All IRIS materials can be used and printed without permission.
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Accessing the General Education Curriculum: Inclusion Considerations for Students with Disabilities
This module highlights classroom considerations that promote access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities.
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Addressing Disruptive and Noncompliant Behaviors (Part 1): Understanding the Acting-Out Cycle
The first in a two-part series, this module discusses problem behavior in terms of the stages of the acting-out cycle and suggests ways to respond to students in the cycle's different phases.
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Addressing Disruptive and Noncompliant Behaviors (Part 2): Behavioral Interventions
The second in a two-part series, this module describes interventions that can increase initial compliance to teacher requests as well as interventions that can be implemented to decrease disruptive and noncompliant behaviors.
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Classroom Assessment (Part 1): An Introduction to Monitoring Academic Achievement in the Classroom
This module discusses how progress monitoring can affect the academic outcomes of students, and it demonstrates how to implement curriculum-based measurement with a classroom of students.
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Classroom Assessment (Part 2): Evaluating Reading Progress
This module explores in detail the assessment procedures integral to RTI. It also outlines how to use progress monitoring data to determine if a student is meeting the established performance criteria or if more intensive intervention is needed.
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Collaborating with Families
Designed to help teachers build positive relationships with families, this module highlights the diversity of families and addresses the factors that school personnel should understand about working with the families of children with disabilities.
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CSR: A Reading Comprehension Strategy
This module outlines Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), a strategy for helping students to improve their reading comprehension skills. In CSR, students work together in small groups to apply comprehension strategies as they read text from a content area, such as social studies or science.
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Cultural and Linguistic Differences: What Teachers Should Know
This module examines the ways in which culture influences the daily interactions that occur across all classrooms and provides practice for enhancing culturally responsive teaching.
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Effective School Practices: Promoting Collaboration and Monitoring Student's Academic Achievement
This module focuses on the entire school population and highlights partnerships between general education and special education faculty that result in the creation of a 'collective responsibility' and shared high expectations for all students.
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Functional Behavioral Assessment: Identifying the Reasons for Problem Behavior and Developing a Behavior Plan
This module explores the basic principles of behavior and the importance of discovering the reasons that students engage in problem behavior. The steps to conducting a functional behavioral assessment and developing a behavior plan are described.
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PALS: A Reading Strategy for Grades 2–6
This module outlines the benefits of implementing PALS for Grades 2–6, a peer tutoring strategy in which students work in pairs to strengthen their reading skills. Also included are step-by-step instructions for each of the three PALS activities as well as printable PALS materials.
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RTI (Part 1): An Overview
This module outlines the differences between the IQ-achievement discrepancy model and the Response-to-Intervention (RTI) model. It also offers a brief overview of each tier in the RTI model and explains its benefits.
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RTI (Part 2): Assessment
This module explores in detail the assessment procedures integral to RTI. It also outlines how to use progress monitoring data to determine if a student is meeting the established performance criteria or if more intensive intervention is needed.
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RTI (Part 3): Reading Instruction
This module illustrates different research-based reading strategies that may be used with the Response-to-Intervention model to improve reading skills.
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SRSD: Using Learning Strategies to Enhance Student Learning
This module features the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model, which outlines the six steps required to effectively implement any instructional strategy and emphasizes the time and effort required to do so.
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What Do You See? Perceptions of Disability
This module encourages students to explore their own attitudes and beliefs about people with disabilities. It highlights the abilities of students with disabilities.
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Who's in Charge? Developing a Comprehensive Behavior Management System
This module discusses the importance of establishing a comprehensive classroom behavior management system. It explores the dimensions of the PAR model.
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Who's in Charge? Developing a Comprehensive Behavior Management System
This module discusses the importance of establishing a comprehensive classroom behavior management system. It explores the dimensions of the PAR model.
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You're in Charge! Developing Your Own Comprehensive Behavior Management Plan
This module neatly complements the first behavior module, encouraging students to create and print rules and procedures for their own classrooms based on the PAR model.
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You're in Charge! Developing Your Own Comprehensive Behavior Management Plan
This module neatly complements the first behavior module, encouraging students to create and print rules and procedures for their own classrooms based on the PAR model.
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Early Reading
This case study set offers realistic scenarios that introduce students to reading strategies appropriate for Kindergarten and first-grade classrooms.
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Effective Room Arrangement
This group of case studies includes engaging scenarios to introduce students to important concepts regarding classroom arrangement for effective classroom management.
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Encouraging Appropriate Behavior
This case study unit outlines positive behavior management techniques that can be employed with individual students who have behavioral concerns that are not effectively addressed by comprehensive classroom rules.
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Fostering Student Accountability for Classroom Work
Through realistic classroom scenarios, this case study set introduces five key components of an effective accountability system and offers guidance on how to implement these strategies in a classroom setting.
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Norms and Expectations
This case study set provides scenarios and strategies that focus on the establishment of classroom norms and expectations through the development of rules and procedures.
Case-Based
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Back to Square One (PDF 308k)
Rachel and Leanne expected another great year co-teaching a combined third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade class with equal numbers of general education and special education students, but soon a student with behavioral problems presented them with a challenge. Learn about and discuss some issues surrounding classroom behavior management (Approx. 1 Hour).
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Hang In There (PDF 504k)
As a teaching coach for probationary teachers, Nancy becomes concerned when one of her promising young teachers confides that she is thinking about quitting. Learn about and discuss issues related to teacher support and special education referrals (Approx. 1 Hour).
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He's Just a Goofy Guy (PDF 272k)
Jake is an energetic third grader who has a learning disability. Should he be included in a general education class? Learn about and discuss issues related to accommodation, behavior management, and collaboration (Approx. 1 Hour).
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He Just Needs a Little Discipline (PDF 272k)
When he was in the second grade, Matt was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Learn about and discuss issues related to communication with parents and behavior management (Approx. 1 Hour).
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Is This Child Mislabeled? (PDF 272k)
Serge Romanich, a third-grade student and refugee from Serbia, spoke limited English. His education had been sporadic at best, and the new elementary school he was attending had tested and classified him as having a learning disability (Approx. 1 Hour).
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Attitudes (PDF 116k)
Understand how different cultural worldviews toward disabilities affect people's attitudes (Approx. 50 Minutes).
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Bias and the Law (PDF 114k)
Gain a better understanding of disabilities and special education through discussion questions (Approx. 50 Minutes).
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Changes in the Number of Students Served Under IDEA Over Time (PDF 208k)
Understand that the number of identified students vary by disability, learn to describe the different prevalence rates of students with disabilities assigned to various special education categories, and identify the factors that influence changes in prevalence rates (Approx. 45 Minutes).
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Cultural Perceptions (PDF 113k)
Enhance your cultural sensitivity and increase your awareness of how individuals and their cultures can be misunderstood (Approx. 50 Minutes).
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Hearing (PDF 108k)
Gain a better understanding of the limitations that often affect people with hearing disabilities Approx. 1.5 Hours).
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Prevalence Rates of Individual Disability Categories (PDF 112k)
Understand that the number of students receiving special education services varies by disability, and also gain a better understanding of the concepts of high- and low-incidence disabilities (Approx. 45 Minutes).
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Social Views (PDF 112k)
Gain a better understanding of diversity and special education through discussion topics (Approx. 50 Minutes).
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State-by-State Differences in the Prevalence Rates of the Individual Disability Categories (PDF 204k)
Understand that identification rates for individual disability categories vary widely by state, and learn that this variability is, in part, dependent upon the state's definition of each disability (Approx. 45 Minutes).
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Values and Disabilities (PDF 164k)
Gain a better understanding of how cultural values affect people's perceptions about disabilities (Approx. 45 Minutes).
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ADHD (PDF 132k)
Examine the issues related to the delivery of special education services to children with ADHD (Approx. 1.5 Hours).
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Attitudes (PDF 112k)
To understand how different worldviews toward disabilities affect attitudes (Approx. 4 Hours).
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Daily Living Skills (PDF 103k)
Gain a better understanding of how a disability can affect a person's daily living skills (Approx. 6 Weeks).
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Transition (PDF 111k)
Understand the myriad factors that are at play when you help students with disabilities explore different vocational choices (Approx. 50 Minutes).
- Accommodations in the General Education Classroom
- Assistive Technology and the IEP
- Asthma
- Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder
- Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder
- Cerebral Palsy
- Deafness and Hearing Loss
- Down Syndrome
- Emotional Disturbance
- HEY! Can I Try That?
- Homework Tips for Parents
- Learning Disabilities
- Mental Retardation
- School-Wide Positive Behavior Support: Primary Prevention
- School-Wide Positive Behavior Support: Secondary Prevention
- School-Wide Positive Behavior Support: Tertiary Prevention
- Speech & Language Impairments
- Spina Bifida Fact Sheet
- Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education
- Teacher's Guide to Neuromuscular Disease: How Will a Student With a Neuromuscular Diseae Affect My Classroom?
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Visual Impairments
The IRIS Center
Special Education Resources for Inclusion,
Scientifically Validated and Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies
Special Education Resources for Inclusion,
Scientifically Validated and Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies