Students with disabilities are often included in general education social studies classes, but these classes can differ in the achievement level of the overall class, including wide variation in content-related background knowledge, reading achievement, or both. The purpose of this study was to examine how background knowledge and reading…

When students read more, vocabulary knowledge increases (Cunningham & Stanovich, 2003; Krashen, 2004). Out of every 100 unknown words that students encounter while reading, they learn an average of 15 of them from text alone (Swanborn & de Glopper, 1999). In addition, as students age, they are more likely to infer word meanings, indicating…

This article describes the importance of vocabulary knowledge in adolescents' reading comprehension, particularly for students with disabilities. Students with stronger vocabularies tend to have better background knowledge and improved understanding of content-area texts. We describe evidence-based vocabulary instructional practices that…

This synthesis examined the effects of spelling interventions on spelling outcomes for students with disabilities in Grades 6 through 12. Thirteen single-case design studies were identified for inclusion in the review. No studies used a treatment/comparison design. The most common types of interventions involved systematic study strategies, such…

The number of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who enter secondary school settings and access the general education curriculum continues to grow. Many educators may find they are not prepared to adapt their instruction to meet both state standards and the diverse needs of the full spectrum individuals with ASD, which has…

Patterns of identification for special education services across three cohorts of students in kindergarten through third grade before and after implementation of a schoolwide, three-tier reading prevention model in one large school district are reported. The first cohort of students represents a historical control group that did not participate in…

Strategies to promote generalization among special education students moving to regular classrooms include changing reinforcement, cues, materials, response set, dimensions of the stimulus, settings, and teachers. Each strategy is addressed and a form to plan and monitor generalization offered. (CL)

A total of 93 elementary, middle school, and high school teachers rated the desirability and feasibility of adaptations for mainstreamed students in their general education classes. All adaptations were perceived as more desirable than feasible, and few differences were found among teachers of different grade levels. (Author/JDD)

A study that investigated perceptions of 31 kindergarten teachers found there were statistically significant differences between teachers' views of the desirability of implementing practices to enhance the outcomes of children with disabilities as they transition to kindergarten and the feasibility of such implementation. Portfolios were viewed as…

A synthesis of 20 studies that investigated the perceptions of 4,659 elementary and secondary students (760 with disabilities) of instructional procedures in inclusive classrooms found that students with high-incidence disabilities and their typical peers want to have the same activities, books, homework, grading criteria, and grouping practices…

Presents a scale of key teaching attributes that can be used to examine general classroom teachers' perceptions of knowledge and skills for providing effective instruction to students with disabilities, to assist in the development and implementation of more effective inclusionary practices, and to provide administrators with the indicators that…

Designed for general education teachers, this book contains more than 40 specific learning activities and sample lessons for immediate practical applications in the inclusive classroom. The book is organized into three major sections. The first section, "Mainstreaming and Inclusion Strategies for Classroom Teachers," addresses issues…