Teachers can be required to alter how they present daily instruction. These methods can include writing key points on the board, providing visual aids, using large print, repeating directions and pairing oral with written directions. It can mean including a variety of activities in each lesson and teaching through a variety of learning styles, breaking long presentations into shorter segments, providing a finished product to model or allowing students to tape record lessons. Peer strategies also are common, such as pairing students to check work, offering peer tutoring or providing peer note-takers.
Class work and homework often are difficult for special education students, often requiring accommodations. Common adjustments for these activities include giving extra time to complete the work, shortening assignments or breaking long assignments into shorter segments and reducing the number of assignments given. Other accommodations include reducing the reading level of assignments, requiring fewer correct responses to achieve the grade and allowing students to dictate the answers but be written by someone else. Many schools will grade spelling only on spelling tests, not grade handwriting and allow students to choose cursive or printing. Providing an extra set of books for home use, developing daily or weekly study plans or a calendar to plan the marking period and communicating daily with parents on required work are other options.
Many students deal with test-taking anxiety, which can be especially extreme for special education students. Common testing accommodations include allowing open-book exams, giving exams orally or giving take-home tests rather than classroom tests. Allowing extra time to complete tests, providing multiple quizzes instead of long exams band not giving pop quizzes are other common accommodations. Teachers might also read test items to the students and ensure they understand the directions before they begin. Providing proofreaders and testing in a no-distraction room are other available options.
Many disabilities often pair with extreme student behavior. Behavior accommodations include structuring transitional times, monitoring unstructured time, cueing students to stay on task or using timers to facilitate task completion, and keeping rules clear and simple. Praising specific behaviors and giving extra privileges and rewards, marking correct answers rather than mistakes, and ignoring non-disruptive inappropriate behaviors are other common accommodations. Many teachers implement a classroom behavior management system.
The physical arrangement of a room can affect a student's ability to learn. Special accommodations for room arrangement include seating the student near the teacher or a positive role model, standing near the student when giving instructions or presenting lessons or increasing the distance between student desks. Technology can be a useful tool for special education students. Technology accommodations include allowing calculators in math class, offering computer-assisted instruction and allowing Word processors for writing essays.