Building Blocks for Teaching Preschoolers with Special Needs

In an inclusive early childhood classroom, the everyday challenges teachers face can seem overwhelming - especially if they have little experience working with children who have disabilities. This easy-to-use guidebook throws them a lifeline, offering strategies for teaching children with special needs, tailoring activities to individual needs, and working on a child's IEP goals.At the heart of the book is the authors' Building Blocks model, three practical methods teachers can use to include young children with disabilities in the classroom: curriculum modifications that allow all children to participate, embedded learning opportunities that are used within typical classroom activities, and child-focused instructional strategies that help students achieve individual learning objectives. To help them use this model, this guide gives teachers: detailed chapters for each building block, including instructions on when to use each method, everyday examples of each, and practical suggestions for implementation; pages of photocopiable curriculum modifications with space for teacher-generated ideas; a chart of classroom challenges linked back to curriculum modifications; four stories of successful interventions, featuring children from diverse backgrounds and their teachers; and, suggestions for using the model to address crucial curriculum content areas.This is the perfect guide to working with children who have disabilities and meeting their educational needs.