Two Very Special Service-Learning Projects

Mr. Jennings describes two service-learning projects that bolstered both the self-esteem and the academic skills of his middle school special education students. STUDENTS who are considered to be at risk because of learning or behavioral difficulties are frequently the recipients of services within their school and community. While it is essential for these students to receive support services, I believe that students with disabilities are important resources for their community. I have seen firsthand that students with disabilities can develop personal, social, and academic skills through the process of making valuable contributions to others. One of the most promising approaches for linking schools with their communities is service-learning. Service-learning is the integration of community service with academic skills and structured reflection. The remainder of this article describes two service-learning projects I have completed with my middle school resource center language arts classes. Studies have shown that those who have been read to from a young age have a far greater chance of becoming proficient readers themselves. Once children learn to read, they become better readers primarily by doing a vast amount of reading at an appropriate level of difficulty. These two statements summarize much of the research in learning over the past century. However, discovering these literacy truths has not yet led to for all. Most children who have difficulties learning to read have been read to only one-tenth as much as those who are the most successful.1 Moreover, those older students who improve the fastest in reading read almost 50 times as much each year as those who progress slowly.2 Thus, by the time students approach middle school, there is a two- tiered system of literacy. Those who read well read often, and those who read poorly avoid reading whenever they can. Proficient readers can read grade-level materials accurately and fluently, while poor readers struggle in an effort to comprehend text. If these below-grade-level readers are ever to improve, they must be given a chance to practice reading at a level of difficulty appropriate to their skills. Experience has taught me that middle school special education students are not inclined to practice reading simple but uninteresting texts just because teachers say it is good for them. However, these same students are anxious to participate in something of genuine value. Much of the literature for younger children is written at a level that is on a par with these students' reading abilities and is of genuine interest to an older reader when he or she takes the role of reading to someone younger. To give my middle school special education students this kind of opportunity, I developed the We C.A.R.E. (Weekly Cross-Age Reading Experiences) program. The primary goal of the program was for my older special education students to read picture books with kindergartners. Essentially, this activity addressed the needs of both populations. During the first two weeks of the program, my students were trained in how to read with the younger students. They learned general tips for reading aloud and specific guidelines for conducting the reading sessions. They observed me modeling the process and repeatedly practiced with one another. On Fridays for the next 10 weeks, we traveled as a class to a local elementary school. While there, each one of my students teamed up with two younger children to read a picture book. As they read, my students encouraged the use of prediction, background knowledge, and context clues. After they finished their books, the groups completed projects that helped them respond to the text. These projects focused on either plot, character, setting, or theme and were different for each visit. For example, the children might have drawn pictures depicting a story's setting. …