Accommodations are provisions made in how the student accesses the curriculum and

demonstrates their learning. The instructional level, content and success criteria are
unchanged. While with modifications the expectations, content and success criteria are
changed to provide the student with an opportunity to participate and gain a meaningful
learning experience. As nice quote to explain the difference between accommodation
and modification is as follow;

Accommodations level the playing field while

Modifications change the field your playing on.
http://www.sps.springfield.ma.us/deptsites/pac/cont
ents/Accomadations.pdf
Provide an example of a modification using Ontario Curriculum

expectations - make sure to provide the grade level for the

student and then what the modification might be in one
subject area.
Take the case of a a student who by their age is in grade 2, but
they are doing either grade 1 or grade 3 level work. They would
need to be modified for this student. The modified expectations
reflect knowledge and skills required in the curriculum from a
different grade level with an increasing or decreasing of the
number and/or complexity of the regular grade level curriculum
expectations. Some students may require modification that result
in reduced expectations so that they will not qualify for a credit
for the course. For those in gifted or enhanced education, a
modification may go beyond the curriculum scope and still
permits a credit to be earned.
What criteria do you need to use to determine what strengths

and needs will be recorded on a student's I.E.P.? What is the

purpose of the strengths and needs on the IEP?
The criteria used to used to determine what strengths and needs will
be recorded from the IPRC statement within the actual IEP, come from
analysis of the assessment data about the students learning strengths
and needs. Form the IEP

A RESOURCE GUIDE, 2004 (p23)

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/guide/resource/iepr
esguid.pdf they suggest to include information relating to the following:
the students preferred learning styles/modalities (e.g.,
visual/auditory/
kinesthetic learner)
previously acquired learning skills (e.g., organizational skills;
time management
skills)
strengths in areas such as cognitive processing and
communication
(e.g., expressive language speaking)
In some cases, it may be appropriate to include information
relating to the
students personal characteristics, hobbies or interests, and nonacademic
accomplishments, but such information is insufficient on its own.
The description of the students areas of need should make
evident the reasons
that the student requires a special education program and/or
services.
When indicating the students areas of need, it is appropriate to
include
information such as the following:
broad cognitive and/or processing challenges (e.g., in the area
of visual
memory)
skill deficits that relate to the students exceptionality and/or
interfere
with his or her ability to learn (e.g., in areas such as social skills,
attention,
emotional control, expressive language writing)
It is not appropriate to include information about what the student
needs or
what the student needs to do , such as the following:
the need for a type or level of human support (e.g., the student
needs a
teachers assistant or the student needs one-to-one assistance)

 the need for a specific program or service (e.g., the student needs
speech
therapy)
the need for improvement in a particular subject (e.g., the student
needs
to improve his or her math skills)
For most exceptionalities, the areas of need do not change significantly
over time.
The purpose of the strength and needs on the IEP is to create a link
between the assessment data and the students strengths and needs
in a practical sense for the people that be reviewing and implementing
the IEP.

How do you develop annual program goals and specific learning

expectations (remember- this is for modified subjects and/or

alternative programs only) that are relevant to that student?
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/iep/iep.pdf
page 9
The development and the annual program goals and specific
learning expectations for a modified subject are goals that the
student can reasonably be expected to accomplish by the end of
the school year in a particular subject, course or skill area. Both
parents and teachers use these learning expectations to gauge
the student progess towards the students annual goals. From the

Individual
Education Plans

Standards for Development,

Program Planning, and
Implementation , p 10
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/iep

/iep.pdf
A representative sample of the students learning expectations in
each
subject, course, or skill area must be recorded in the IEP under
the following
circumstances:
if the student is working on modified expectations, as defined in
section 4.1
if the student is working on alternative expectations, as defined
in section 4.1
Learning expectations need not be recorded in the IEP if the
student is working
on provincial curriculum expectations at the regular grade level.
The learning expectations recorded in the IEP must:
be based on the students learning strengths and needs;
reflect learning that is focused on the students annual program
goals in
each subject, course, or skill area;
be clearly identified as modified or alternative expectations;
if modified, include identification of grade level;
describe specific, realistic, and observable achievements.
(p9)
4.2 Annual Program Goals
Purpose of the Standard
To inform the student, parents, and teachers of the goals towards
which the
student is progressing through the achievement of the learning
expectations
set out in the IEP
Requirements of the Standard
Annual goals are statements describing what a student can
reasonably be
expected to accomplish by the end of the school year in a
particular subject,
course, or skill area. Annual goals must be developed under the
following
circumstances:

 if the students learning expectations are modified from the

curriculum
expectations for a particular subject or course
if the students learning expectations are alternative
expectations
In the first case, the annual goals may be modified from the
overall expectations
outlined for a subject at a particular grade level, or for a
secondary
school course, in a curriculum policy document. In the second
case, they will
not be derived from the overall expectations, but will be
developed on the
basis of the students identified strengths and needs and will
constitute a summary
of the students alternative learning expectations.
.
What are ways you can involve both parents and students in the

creation of the IEP?

It is important to make this process of writing an IEP, clear to both
the parent and student with the language used free from inside
acronyms and jargon, empathic and with a focus on setting
realistic learning goals that are measurable and obtainable.
Create a warm and welcoming environment for the parent and
student, but introducing all the parties involved and dedicated to
helping their child.