• Special Education

    I am the case manager for students at FEMS in grades 3-5 receiving Emotional Support. I provide all the instruction in English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) to the students on my roster. During instruction, I will have a maximum of 12 students during each instructional period. The goal for each student on my roster is to become fully integrated into their regular education classroom with or without varying levels and types of special education support and services. 

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    My teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that learning is a continuum and a culmination of skills. My lessons and the student programs (IEPs) are skill-based and guided by the PA Standards for learning. Students are active participants in their learning. 

    Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn. - Benjamin Franklin

     
Apple on books

  • I utilize an array of teaching strategies to differentiate the instruction and implement each IEP with fidelity. Some of these strategies include:

    • Direct Instruction (DI): DI is a model for teaching that emphasizes well-developed and carefully planned lessons designed around small learning increments and clearly defined and prescribed teaching tasks. It is based on the theory that clear instruction, eliminating misinterpretations, can greatly improve and accelerate learning. Direct instruction is teacher centered and focused on helping students learn basic skills and information.
    • Multisensory Approaches to Learning: This involves the use of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactile pathways to enhance learning.
    • Approaches to Learning through Play: This involves students exploring, investigating, practicing, and experimenting with skills through playing.
    • Text Talk: Text Talk is an interactive read-aloud, but it is much more structured than just picking up a book and discussing it as you read. Text Talk is a strategy, “... in which the teacher intersperses reading with open questions and discussion and follows each story with explicit vocabulary instruction” (Brenda A. Shearer, 2019).

    For all curriculum-based lessons, I use and follow the Fundations: Wilson Language Basics Phonics Program; Equipped for Reading Success by David Kilpatrick; Moving with Math Learning System from Math Teacher's Press, Inc; McGraw-Hill Language Arts and Mathematics curriculum (Grades K-5); and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Much of our academic learning stems from teacher-created resources that allow for flexibility and adaptations to be readily available for each student. Then, embedded in the daily instruction, students work on skills directly related to their IEP goals.