Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Julia Kaufman
University of Kansas
SPED 775 IEP Assignment 2
Student Description
Susan is a ten-year old girl, who is currently in fifth grade. She was diagnosed with
Autism last year, but is identified under the category: Specific Learning Disability. Her father is
active duty army and is currently deployed overseas in Korea. This is her second year at Bradley
Elementary. We re-evaluated her last year in October. She currently qualifies for Speech-
Language services, math direct instruction, and direct instruction in on-task strategies. There
In terms of academics and communication, Mom reported that the supports used in the
school setting (repeated practice and review) are helpful for Susan when they study at
home. The academic information reported by the team is consistent with what she sees at home.
Susan really has to slow down and think about speaking clearly. Mom reported that both the
Doctor and Orthodontist report that Susan has large tonsils and tongue for her overall size and
age.
Susan's voice, fluency, and overall vocabulary skills are within normal limits when
compared to same-aged peers. Susan initiates and interacts with peers and adults appropriately
within her educational environment. Given formal testing: Susan's articulation skills, expressive,
and receptive language skills are below average when compared to same-aged peers, which
impacts her ability to clearly and effectively express herself and understand information
presented to her within her educational environment. She currently receives speech-language
Academic testing showed that Susan does not require direct services in the area of
reading. She does, however, require accommodations including read aloud of assessments, small
group testing for assessments in all core subjects, and extended time on reading assignments.
SPED 775 IEP Assignment 3
benefit her. Susan has a strength in the area of writing and does not require direct services or
Assessments show that Susan has deficiencies in the areas of multiplication, division, and
fractions (identifying on a number line, conversion to decimals, comparing). Susan also shows
deficits in the area of math fact fluency and, at the time of testing, was unable to solve 2-step
problems in any addition or subtraction situation within 100. Additionally, she has difficulty
with skip counting within 1000 by fives, tens, and hundreds and comparing two 3-digit numbers
using standard symbols, emphasizing the meanings of hundreds, tens, and one. She currently
receives one hour of direct instruction, per day, in special education setting.
Susan works well with peers. She does best in the small group setting and is most
successful when she is able to write down what is being taught to her. She benefits from CLOZE
notes, example problems and sentences, and the opportunity to show her work.
Susan has shown an inability to stay on task in the classroom. She averages 52% on task
behavior. She is observed looking around and not focusing on the task at hand. Susan often
misses important instruction when she is not focused. She misses important instructions and,
subsequently, classwork. In order to increase her time-on-task in the classroom, Susan receives
20 minutes, twice a week, of direct instruction in the special education classroom. She receives
30 minutes, daily, of para support in the general education setting to generalize the on task and
SPED 775 IEP Assignment 4
Student Observation
I was able to observe the student from 10:20 11:00 in her fifth grade general education
classroom. During my observation the class was breaking into small groups to read from the
story Frindle. Whole group directions were given, general education teacher did not chunk
instruction or check for Susans understanding, listed accommodations and discussed with
teacher at IEP at a Glance meeting. Susan appeared to enjoy working with her two friends in the
classroom (smiling, said, Im glad we get to work together) and choose them as her group
members. When they were asked to break into small groups, the three came together quickly.
She was doodling pictures of people and shapes on the journal page they were supposed to be
writing notes on as she was listening to her group members read. Although she was doodling,
when it was time for her to read she knew where to start and was able to start without delay.
Susan read with voice, expression, and accuracy. The students were required to write
three things per chapter that they felt were important details for the sequence of the story and one
vocabulary word that they used context clues to define. Susan wrote the wrong definition for
one of the vocabulary words, but had another vocabulary word defined correctly. Susan had
three important and relevant details about the sequence of the story included in her notes, even
with the presence of doodling. Notes were easy to read, but the observer noted three
misspellings. She contributed her sequence notes to the group when they asked what she wrote
down. Group had similar notes taken. Observations are concurrent with students IEP and
During the transition time, approximately ten minutes, Susan was observed transitioning
from small group reading to individual Lexia work time. Lexia is completed on the one-to-one
Chromebook each student is provided in fifth grade. Directions were given to the whole class
SPED 775 IEP Assignment 5
and Susan was observed looking around and not cleaning up for approximately 45 seconds. She
began cleaning up when she was asked to by the teacher, individually. Once she was asked by
the teacher she put away her book and spiral and got out her Chromebook. She did not go to the
Lexia site. Susan sat waiting for approximately one minute, looking around specifically, out
the window.
The teacher prompted Susan to begin Lexia, Susan asked how she gets to Lexia, teacher
asked student what she remembered from logging on to Lexia yesterday. Student said she could
use the bookmark on her chrome browser. Teacher gave positive feedback for Susan coming up
with how to get to Lexia on her own. Student then went to Lexia using the bookmark and used
her technology key ring (with passwords and usernames typed and laminated by observer) to
login. Once she logged on, she was engaged in the reading program when the focus was fluency
and vocabulary.
Observer went and looked at Lexia Core5 results student does well with fluency and
vocabulary, but not passage comprehension. General Ed teacher noted that she sees student
looking off into the distance, appearing unfocused when Lexia is assessing passage
The observer noted the following things, that directly relate to the implementation and
creation of the students IEP. We must ensure that general education teacher understands
accommodations built into IEP specifically: read directions aloud and restate directions in all
core classes when written and oral directions are given, Susan will be given initial directions
with all students, then individually asked for understanding. If she does not understand then
directions will be given out loud for her individually and restated for her individually, not to
SPED 775 IEP Assignment 6
The observer came up with a few plans to ensure the proper implementation and
creation of her IEP. The first plan is to review accommodations with general education teacher
and model accommodation, check for understanding by observing during another transition time.
Ensure that general education teacher understands Susans chunking accommodation and how
The second plan is to model chunking (3 or more step directions) into 2 steps at a time for
the . For example: For example: whole class, put away your book, get out your spiral and a
pencil, begin free writing. Chunked for student: put away your book (direction 1, wait for
completion), get out your spiral and a pencil (direction 2, wait for completion), and begin free
writing (direction 3). The student will be provided with direct instruction (during SLANT time)
on how to use her personal visual schedule, as well as the whole class visual schedule. The
teacher will help the the student practice using a visual schedule during math minutes, as well as
SLANT time. Have paraprofessional observe visual schedule lesson on Tuesday, have
It is important to note that Susan was observed as being motivated by getting to work
with her friends and also by drawing time. Susan expressed interest in reading ghost stories and
SPED 775 IEP Assignment 7
MAPS Analysis
I conducted an interview with the parent, the student, and the general education teacher
prior to the IEP meeting to determine the goals, hopes, and dreams of the student in order to
compose a complete IEP. We began by discussing the dreams the student has for herself, the
dreams her mother has for her, as well as the dreams the general education and special education
teacher have for the student. Then we discussed the students strengths, needs, goals, and supports
The team was clear about the dreams they have for the student. The parent expressed that
she would like to see the student increase focus, ability to follow multi-step directions, and make
inferences in assignments, reading, and real life situations. The general education teacher agrees.
Mom would also like the student to make more friends and feel more comfortable in social
situations. Both mom and the teachers would like to see the student more focused. The student
would like to be more focused in class, get better at math, and be an artist when she grows up.
The students strengths were cohesive among the team. The parent expressed that the
student is a kinesthetic and visual learner, which is congruent with what the student feels are her
strengths. The student noted that she is great at drawing pictures, reading, and writing stories. She
enjoys playing with her friends Celeste and Trent at recess and eating with them at lunch. Art, PE,
science, and writing are her favorite subjects. Per the teachers, mom, and student: she is a great
note taker and benefits from taking notes in all subjects. She grasps concepts easily, when she is
The team was able to come up with a detailed list of the students needs in order to
determine the best supports and goals for the student. The parent expressed that the student has
deficits in the area of vocabulary and making inferences within assignments. The teachers agreed,
SPED 775 IEP Assignment 8
but feels that focus hinders her ability to make inferences based on information given (she misses
information). Per the special education and general education teacher, as well as mom, the student
struggles with the higher level thinking that comes with completing math problems involving
multiplication, division, and especially word problems. All noted that she has difficulty following
multiple-step directions. The student stated that she has trouble staying focused when directions
are lengthy or the reading is longer than a page or two. She would like to do better in social studies
and math, especially math. While the student has a few good friends; she did note that she has been
The team was able to determine several goals to help teach Susan specific math skills so
that she may be successful in the general education classroom: multiply and divide multi-digit
numbers, add, subtract, and compare fractions with different denominators, solve multi-step
word problems, including elapsed time. For the area of social skills and speech, the team came
up with the following goals: increase on-task behavior, self-monitor on-task behavior, follow
multi-step directions, decrease the time it takes her to solve an in class or homework problem,
make inferences about a sentence, paragraph, or short story, and improve speech sounds.
In addition to goals, the team discussed supports for the student to help her reach the goals
set out. In math, sixty minutes per day in the special education classroom. For social: ten minutes
per day over four days, for speech: thirty minutes twice a week. Several accommodations and
modifications were discussed: checks for understanding, explicit directions, removal of required
inferences in directions and expectations, CLOZE notes, read aloud of test materials, extra time
for assignments and assessments, assistance with organization of desk and notes, multi-step
directions will be chunked, and the use of timer watch. The meeting was productive and
SPED 775 IEP Assignment 9
Reflection
In the past two years as a special education teacher I have learned a lot about what it
means to be a special education teacher and advocate. It is my personal opinion that the purpose
of adaptive special education (resource setting) is to teach students the skills they need in order
to be successful in the general education classroom and curriculum. These skills can be
everything from social skills, to mathematics skills, to decoding, fluency, comprehension skills,
and beyond. I have found that the most difficult part of my job is finding the balance in para
support, pull out minutes, accommodations, and modifications. Personally, I do not feel that
but instead require direct, small group instruction in a resource setting in addition to support in
the general education classroom to generalize those skills. It is essential that Individualized
Education Plans look at the balance between settings, have well written present levels and goals,
Susan, my IEP student, requires direct instruction in the area of math and on-task /
organization skills. She is unable to progress in the general education math curriculum because
of her specific learning disability, causing deficits in problem solving and computation. The
direct instruction that she receives in the special education room addresses her deficient and
provides her with the skill arsenal she needs to be successful. In the resource room, my
knowledge of her disability helps me to tailor individual instruction to meet her needs. It is
essential that when a teacher is determining time support for students they keep in mind exposure
to the general education curriculum, as well as ability to generalize the skills theyve learned.
Susan is currently pulled for part of her general education math time, but participates in
the thirty-minute math intervention group in her fifth grade classroom. This provides her
SPED 775 IEP Assignment 10
exposure to the curriculum, which will help reduce the gap between what she knows and what
she will be expected to know. When students do not have access or exposure to the general
education classroom material the gap between what the student knows and what they need to
know will perpetually get wider. In order to ensure that this does not happen, the special
education teacher must create an Individualized Education Plan that has specific present levels or
performance, measurable and appropriate annual goals, and instruction times that will support
In order to compose an accurate IEP, that encompasses the aforementioned qualities, the
teacher must start with a thorough evaluation report. A thorough evaluation report comes from a
team approach. While interviews and observations are essential, they are not enough. The
school psychologist must conduct the appropriate testing, the special education teacher must
conduct the appropriate testing, and the general education teacher must provide information
regarding the students day to day abilities. It is extremely frustrating when I receive IEPs with
evaluation reports consisting of only general education grades, district, and state assessments.
While these data points can be included in a report, they do not give me nearly enough
information as to the students abilities and deficits. For my evaluations I complete a variety of
Curriculum Based Measure assessments depending on the students needs. I use ezCBM for
math assessments, fluency, vocabulary assessments. I use the CORE Reading Measures for an
array of measures that assess a students reading ability. I use the Quick Phonics Screener and
Phonological Awareness Skills Test, as needed. By collecting multiple data points I am able to
When assessing Susan for her annual I assessed her using Curriculum Based Measures
assessing numbers and operations, numbers, operations, and algebras, as well as measurement
SPED 775 IEP Assignment 11
and geometry. I also created assessment to determine her progress towards her specific goals.
These assessments helped me to track her progress, update her goals to match her current present
levels, and determine if her current service times are providing her adequate support to meet her
After collaboration with her general education teacher and collecting observational data, I
was able to write specific and detailed accommodations for Susan. For example: Multi-step
directions will be chunked, anytime two step or more directions are provided they will be
presented in no more than one step chunks. This will be done in all core classes, until all steps of
the task have been completed. These accommodations are what will help Susan generalize the
skills shes learned and provide her the support she needs to make progress in the general
education classroom.
It is my goal that anyone who picks up Susans IEP will know exactly where she is
performing, what we are working on, and how to best support her in any setting. This is
especially important with the population that I work with. My students move every year to three
years. I do my best to ensure that each student leaves with an IEP that gives the next school an
exact picture of the student, so they can hit the ground running.
Feedback
Per grades page: Julia - you are missing the MAPS picture as part of your final product.
SPED 775 IEP Assignment 12