Students need to be in a position to read and comprehend the things they learn in different subjects. Academic literacy gives students the capability to read, understand, and apply the diverse content acquired in various aspects of their lives. Learners are considered to have successfully performed in a subject if they can competently read, understand, and apply the reading skills without any or little guidance (Terrel, 2016). However, a significant number of students in middle school and high school experience difficulty in acquiring academic literacy. The challenge is experienced by both competent readers as well as those who have difficulty reading and understanding content (Terrel, 2016). Despite these challenges, there is no course that offers explicitly instruction on how students can overcome this problem. Conducted research indicates that about one in every student in high school and middle school reach the required benchmark qualifications, especially in reading college proficiency. The proficiency level in reading is even lower for special needs students; they are three to four grades below their peers in their reading proficiency (Centre, 2008).
ELA educators and specialists need to provide more than just a third instruction that is usually offered. The fundamental reading skills might be acquired through this instruction, but fluency and capability to decode words require more guidance. It is essential for educators in all fields to integrate literacy learning in their education. While teaching ELA in an ICT class, the educator needs to emphasize not only on the use of technology but also on the swift propagation of assistive technology tools (Urquhart & Frazee, 2012). The area of assistive technology tools, especially in educating special needs students, is still undergoing research due to the differences in age, disability, and austerity. The use of assistive technology tools in instructing ELA in the classroom has shown significant progress and benefits. Educators should be more accommodative and inclusive in the things they utilize in the learning environment (Urquhart & Frazee, 2012). When dealing with special needs students the instructor can implement strategies like increasing the allocated time for reading and writing, ensuring the learning environment is comfortable, providing unlimited access to learning tools, encouraging the students to create a reading and writing reinforcement target, consulting with occupational therapists in order to formulate where personalized adaptations can be made in the classroom to make learning more comfortable for the special needs students (Centre, 2008).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The learning instructor can also write the prompts used in teaching is a simplified language, use color code to draw attention to the key phrases or words, adjusting gradually from simple checklists and graphic organizers to those that are elaborate. The teacher should also hand out copies of the lesson objectives, checklists, strategies, and graphic organizers to allow them to have an idea of what the course will involve. Special needs students will also require personalized spelling lists based on the severity of an individual to assist them in their weak areas. During the ELA lessons, the educator can assist students individually based on the area they are struggling in like handwriting, reading, or writing. Re-teaching the subject and using personalized strategies will also greatly help in memorizing the content hence making it stick. If students show they have mastered a particular skill like using the keyboard in a word processor, the instructor can allow them to use it under supervision. The special needs students depending on their disability can also be permitted to transcribe text through the use of voice recognition software.
The IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) endorsed the establishment of the Response to Intervention (RTI) process in 2004. The RTI was recommended as a teaching strategy for special needs students in school districts (Ness, 2009). The RTI makes use of different tiers in its approach to assist both the teachers and the struggling or special needs students (Centre, 2008). The RTI approach is better structured than other instruction strategies as it goes the extra mile to ensure that students fully understand the learning content. This approach aims at identifying the areas a student is struggling with during the initial stages before they turn into barriers to education (Ness, 2009). RTI approach works hand in hand with the other instruction techniques to provide the students with the extra help needed to comprehend the lessons thoroughly. When instructing special needs students in an ICT class, the instructor can incorporate the RTI approach to provide students with the extra support they need in various areas. The RTI and the other teaching strategies can be personalized to meet the demands of each and every student (Ness, 2009).
References
Center, A. (2008). Teaching writing to diverse student populations. LD Online .
Ness, M. K. (2009). Reading comprehension strategies in secondary content area classrooms: Teacher use of and attitudes towards reading comprehension instruction. Reading Horizons , 49 (2), 143-166.
Terrell, M. (2016). Quick Guide: Universal Design for Learning in Secondary Education. National Technical Assistance Center on Transition .
Urquhart, V., & Frazee, D. (2012). Teaching reading in the content areas: If not me, then who? . ASCD.
