Jennifer LaRosee

Posted on 10/10/09

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Hi ~ I am a 6th grade special ed. teacher. You don't say if
you've done the following already, so if you have I
apologize. Read through all the IEP's carefully, taking
notes on the students' present levels of performance, past
testing and what it showed, and especially their IEP
objectives. What types of skills are their objectives
focusing on? Are you their reading teacher or also their case
manager? If you're not their case manager, speak with the
special ed. teacher who is. Hopefully, that individual knows
them well and can give you some background and other ideas.
Also, try to get a hold of the latest educational and
psychological reports written on those students, hopefully
from their last triennial. Those reports should detail where
their reading level is and what types of general strategies
can work. You'll also see where the students' strengths and
weaknesses are.

If you can borrow one from the special ed. or reading
department, you might want to give those students' an
informal reading assessment to see where their actual reading
level is. Don't be surprised if they are actually
comprehending at a 4th, 5th, or 6th grade level.

Can you get access to taped versions of the stories in the
anthology? Your students might do better if you have them
listen to the story 1-2 times first, then discuss it. Have
them demonstrate their comprehension through oral discussion
rather than writing; there is a good chance that their writing
skills are low as well; with my 6th grade special ed.
students, we are still working on basic expository writing
skills, starting with paragraphs. They may not have the
expository or persuasive writing skills to answer some of
those questions yet. I find that many of my students are
very concrete , and we have to teach them how to think
"outside the box" - that may come naturally for your gifted
students, but it is far from natural for many students with
comprehension and reading issues. Are you able to use the
anthology as your basic text, and assign novels that are at
their reading level that you work on a little each day?
Also, don't take for granted their knowledge of vocabulary -
that is what holds back many low readers. You may have to
spend quite a bit of time working on specific vocabulary words
that relate to the stories in the anthology or any other
material you use before you have them actually read or listen
to it.

Good luck ~ I hope some of these ideas are helpful!

Jenn

On 10/07/09, Erin wrote:
> I have taught 8th grade gifted students for the past 5
> years. This year I have been moved to 7th grade (still
> gifted) but I also have students with IEP's or are on the
> lower end of the spectrum.
>
> I am at a loss for how to differentiate their work. I am
> looking for some tips on how to help them with reading
> skills.
>
> For example: we just finished "A Retrieved Reformation" by
> O. Henry. After reading I heard everything from "I just
> don't get what you mean by pretend I'm Ben Price" to "who
> is Ben Price" to "I just don't remember what I read when
> they write things in this way" (which by the way she
> couldn't explain what "this way" meant.)
>
> Does anyone have any tips on how to focus on the
> comprehension skills with this group? I have no specialist
> for this class so I am becoming VERY FRUSTRATED, VERY
> QUICKLY!!
>
> Thank you

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