Special Education Supports

Cody loves to tell stories but has a hard time putting his words down on paper. When his teacher assigns a two-page paper, she allows Cody to write one or two paragraphs instead.

• Accommodation

• Modification

Answer explanation

Cody's teacher allows him to write one or two paragraphs instead of a two-page paper, which is a modification. This accommodates Cody's difficulty in putting his words down on paper.

Anya has a learning disability. She has difficulty processing the information her teacher covers in class and consequently taking good notes. To help her be successful, the teacher provides her with a guided notes for each lesson.

• Accommodation

• Modification

Answer explanation

Anya's teacher provides her with guided notes as an accommodation to help her process information and take good notes.

Cévon, a student with ADHD, struggles to stay focused and to organize his time. When his teacher assigns a long-term project, she breaks the task into smaller pieces, requiring Cévon to complete each of them by a given date.

• Accommodation

• Modification

Answer explanation

Cévon's teacher breaking the project into smaller pieces is an accommodation, helping him stay focused and organized. This supports his needs as a student with ADHD.

Anabelle’s class has been working on multiplication. Although the focus has been on multiplying three-digit numbers by two-digit numbers, Anabelle has been working on multiplication facts. For the test, her teacher creates a different test for Anabelle with different types of problems.

• Accommodation

• Modification

Answer explanation

Anabelle's teacher created a different test for her, which is a modification to accommodate her needs. This highlights the correct choice, 'Modification'.

Danica, a student with a learning disability (LD), struggles with writing. Her teacher assigns the following class project: research a planet using a minimum of three sources and then write a five-paragraph essay about that planet. Because Danica produces few complete sentences and ideas when given a writing task, her teacher implements several types of support to help her complete the assignment.

The teacher reminds Danica to use TREE (Topic sentence, Reason, Explanation, Ending), a mnemonic device students can use to organize their ideas.

• Accommodation

• Modification

• Strategy/ Intervention

Answer explanation

The teacher implements several types of support, including the mnemonic device TREE, to help Danica complete the assignment. This strategy/intervention helps Danica organize her ideas and improve her writing skills.

Danica, a student with a learning disability (LD), struggles with writing. Her teacher assigns the following class project: research a planet using a minimum of three sources and then write a five-paragraph essay about that planet. Because Danica produces few complete sentences and ideas when given a writing task, her teacher implements several types of support to help her complete the assignment.

The teacher shortens the expectations of the writing assignment to one paragraph containing three facts.

• Accommodation

• Modification

• Strategy/ Intervention

Answer explanation

The teacher shortens the writing assignment to one paragraph containing three facts, which is a modification for Danica's writing needs.

Sam, a high school student with an intellectual disability, reads at a 2nd-grade level. Because he has difficulty with decoding words, he is not able to read fluently enough to comprehend the grade-level text. His special education teacher has noticed that he typically understands and remembers the information that she presents orally. For this reason, his teacher implements several types of support to help him succeed in the classroom.

The teacher allows Sam to use text-to-speech software for grade-level materials, which allows the text to be read to him.

• Accommodation

• Modification

• Strategy/ Intervention

Answer explanation

Sam's teacher allows him to use the tool, text-to-speech software, as an accommodation (similar to if the teacher were to read this aloud for him). This helps him comprehend grade-level text by reading it aloud to him.