education teacher. have a new student entering your PE class who has special needs. You either do not have an Adapted PE specialist in your district, or their caseload is so overwhelming that they don't have the time to help you adapt activities for this child. You have some knowledge of the basics of this disability, but little or no training to make appropriate and effective modifications for a wide variety of activities. What do you do?
check ahead with a specialist to make adaptations for spontaneous activities that are created by students during play. You have little knowledge of this disability and no training in how to modify activities safely. What do you do?
this disability and no training in how to adapt activities safely and effectively. What do you do? several simple steps to make safe and effective adaptations for your students who have disabilities. Click here to return to Menu Aim This curriculum web is designed to help teachers and other adults who work with children who have disabilities to make safe and effective modifications. Click here to return to Menu Rationale Why
is it so hard to make
these modifications?
with the students in need in separate classes, or attended regular PE classes with those students. Adapted PE specialists who are trained in making modifications have been forced to take on caseloads that far exceed what they can effectively handle. Many districts have reduced the amount of Adapted PE specialists hired and transitioned students into “consult” instead of having direct minutes in an effort to reduce costs. Specialists therefore end up spending the majority of their time writing goals and participating in IEP meetings instead of working directly with students or
planning with PE teachers. have special needs. They have had little or no direct contact with these students before they enter
the teaching
field. resources available
to help them to learn these skills. necessary time to make
modifications for
students who have disabilities. disabilities, and wide variety of activities that it can be overwhelming to inexperienced teachers to tackle
modifications. Why is it so important to become familiar with these strategies? Children who have special needs have the right to participate, and it is not only required by law, but a necessary effort for any quality teacher to make to the best of his/her ability. All children need to learn how to cooperate with and accept the differences in others. Teachers who may have good intentions by allowing children with disabilities to participate fully may be creating an unsafe environment for that child and/or the others in the class. Teachers may find it easier to take the “easy way out” and unfairly assign children with disabilities to be score keepers, time keepers, or cheerleaders. that are not effective in progressing his/her skill level. Teachers who may have good intentions may not know how to determine the purpose of the modification and allow an activity that is not challenging or fun to the student. Teachers may unintentionally design activities that are not age appropriate. Teachers are legally responsible for keeping all children physically safe, and must become aware of the special concerns that are related to a child with a specific disability. Teachers are responsible for creating an environment that is emotionally safe for all students, and specifically to the special needs of a child who has a disability. Teachers are not familiar with parallel activities that may be necessary in some situations when direct participation is not safe or effective for the student. Click here to return to Menu General Goals The general goals of this curriculum web is to assist teachers with the following: 1. Acquire knowledge of the law, disabilities and the four strategies 2. Learn to create safe and effective lesson plans 3. Develop a physically and emotionally safe environment for students who have a disability Click here to return to Menu Learner Description Learner Description: Users of this website will be Physical Education teachers, classroom teachers, and employees of recreation programs such as sport camps. They will have a varying degree of knowledge about various disabilities and experience with children who have those disabilities. They will have a desire to go beyond the requirements of the law to provide a safe and successful learning experience for the children who have these special needs. Adult learners appreciate the following:
Click here to return to Menu Prerequisites: The following are necessary prerequesites for use of this curriculum web: 1. Some experience working with children in an educational or recreational setting. 2. A desire to learn more about making safe and effective modifications for children who have disabilities. 3. A willingness to focus on what each child CAN do instead of what they can’t do. * Teachers who have prior knowledge of the background information on disabilities can skip learning activity 1: information on common disabilities, and learning activity 2 : specific legal and medical concerns. They can move ahead to learning activity 3: four strategies , learning activity 4: sample lesson plans and the culminating activity: design your own lesson plan. Click here to return to Menu Subject-Matter The subject matter contained in this curriculum web is as follows: 1. Information regarding various disabilities including medical, legal, and safety concerns specific to what a teacher or other professional working with children would need to know. 2. Basic philosophies of quality instruction in PE, and safe and effective practices in adapting activities for children with disabilities. 3. Standards for creating appropriate and effective modifications to lesson plans. Click here to return to Menu Learning Objectives Users of this web site will be able to do the following upon completion: (Individuals with Disabilities Act, specifically the premise of the “least restrictive environment” and the effect of No Child Left Behind. 2. Provide basic information about the most common disabilities including a general overview, medical, and legal concerns specific to each disability. 3. Explain and give examples for the four strategies that you can implement to make safe and effective activity modifications for children who have a disability. 4. Apply information to design lesson plans with appropriate and effective modifications following a given rubric. Click here to return to Menu Instructional Plan Activities necessary for learners to complete this curriculum web: 1. Review the law as it relates to children with disabilities. Read about Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and NCLB through links and review summary in Activity 1: The Law. 2. Review or learn the information for the specific disabilities that relate to your specific student(s) through overviews and legal concerns in Activity 2: Disability Information. 3. Learn about the four recommended strategies for making modifications by reading summaries and examples of each strategy in Activity 3: The Four Strategies. 4. View sample lesson plans to improve knowledge of how to apply these strategies in Activity 4: Sample lesson Plans 6. Take a quiz to check knowledge before advancing to the Culminating Activity: Make Your Own lesson Plans 7. Practice making lesson plans using the given rubric. 6. Practice making lesson plan modifications following the given standards rubric Click here to return to Menu Materials To use the curriculum web effectively, it is recommended that the user have the following: 1. A computer to access the information given and to access given links 2. A list of accessible equipment and supplies that could be used to assist students who disabilities 3. A copy of the student’s IEP 4. Contact information for your school or district Adapted PE professional 5. Contact information for the school or district Occupational Therapist (OT) 6. Contact information for the school or district Physical Therapist (PT) 7. Optional- Games for People with Sensory Impairments:Strategies for Including Individuals of All Ages by Lauren J. Lieberman and Jim F. Cowart in their book," Games for People with Sensory Impairments: Including Individuals of All Ages". Click here for more information on this book: The following web pages: Filename: Purpose: Index.html Entry page Activity 1: The law Provides information on the law in regards to children who have disabilities Activity 2: Disability Provides general overview, medical and Information legal information for specific disabilities Activity 3: Four Explanation of the four strategies to Strategies make modifications for children with disabilities Activity 4: Sample Collection of sample lesson plans with Lesson Plans modifications Culminating Activity: Provides a template to fill in your own Make Your Own lesson plan modifications Lesson Plans Teaching guide: Teaching guide Assessment.html Rubric for assessing the four strategies Glossary.html List of vocabulary words introduced in the instructions or likely to be encountered while completing the learning activities Click here to return to Menu Plan for Assessment and Evaluation Before practicing making adaptations in lesson plans by using the rubric, the user should take this quiz to check his/her knowledge of what he/she has learned so far. Check answers and feedback on incorrect answers before you proceed to Activity 4: Make Your Own Lesson Plans. View quiz here After completing the quiz, and checking feedback on any mistakes, the user should proceed to the Culminating Activity: Make Your Own Lesson Plans. HE/she should apply information learned in earlier activities and use the given rubric to make adaptations. |