Z Competency 3

A special education teacher is planning instruction for an elementary student with moderate intellectual disabilities. For the student to make maximum gains, which education approach should the teacher consider?

• include fun arts and craft activities throughout

• drill and practice daily living skills

• incorporate community-based instruction as part of a functional curriculum

• focus on guided discovery learning

During a co-teaching lesson, the special education teacher observed two 4th grade students from the same cultural background having difficulty paying attention during read-alouds. The special education teacher is concerned that the students may have undiagnosed attention disorders. Which of the following should the teacher consider first as she reflects on the two students in the culturally diverse reading class?

• Development of the student’s expressive vocabulary skills may not be at a place to benefit from read-alouds.

• Manifestations of learning disabilities are different in students from different cultures.

• Teacher expectations may be lower for the two students than other students.

• Student’s culture influence how they learn and may not be compatible with stories chosen by the teacher.

A student with a learning disability in Mrs. Thomas’s 3rd grade science class is having difficulty retaining information. In collaboration with the science teacher to aid the student with memory, Mrs. Thomas is using mental techniques in her lessons, such as keywords, rhymes, and jingles as cues and to organize information. These techniques are known as...

• Social Stories

• Problem Based Learning

• Cognitive Modification

• mnemonics

Martha is a 5th grade student with a mild intellectual disability. She says she always fails her assignments and tests. Her teacher struggles with getting her to complete assignments during class. Of the options below, what should Martha’s teacher consider when planning for her?

• Request assignments from a 2nd grade teacher since Martha is reading at a 2nd -3rd grade level.

• Give Martha the same assignment until she masters it.

• Consider providing assignments in Martha’s Zone of Proximal Development

• Focus on a functional and life skills curriculum.

In order to change the school climate and structure by implementing full inclusion practices, the following mission statement was chosen: Educators will ensure that all students are welcome and seen as contributing and valued members of the school community. What type of grouping does the above mission exemplify?

• Readiness grouping

• homogeneous grouping

• heterogeneous grouping

• student selected grouping

Ms. Kelly, a special education teacher, uses task analysis to instruct her students with disabilities. Which of the following is the best rationale for using this approach?

• Complex instructional tasks are delivered in a sequence of smaller reachable steps and activities to encourage achievement

• Students learning to evaluate given task will become an independent skill for students

• Difficult instruction is provided to groups of students without individualizing

• Students learn to organize related part of diverse task

Mr. Bush, an elementary school social worker, is planning a social skills lesson for a group of students with special needs. To ensure an effective lesson, the social worker should confirm that the play-act and training activities

• address the student’s behaviors directly

• is applicable to the students’ lives and are age appropriate

• Include music and a jingle

• are student generated with no guidance

A special education teacher observes the paraprofessional working with a student. She experienced difficulties and did not adequately support the student’s needs. The teacher’s next step should include which of the following actions?

• Direct the para to an online site about research based-strategies and techniques.

• Report the situation to the administrator

• Demonstrate the operative method of working with the students

• Request another paraprofessional that can better support the students

A middle school administrator is implementing the backward design model for lesson planning. Which of the following is an advantage for using this model to plan lessons for a special education class?

• It is based on a student’s style of learning and interest

• It includes extended direct instruction and diverse applications or problems

• It allows students to demonstrate that they are focused and following along

• It begins with the end goal and aligns all activities, instruction and practices

Mr. Smith is planning an 8th grade lesson on the Articles of Confederation. He knows that he will have to build on student’s background knowledge to focus their attention on the upcoming instructional objectives. Which of the following elements of a lesson plan is most important to accomplish the task?

• Engage/Activity Hook

• Independent practice

• Direct Instruction

• Guided Practice