General+Inclusive+Education+Resources

=Students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms: A resource for teachers= //[|Students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms: A resource for teachers]//(Shaddock, Giorcelli, & Smith, 2007) is an excellent short 32-page summary of the various issues of, and strategies for, including students with special needs into the mainstream classroom. It was funded by DEEWR and led by a University of Canberra consortium, involving literature reviews and four empirical studies. It's a type of quick-guide resource to provide an overview or refresh the memory and point in the right direction. It's written in plain english, with dot points for strategies, research facts and teachers' anecdotes, for primary and secondary students. The title above is linked to a pdf file where you may access the booklet.

Some areas of discussion:
 * Information about inclusive practice and teachers' concerns
 * Planning for inclusion
 * A learner's profile and individual learning plans
 * Collaboration with others
 * Classroom set-up
 * Curriculum differentiation
 * Teaching strategies
 * Behaviour management and social interactions
 * Whole school culture

This is a great booklet for the new teacher whilst still finding their feet, to have at arm's length away. It will aid in planning and organisation, pointing one to time-efficient strategies which may then be investigated further. The booklet concludes with a useful reference and resource list.

Shaddock, A., Giorcelli, L., & Smith, A. (2007). //Students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms: A resource for teachers.// Canberra: Dept of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)

Also available from http://www.ndco.stepscs.net.au/documents/Strategies%20for%20teachers%20in%20mainstream%20classrooms%20booklet.pdf


 * WHITEHORSE DISABILITY AWARENESS KIT**

This kit is a resource designed to support teachers and to use as a guide for when they are conducting disability awareness lessons within the classroom. It is not a booklet designed to teach students with a disability, but more a kit to help teachers create an understanding about differences, disabilities and through the use of this kit hopefully teach students acceptance. The kit was designed as an outcome of the Disability Awareness Project in 2005 and aims to promote positive views and attitudes towards people with disabilities within the community, teach young people about disability issues, and motivate schools to promote disability awareness and inclusion within the school environment.



I suggest using this kit in the classroom as a support and resource for teaching all students about various disabilities as it covers different disorders such as blindness, deafness, physical handicap and others. The ideas suggested in this kit are fairly simple and easy for students of all age groups to understand and would recommend its use from Kindergarten students through to years 6 or 7. The kit includes information for teachers, references and suggestions along with printable handouts for students to use and is linked to the Victorian Essential Learning Standards. The kit also provides some great references to various resources such as picture books, websites, and videos that can be used within the classroom. Although not a resource for specific disabilities, I think it is still useful for all teachers especially for those who are not sure how to go about creating an inclusive classroom that promotes acceptance, understanding, diversity and teaches students about disabilities within their communities.

Whitehorse City Council. (n.d.). //The Whitehorse Disability Awareness Kit: A Resource Kit for Primary School Teachers.// Retrieved June 30, 2011, from City of Whitehorse: http://www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/IgnitionSuite/uploads/docs/Disability%20Awareness%20Resource%20Kit.pdf

__** Friendly Kids, Friendly Classrooms **__

This is a book written by Dr. Helen McGrath that promotes confidence in the classroom and teaching students social skills. The book is targeted at teachers and mental health professionals to teach social skills to children in primary school. It includes strategies and practical steps on how to teach 21 skills to be used within the classroom and playground. This book is great to bring children an understanding on how to behave in social situations and how to accept other students. By creating a socially accepting environment within the classroom, it means that the students are generally happier and well behaved. Information on the book can be found here: []

The website [] (Keller, E 2007) contains teaching strategies for students with different disabilities. Teaching strategies are available for ADD, learning disabilities, behavioural disorders, intellectual disorders, communication and motor/orthpedic disorders, hearing impairments and visual impairments. It is useful because it offers over 500 teaching strategies on a variety of disorders that can be used to create an inclusive setting in the classroom.
 * Disabilities and Teaching Strategies**

Keller, E 2007, //Disabilities, Teaching Strategies and Resources//, viewed 25 July 2011, []

**Guide Dogs Australia**
The Guide Dogs Australia site ([] has links to the affiliated state bodies. [|Guide Dogs ACT/NSW], the [|Association for the Blind WA] and [|Guide Dogs Victoria] provide teaching resources. [|Guide Dogs SA] does not provide online resources, however it does contain information about the Discovery Centre in Adelaide which is an interavtive vision and hearing education centre. The resources available through the ACT/NSW, WA and Victorian affiliates include activities and information to help student explore what it means to be blind or vision impaired and the range of tools available for people with varied levels of vision impairment.

Given the profile of guide dogs in the media, they are an element of disability support that students are likely to be aware of making them a good option for initiating discussions on the issue. The resources cater for students from K to 6 and could be used in relation to a range of curriculum topics including: disabilities, the senses; biology, communication and the roles animals play. The activities appear quite interesting, and the handouts are clearly presented. These activities could be used to prepare students for the inclusion of blind or vision impaired students in their class. They could also be used to encourage students to think about the needs of others and how they could help.

Information on other roles that animals can play in inclusion is available under Animal Therapy.

**Including Deaf Students in Music Education**
Music is part of the current curriculum in most states﻿. The thought of trying to include students who are unable to hear music in the conventional sense can be quite daunting. However it is possible. Petit (2003) recounts the story of a friend who was hired to teach music at a school for the deaf. The teacher learnt from others that deaf students enjoyed dancing discoes and that "they feel the vibrations with their bodies, and capture the rhythm like no other." Berke (2010) brings together a list of successful deaf and hearing impaired musicians and provides links to resources and research. The articles and research available demonstrate that deaf students can be included in music education beyond signing along with the class; indeed some deaf students display a high level of aptitude for identifing and producing rhythms. A simple search on YouTube using "deaf" and "dance" returns many clips of deaf people enjoying music.

The wealth of information, community programs and footage provide inspiration for ways that deaf students can enjoy learning about music. Logistically it requires sufficient space where the noise wont disrupt other classes (like a regular music class). I would prepare the student and any learning assistancts prior to the lesson; I would do this by discussing what we would be doing and the ideas we would be discussing. The lesson could range from learning to clap and say rhythms, playing instrument or exploring how the music feels. If a deaf student was feeling nervous about participating in a dance class we could view a suitable clip on YouTube and discuss how deaf people find different ways to respond to and interpret music

References Berke, J. (2010) Deaf and Music: Have hearing loss, will play guitar, retrieved at [] Petit, B.C., (2003) Music for Deaf Persons, //Disability World, Issue no. 20 September-October 2003//, Retrieved at [] YouTube, retrieved from [] 28 July 2011