Strategies for Including Children with Disabilities in
Classroom Activities
Children with disabilities can be included in all classroom activities with
the support of teachers and peers. As this video demonstrates, interaction
with materials and with others creates a rich learning environment for
everyone. Some strategies assure positive experiences, such as:
- Verbal prompts: the teachers suggest, “touch it.”
- Simple questions and positive feedback to answers:
The teacher asks “is it hot?” then
- after a slight wait-time answers “cold” in response
to the children.
- Sensory activities: this Jello activity allows for
touch, smell, and taste.
- Group table activity with two teachers: Configuring
the lesson in this way allows a lot of
- peer and teacher interaction which is child-centered and well-managed.
Strategies for Including Children with Disabilities in
Classroom Activities
Please select the play button 
below to view
the video.
By planning a lesson that supports children with disabilities in
positive ways using these strategies, they are able to learn and interact with
their peers.
These children were videotaped in their Early Head Start
classroom, at the Alamo Navajo Early Childhood Center, Alamo Navajo Reservation,
New Mexico. Our sincere appreciation is extended to his family, the Alamo
Navajo School Board, and the staff of the Early Childhood Center, for sharing
their experiences with us.
The following video clips, were developed by the Hilton/Early Head
Start Training Program in collaboration with Joan E. Porter and Gary Christian
Film and Video, funded by a public-private partnership between the Conrad N.
Hilton Foundation and the Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and
Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Grant No.: 90YC0189).
Copyright © 2007 CIHS/Sonoma State
University
See also:
Unlock
Doorways to New Learning with CHILD-FOCUS KEYS!
Weaving
Wonderful Tales: When a child participates in shared reading time with adults,
she can learn how to shift from simply listening to stories to becoming an
enthusiastic storyteller!
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