So this year my class was selected to participate in an ipad pilot program. We received 5 new ipads for our classroom .....yay!
As part of the pilot program we are using a standards based curriculum ( yes, I said the word curriculum) designed specifically for children with special needs. This weekend I attended my first official training and HOLY COW! I am so excited! When I made the transition from teaching first grade general education to teaching in a self contained classroom the first thing I asked my principal was what curriculum I follow.....he basically said, "whatever you want". Uh.....excuse me? This did not sit well and since then I have been searching and making things and combing bits of pieces of this and that and adding in some functional curriculum and hoping that I was doing the right thing. Well, so far I am super impressed with Unique Learning Systems. It has meaning and it's functional and academic and incredibly differentiated and it does so much to include EVERYONE regardless of the disability. I am still in the preliminary stages of implementation but so far it's amazing and I will have more more to post in the coming months......stay tuned! For those of you that are already using ULS please feel free to comment and provide suggestions. It's a lot to take in at first!
Oh....and here are some photos of my kids using the lessons. You can see in the photos the consistent use of photos and differentiation in material. Thank you Unique!
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Data tracking by use of pre and post assessments. |
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Lessons differentiated by use of pictures! Love it! |