As a professional in their field, teachers must refresh their skills and “always be learning” throughout their teaching career. During the summer or their free time, dedicated teachers learn new strategies and skills to teach their students better. Many required professional development meetings and books do not apply to special education teachers, and it is hard to find valuable materials. I am about to share with you a “must-read” for special educators.
I want to introduce a book to you that is now a valuable member of my professional library catalog as a special education teacher. Comprehensive Literacy for All: Teaching Students with Significant Disabilities to Read and Write by Karen A. Erickson and David A. Koppenhaver is a professional development book that is a “must-read” for all special educators who have students with significant disabilities. It provides research-based strategies that can reach all types of learners through comprehensive emergent literacy instruction.
Comprehensive emergent literacy instruction is made up of the following components:
- shared reading
- shared writing
- alphabet knowledge and phonemic awareness
- independent reading
- independent writing
Comprehensive Literacy for All teaches you how students with significant disabilities can engage in and participate in each of these components. There are so many tangible ideas to include all, just like the title of the book says.
Key concepts for teaching reading to students with significant disabilities:
This book is full of golden nuggets of knowledge that I can implement in my classroom tomorrow! I have never felt more prepared and excited to teach reading and writing to my students with significant disabilities. The key takeaways I received from reading this book include:
- All children can learn to read and write
- Phonological Awareness is possible for all (say “no” to the whole word approach)
- Use assistive technology as much as you can
- Immerse children in reading and writing instruction all day long
Personal Reflection:
While reading this book, I found myself constantly highlighting and taking notes. I had to reread several sections repeatedly, and now that I have implemented some of the strategies in this book, I still refer back to it at times. Comprehensive Literacy for All has given me the confidence that I am providing the best instruction in reading and writing for my students with significant disabilities. The first and easiest strategy I was able to implement is structured reading- how to engage my students who use AAC to communicate during read alouds. The book discusses and shows the reader how to implement the CAR method. My students became more interactive and shared their ideas about the story within a couple of days. My favorite aspect of the book is that it discusses how you can implement each of the strategies over the course of a school day; however it is all realistic and understands what a self-contained classroom can be like. Erickson and Koppenhaver reiterate that even if you only have time to implement one or two components at first, that is better than nothing. Your students will learn fi you give them the opportunity!
Recommendantion:
This book is a must-read for special educators who teach students with autism, intellectual disabilities, or students with physical impairments. How to teach students with significant disabilities reading and writing does not have to be a secret. I recommend that you read this book in chunks. Read a chapter, then try to implement something you have learned. You can check out the book by clicking the link below. (affiliate link).