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Learning Support Binder
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Situation
I have a student who is pulled out of class for learning support remediation with a reading specialist, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. It seems like her schooling is so “disjointed.” When the teachers and therapists come to my room, I rarely have time to tell them what we are working on and how they can help. How can I make these pull-out sessions more meaningful and improve communication between team members?
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Summary
Try a Learning Support Binder. The binder should be accessible to all teachers and therapists. Prepare the binder weekly with materials that support staff may be able to use in their individual sessions. How you organize the binder will help to communicate priorities and lead to greater transfer of skills for the student. For example, a speech therapist may be able to use a vocabulary list during articulation practice, an OT may be able to use a spelling list to work on penmanship, a reading specialist may be able to work on a current writing assignment, and a learning support teacher may assist in completing study guides while working on study skills.
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Definition
A Learning Support Binder is a binder prepared by the teacher and maintained by the team members. It includes current lesson plans, worksheets, spelling lists, projects, assignments, etc. It should also have a section for communication between team members. It allows all support team members to incorporate classroom plans into individualized sessions resulting in a cohesive educational experience.
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Quick Facts
- Child's Age: 6-10, 11-13, 14-17
- Planning Effort: Moderate
- Difficulty Level: Moderate
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Pre-requisites
Preparation of lesson plans and materials in advance, binder with dividers
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Process
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Prepare a Learning Support Binder with dividers for all or key subject areas.
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On Friday (or when it is convenient for you and your team) put lesson plans, worksheets, spelling lists, projects, assignments, etc. that you will be using throughout the week into the binder.
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Establish a routine with all team members in which they check and take the Learning Support Binder for their individual sessions.
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Establish a system for using the binder as a means of communicating priorities.
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You may want to have the student’s IEP at a Glance included for easy reference. See the description of an IEP at a Glance on this website.
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Documents and Related Resources
Sample IEP Glance (PDF)
IEP at a Glance template (Word document)
IEP At a Glance (link to related situation on this site)
IEP at a Glance (Watson institute Resource)
Consultant/Author: Vanessa Thomas, BCBA, LBS
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