Curriculum Laboratory Special Education Teaching Resources

For further assistance in using any of the resources in the Lab, please ask at the Curriculum Lab Information Services Desk

Define your topic, and check basic sources.

• 30 -- (ECS only) Mild to moderate communication disabilities /delay. Physical or medical disability. Multiple disability
• 41 -- severe cognitive disability
• 42 -- severe emotional/behavioral disability
• 43 -- severe multiple disability
• 44 -- severe physical or medical disability
• 45 -- deafness
• 46 -- blindness
• 47 -- (ECS only) child with severe delay involving language
• 51 -- mild mental disability
• 52 -- moderate mental disability
• 53 -- emotional/behavioral disability
• 54 -- learning disability
• 55 -- hearing disability
• 56 -- visual disability
• 57 -- communication disability
• 58 -- physical/medical disability
• 59 -- multiple disability
• 80 -- gifted or talented
  

Get relevant Alberta curriculum publications.

• The Curriculum Publication Chart is very useful to guide you through what types of documents are available in each subject. It is also posted on the ends of the Curriculum Publications library shelves.

• Normally, one would start this step by consulting the Elementary, Junior High and Senior High School Program of Studies binders, found at 375 General Alta. Gr. 1-6, Gr. 7-9. and Gr. 10-12, which mandates what must be taught in Alberta's schools. They serve as a starting point for all investigations of the Alberta school curriculum. But according to the Curriculum Publications chart, there is nothing on Special Education in the General Programs of Studies. 

• Other core curriculum documents, can be found under a variety of names, depending on the school subject:  e.g. Guide to Implementations, Illustrative Examples, Teacher Resource Manuals, Curriculum Guides, or Background, Exemplars and Resources. They provide suggestions on how to teach the mandated curriculum in the Program of Studies. 
• According to the Curriculum Publications Chart, there are "many specific topics" on "Programming for Students With Special Needs" (or in French under "Elabore pour les eleves ayant des besoins speciaux") There are 10 volumes under this title, found at 375 SpecEd Alta.:

1--Teaching for student differences
2--Essential and supportive skills for students with developmental disabilities
3--Individualized program plans (Rev.)
4--Teaching students who are deaf or hard of hearing
5--Teaching students with visual impairments
6--Teaching students with learning disabilities
7--Teaching students who are gifted and talented
8--Teaching students with emotional disorders and/or mental illness
9--Teaching students with autism spectrum disorders
10--Teaching students with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

• There is another special education series published by Alberta Education titled; "Essential components of educational programming for ...
  • ... students who are blind or visually impaired"
  • ... students with behaviour disabilities"
  • ... students with autism spectrum disorders"
  • ... students who are deaf or hard of hearing."

• Other curriculum documents of interest (beyond those mentioned already):

• Check on-line Curriculum document sources.
  
  There is no specific subject curriculum mandated for special education students.  Teachers must modify the existing curriculum in order to meet the needs of specific students with special needs.  For example, teachers might look at the Knowledge and Employability (formerly Integrated Occupational Program) curriculum in grades 7-12.  New programs of study are being developed for the KE academic core subjects.
  
  
  For other grades and subjects, there are many strategies that can be used to modify the instruction such as:  oral exams; tip sheets for different types of exams; clear homework assignments sent home; extra assignment time; use other student's notes; peer tutoring; and, individual instruction.
  
  The curriculum assignments can be modified in many ways, such as:  adapting textbooks by highlighting the key concepts; letting the students do reports in some other format than the traditional report, such as a movie, skit, poster, etc.; have students develop their own word bank or personal dictionary; learning templates such as a paragraph study sheet listing, "who, what, when. where, why, how," etc..
  
  These, and other practical ideas can be found using the search strategies outlined in the the rest of this handout, which include these books listed below:
  
  
  
  Murphy, D.A. & Meyers, C.C. & Olesen, S. & McKean, K. & Custer, S.H.  (1995).  Exceptions:  a handbook of inclusion activities for  teachers of  students at grades 6-12 with mild disabilities.  Longmont, CO.:  Sopris West.  CURLB 371.9 Exc Gr.6-12
  
   Duquette, Cheryll.  (2001).  Students at risk:  solutions to classroom challenges.  Markham, Ont.:  Pembroke Publishers.   CURLB 371.9046 Duq
  
  Edmonton Public Schools Resource Development Branch (1999). Combined grades manuals. Edmonton, AB. CURLB 372.242 Com. Contains a section on Instructional and Organizational Strategies, including adapting presentation and evaluation methods, etc.
  
  Edmonton Public Schools Resource Development Branch (2004). Critical learnings for students with special needs. Edmonton, AB. CURLB 371.9 Cri. The most critical curricular elements are identified for the major subjects, which are useful for developing IPP objectives, assessments etc. for special needs students.

Find basic and support resources recommended by Alberta Education.

The Curriculum Laboratory orders most resources which have been approved for use in the classroom by Alberta Education. We order these items from the Learning Resources Centre (LRC). To find out what resources are recommended by Alberta Education:

• Go to the Curriculum Laboratory main webpage.
• Click on the link, "Alberta Education Authorized Resources Database."
• You can select your "Curriculum Area," and "Grade Level."  The resulting long list of resources will include items such as student textbooks, teacher's manuals, student workbooks, blackline masters, test banks, other books, CD-ROMs, DVDs, distance education resources, etc.


• If you only want to find out which resources are considered the basic textbooks for that grade and subject, do the same search as above, except choose "Student Basic " from the "Authorization Status" menu.

There are no "basic" special education resources recommended by Alberta Education. However, some excellent search strategies for finding special education materials are outlined below, in steps 4 to 9.

Search the Library Catalogue.  For subject searches, start with "Subject Heading" (Library of Congress)  Search, and  browse the subject headings and "related subjects" which come up on the screen.  Start with the major topic first, remembering to always limit your search to the Location U of L - Curriculum Lab.  If you are having trouble finding appropriate resources, use some of the terms brainstormed in step #1.

"Individualized instruction," or "mainstreaming in education," or "mixed ability grouping in education" will give you access to many titles that give you strategies to modify your curriculum materials for different types of students.

"... with disabilities" seems to be the new preferred term used by the Library of Congress for library subject searches.  For example, the two broadest headings are, "children with disabilities" and "people with disabilities."

For the best results, type in a subject heading that is as specific as possible, i.e. "Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder," rather that "behavior disorders in children."  Only when the most specific subject heading is unfruitful, then try a broader subject heading.

Other subject headings are:

It can be very useful to integrate children's and young adult literature on any topic currently being taught in the classroom.  You can find relevant fiction on a specific topic by typing into the Library Catalogue the topic PLUS the word "fiction" behind it. For example, "people with disabilities fiction," or "blind fiction."  One of the other ways to find fiction about people with special needs is to use one of the bibliographical tools, such as:

Robertson, D.E.J.  (1992).  Portraying persons with disabilities:  an annotated bibliography of fiction for children and teenagers (3rd ed.).  011.62 Rob


Gillespie, J.T. (Ed.).  (2000).  Best books for young teen readers, grades 7 to 10.  011.62 Bes


Pierce, K.M. (Ed.). (2001).  Adventuring with books:  a booklist for pre-K-grade 6  (13th ed.).  011.62 Nat 2002


Lima, C. & Lima, J.  (2006).  A to zoo:  subject access to children's picture books  (7th ed.)  011.62 Lim 2006


What do children read next?:  a reader's guide to fiction for children.  (1994-1999). (Vols. 1-3).  011.62 Col


Spencer, P. (1994-1999). What do young adults read next?:  a reader's guide to fiction for young adults.   (Vols. 1-3).  011.62 Spe

If you are unhappy with the results of an author, title, or subject search, broaden your search using Keyword Search.   It searches the author, title, subject and notes fields of an item record.  You might want to use some of the terms brainstormed in step #1.

Browse the shelves (If you only want to search for materials in the Curriculum Lab, click on the Limit this search button and then change the location from ANY to U of L-Curriculum Lab.):

The Vertical File contains pamphlets with hints for teachers on dealing with special needs children in the classroom. For example, if you look up "People With Disabilities" in the Vertical File, you will find materials that do not fit another Vertical File subject heading, such as "A Teacher's Guide to Learning Disabilities in the Classroom, " or "Muscular Dystrophy." There are also similar pamphlets under specific disabilities such as "Autism."

Check the Journal Indexes/Databases on the Library Home Page. For a list of journal indexes, you can select "Journal Indexes By Subject" from the Library home page, and select "Education."   You can also try some of the psychology and/or nursing journal indexes, such as PsycINFO, Ovid Medline, and CINAHL, or try some of the sociology journal indexes, like Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts and Academic OneFile.


Search the Internet:

• The Curriculum Laboratory's Teacher's Sites lists many of the main Internet sites used by teachers, such as Alberta Education, LRC Resources Catalogues, and some comprehensive education sites containing educational issues and lesson plans, technology sites for teachers, etc.
• The Curriculum Laboratory's Great Sites for Educators contains useful links such as Digital Resource Subscriptions (Learn Alberta, United Streaming Digital Video clips, etc.), Digital Reference resources, Kid's Sites, Lesson Plans, and links for Specific School Subjects.
• The ATA Library Catalogue has many special education materials, including on-line links, that will be useful for classroom assignments. It "can be searched by author, title, subject or keyword. If you have registered with the ATA library staff and obtained a library user number, you can select materials directly from the catalogue by using the "reserve" function." Materials that you have reserved will be sent to you immediately. You must be an ATA member to use this specialized library. (You can also access this catalogue by searching for the "ATA Library Catalogue" through the Library Catalogue.)
• B.C. Ministry of Education Special Education Resource Documents -- Links to practical websites helping teachers support special education students in the classroom, including specific I.P.P. examples, adapting curriculum for special needs students, etc.
• Council for Exceptional Children has a rich set of links to other associations and divisions, including the Canadian Council for Exceptional Children, as well as a search engine to search their site.
• J.P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre--Sponsored by the Faculty of Education, University of Alberta. Includes inclusive education links, as well as teacher resource materials.
• Internet Special Education Resources -- "ISER is a nationwide directory of professionals who serve the learning disabilities and special education communities."
• Yahoo Special Education Directory
• Eric Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education

Other Resources:

• Special education consultants
• Government departments (municipal, provincial, federal)
• Free material catalogues
• Medical personnel, counselors, psychiatrists, special education consultants, etc.
• Make use of Inter-library loan.
• Use the public library, or other libraries.