Different Instructional Materials

For children with Intellectual Disability and

Down Syndrome

Individualized Educational Plan (IEP)

A plan of long-term goals, objectives, activities, materials for instruction, resources, and evaluation created by the SPED specialist in close collaboration with other specialists to ensure mastery learning for the individual child with special needs.

Lesson Plans

A plan of objectives, materials for instruction, activities and evaluation devised by the teacher to ensure appropriate and sound learning experiences for students.

Group instructional materials Refer to multisensory aids teachers use when teaching a concept to the entire class. These include audio visual aids such as concrete objects, audiotapes, etc.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR GROUP INSTRUCTION

Because children are naturally concrete learners, they retain and respond better to lessons when presented alongside audio or visual aids.

It is advisable to collect as many materials as possible to make presentations more interesting and meaningful instructional materials can be divided into 3 groups:

Individualized Instructional Materials

Refer to multisensory materials teachers use in individualized instruction. These include manipulative, didactic materials, pictures, audiotapes, etc.

WORKSHEETS

 Paper and pencil activities that are supplemental to academic concepts prepared by the teacher prior to the class.

Educational Toys

Materials for play children can engage in freely or with some intervention from the teacher.

Resource books
Refer to reference books, textbooks, workbooks, activity books wherein the teacher can draw information and activities from for class instruction.

Materials for Creative Activities Refer to musical instruments, sound makers, art materials and supplies used in creative activities.

LESSON PLANS AND THE INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATIONAL PLAN (IEP)

Before instruction, the teachers are expected to prepare a plan for the activities he/she intends to do with the class. Planning for lessons helps the teacher visualize the flow or instruction, approximate the reaction of the class and lead to properly design activities that are appropriate, enjoyable and educationally sound. It is the teachers vision of how a lesson is to unfold.

ContLESSON PLANS AND THE INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATIONAL PLAN (IEP)

IEPs are specially designed for the child with special needs. It indicates the skills and concepts he/she needs to learn within a given time frame. A child being mainstreamed/included, will be joining the rest of the class during group instruction. This does not mean, however, that the childs IEP will be ignored or shelved. It is frequently consulted to incorporate his/her individual needs in the group instruction lesson plan. Indicate such provisions in the lesson plan.

ContLESSON PLANS AND THE INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATIONAL PLAN (IEP) It is important to note that lessons or other activities should not be sacrificed because the inclusion of the child with special needs in the classroom. However, because certain adaptations in the lessons and activities have to be made for the child, these should be based on the specifications from the IEP

Real Objects
The most ideal visual aids to present to children, these can be actual objects or 3-dimensional representations of actual objects (e.g. stuffed animals, plastic toys, and the like). As these materials can be handled and manipulated, it makes learning more concrete and tangible, the concept easier to digest. For instance, in teaching the letter T, the teacher can bring real objects that start with the letter T such as t-shirt, tabo, toothbrush, or turtle (it can be a stuffed toy, but a live one would be more interesting for the children). Place it inside a box where the children can reach in and get the objects themselves. It will feed their curiosity and the dramatic presentation will motivate them to participate more actively in the lesson. By letting them handle and touch the objects while verbally telling them the sound of letter T, is an example of a multi-sensory approach to instruction.

Pictures
Whenever real objects are unavailable or inconvenient to use (ex. R for refrigerator), pictures are the next best thing. It can, and should, also be used alongside the real objects for emphasis. These can be cut out from newspapers, magazines, or posters. Models for drawings can be taken from pictures in textbooks or workbooks.

Videos and other multimedia materials.

The children of today have grown up watching television or playing video games in the computer. Teachers can use these tools or language as a means to reach out to children and motivate them to participate in class. The teacher has the responsibility of choosing and screening the videos and making sure that it teaches the right values and is educationally appropriate for the lesson.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION

The mainstreamed/included child will need some individualized instruction in one or more subjects. Adaptations in the instruction are more apparent in this framework. Possible materials for individualized instruction are real objects, manipulatives, didactic materials, flashcards of letters, numbers or pictures, counters or other small objects, etc. In developing such materials, it is important to remember that children are naturally concrete learners.

Real objects, in addition to the ones already introduced in class, may be used to reinforce lessons if the is still unable to grasp a concept previously presented.

Didactic materials teach the child concepts and skills through tactile and visual stimulation. It is constructed so that the child can manipulate it independently or with minimal guidance from the teacher. It is self-correcting and selfteaching. Examples of such materials are insets, puzzles, shape sorters, etc.

Manipulatives also teach the child concepts of skills but need more guidance from the teacher than in didactic materials. Activities using manipulatives are clipping clothes pins around a container rim, transferring small objects from one container to the other, large stuffed letters, etc.

Flashcards of letters, numbers and pictures are also used in group instruction but when these are developed for individualized instruction, it is of a smaller scale. Pictures do not necessarily have to be the same size as ones used for the entire class. It should be of a comfortable size for easy handling. It must also be durable as it will be manipulated a lot by the child.

Counters or small objects for counting are essential materials for students who are at the beginnings of understanding concept of numbers. Counters can be popsicle sticks, aquarium pebbles, small garden stones, shell macaroni, wooden beads, plastic figurines, etc. Be sure that it is big enough not be swallowed yet small enough for easy manipulation and storage.

Educational Toys
Provide toys in the classroom where the students can have learning experiences from Toys such as blocks, balls, lutolutuan, puppets, etc. encourage children to think and explore the possibilities of their environment. Careful screening of the toys by the principal and teachers are important because there are now many toys available in the market. Consult the SPED specialist for specific toys for the mainstreamed/included child.

Worksheets
Worksheets are common supplemental activities to concept learning because they are simple to make and easy to administer. Worksheets can be photocopied from activity books or other sources. However, certain worksheets have to be modified to make it appropriate for the mainstreamed child.

Resource Books
Every school must build a substantial collection of resource books. These are valuable sources of information, ideas, activities and pictures that teachers can draw from year after year. School administration should support acquisition of such books as these will facilitate and make materials production easier for the teachers.

Materials For Creative Activities

Art materials and supplies are essentials in any classroom. Though these may be expensive and easily depleted, the output of the children and their multisensory experience with it, more often than not, is worth any amount of money that the school gives to maintain it. However, to make the activities more accessible, the school can look for alternatives and find cheaper sources for materials to save on cost.

Musical instruments are quite expensive and so the school may be a little wary to have the students just freely use it. At the barest minimum, a keyboard can be provided for the children to make simple tunes on. Use of the instruments can be a reward for good work or behavior. Other soundmakers, such as rattles made from tin cans or bottles filled with water, are cheap alternatives to actual musical instruments that the teacher can easily make.

Materials for games. These are many games that can be played in the classroom that do not need specially prepared materials. However, these can be easily improvised with readily available materials in classroom or at home.

PEGS & PEGBOARD S

WHO:

Fitzgerald Key