Parents' Page On this page you will find all kinds of information designed to help you better understand your child's programme, special education (and all its associated paperwork), the Ontario Curriculum and teaching practices. If there is a topic you would like to see on this page please email me. This page wil be updated with different topics so remember to check back. I do not delete topics from this page so that you can refer back to them at your leisure |
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Your Child's Programme As part of my new initiative to improve parent communication I thought it would be helpful to provide a section on methods, terms and activities related to your child's programme. Please browse through and hopefully you will find it insightful. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. Curriculum Your child's programme is based on the Ontario Curriculum. To view the curriculum documents please visit the Ministry's site. These documents outline all expectations that your child will be learning this year. Students who are identified through the Identification and Placement Review Committee may be working on a modified programme which identifies specific expectations that are outlined on their IEPs. These are written as SMART goals (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely). The expectations outlined in the IEP are by no means the only skills your children will be learning but they are the topics that they will be evaluated on for their report cards. An important part of learning at UPS is ensuring that students understand their goal and how to attain it. In order to do this we de-construct an expectation into student friendly language. This means going through the expectation outlined in the curriculum and exchanging the words for those familiar to the students. This allows the students to identify their goal. The next step is to distinguish Student Friendly Targets. This is a list of essential criteria needed to attain their goal. This is then turned into a checklist that the students will use to check their work. The Stars & Stairs are usually based on this checklist. In our class we will be using WALT and WILF to help children identify these components. WALT stands for We Are Learning To and WILF stands for What I'm Looking For. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Assessment There is three type of assessment used within the classroom:
Assessments can come in all forms. There is the traditional test but evidence has found that it is important to provide a variety of assessment tools in order to gain a better understanding of a child's knowledge. Assessment tools can include:
* Stars and Stairs is a new technique being used throughout the school. For a child's piece of work a star is given outlining a success and a stair is given outlining a next step. The benefits of this is that is allows children to see their work as a progression. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Balanced Literacy This is a framework for the literacy programme. It consists of Modeled, Guided, Shared and Independent activities. When a new topic is introduced the first step is to model the skill for the student (e.g. I do a modeled read aloud everyday at the beginning of the literacy block in order to teach a specific reading skill). After a skill is modeled, guided and shared practices take place. Guided activities take place with one teacher and a small group where all students are working on the same skill set (see below). Shared activities involve the teacher and students demonstrating the skill together (e.g. a shared writing task might be writing a letter as a group). Lastly comes independent practice. This is where the student demonstrates the skill independently. The teacher will then assess the task. These components are all incorporated into the Daily Five. Guided Reading:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Homework I am not a big believer in homework for the sake of homework as research is still debating the benefits for younger children. Having said this I do understand the importance of having a work ethic and allowing you to experience your child's learning as they reinforce their skills. Students are expected to be reading on a nightly basis, ideally, for at least 20 minutes. Book bags to support this reading will be sent home on a nightly basis starting in October. Other homework will be sent home on a weekly basis, Monday - Monday, to give plenty of time complete with all our busy schedules. Extracurricular activities outside of school are extremely important so this will not happen every week. If your child is experiencing difficulties completing their work please contact me so that we are able to develop a solution.
Reading It is important for children to read every night. This can include your child reading independently, them reading to you and even you reading to your child. It is important for them to read a variety of genre and recognise the different types of texts (this can include reading on the computer, magazines, books, etc.). |
Special Education IPRCs IPRC - Identification, Placement and Review Committee At UPS this committee consists of you (if you wish to attend), the Special Education Resource Teacher, the Principal or Vice-Principal and a visiting Principal or Vice-Principal. The purpose of the visiting official is to ensure your child's best interest are being pursued. The IPRC itself is only a short meeting (15min. tops) where the paperwork is signed. The important part is the lead up. If you child is already identified and s/he will be continuing with her/his current placement you will receive a Confirmation of Continuation Letter. This states your child's current identification and placement. If you wish to continue this please tick the corresponding box at the bottom of the page. If you want to discuss the placement before signing feel free to contact me. If you would like to change your child's placement or identification please check the box stating you would like an IPRC. If this is the initial IPRC or you have requested an IPRC you will receive a Letter of Invitation. This will state the identification and the placement your child will be receiving. It is important to have a dialogue with your child's homeroom teacher and SERT prior to this letter being sent home. Your child's classroom teacher or SERT will usually initiate this dialogue but if you do receive any paperwork prior to this discussion please contact us. As all the discussion and decision making happens prior to the IPRC the actual meeting is simply signing your name of the dotted line. It is your choice whether you attend or not. If not the paperwork will be sent home for you to sign. It is very important that you return all paperwork (including the invitation) even if you are not attending as we have to submit it all the the East Area Office for filing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Individual Education Plans IEPs are created or updated at the beginning of every school year for identified students. The IEP outlines your child's programme, accommodations and modifications. Accommodations are changes that enable your child to gain access to the Ontario Curriculum. These may include the use of technology, a variety of assessment tools or preferential seating. Modification on the other hand are changes to the curriculum. If your child has a programme page it will outline which specific expectations your child will be assessed on. This is by no means the only things they are learning. However, their report cards will reflect their learning of these specific skills rather than the entire curriculum. IEPs are updated at least three times a year (once each term) but as it is a working document changes can be made at any time. The development of the IEP is a collaborative process involving the student (when appropriate), the parents, the homeroom teacher, the special education resource teacher (me) as well as any other professionals associated with the student. This may include physiotherapists, occupational therapists, hearing or vision itinerant teachers. Please contact me at any time should you wish to discuss your child's IEP.
EQAO EQAO stands for Education Quality and Accountability Office. It is an independent agency for the government of Ontario. In an effort to gain objective information on the level of achievement of students across Ontario this agency creates assessments for the primary, junior and secondary levels. The primary assessment takes place in grade 3. There is a section on Reading, Writing and Mathematics and all questions are based on the Ontario Curriculum. If you would like more information about EQAO you can visit their website at http://www.eqao.com/ EQAO and IEPs EQAO has a list of permitted accommodations available to students with IEPs some of which are described below. Setting - an individual or quiet setting Presentation Format - adjustments to the format of the test such as braille versions, large-print versions, assitive technology electronic formats used with technology such as text-to-speech software (e.g. Kurzweil). Response Format - use of a computer, assistive devices and technology for recording student responses only, verbatim scribing of responses ** Important Notes ** Verbatim reading of instructions and/or questions, for writing and mathematics only, is not considered an accommodation, since writing instructions and mathematical questions can be read to any student who requests it. We are not permitted to help students with reading during the Reading Assessment.  |
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