The resource section within each unit is designed to provide teachers
with additional materials that will further enhance the implementation
of each lesson. The book titles, videos, and poems listed are
age, content, and theme appropriate. Print materials are to be
read aloud to students or placed in the classroom libraries purchased
from various vendors, bookstores or museum stores. The resources
may also be found in Chicago Public Libraries.
Parent Involvement
Parental involvement activities have been included in all of the
lessons.
Teachers of Students with Disabilities
Educators maintain that the awareness of the different ways in
which people learn and the ways in which they excel is essential
to powerful teaching. A variety of experiences and activities
need to be presented to children to ensure that their individual
learning style can be identified. Special educators have championed
the idea of learning through multiple intelligences. They have
developed educational methods and materials designed to meet the
individual needs of the child.
The lessons in these units were designed to address the Illinois
State Learning Standards. These standards are the basis for learning
for all students including those receiving special education services.
However, lessons can be adapted or modified to support the use
of best instructional practices and allow for maximum participation
of students with disabilities in the general education curriculum.
Accommodations and modifications can be made in the size and complexity
of the lesson goals and activities; the time when a lesson is
presented and the time allowed for completion, environment, instructional
strategies, support provided and method of response or evaluation.
Teachers of English Language Learners
The lessons are designed according to the Illinois Learning
Standards which
also apply to English Language Learners (ELLs) enrolled in
Transitional Bilingual Education Programs. Each lesson is also
aligned to the
Chicago Public Schools ESL Goals and Standards.
The term
adapt/modify is used throughout the unit to indicate to the teacher
that it might be necessary to alter the lesson plan to meet the
needs of ELLs.
