1) The document provides strategies for engaging special education students during the COVID-19 pandemic, including using choice menus, showcasing student work, and advocating for access to address the digital divide. 2) It discusses designing interactive lessons using tools like Google Slides and Classroom that incorporate student choice, accessibility features, and multimodal learning through projects and animation. 3) Strategies for assessment and building community are presented, such as using virtual worlds to teach story elements, creating social stories with families, and sharing classroom experiences through an Instagram page.

1. Engaging Our Kiddos
Teaching Special Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Mechelle Gilford Ed.S. NBCT
Elkhorn Elementary School

2. When you are designing a lesson, think about what
keeps you engaged during a training.
Pause & ask your elbow buddy.
Think, Pair, Share
Classroom Video
of my students at the
Watercolor Station.

3. Expectations
Transition cues
Expectations:
Mona Lisa Ready
1. Eyes on Teacher
2. Sitting up Straight
3. Quiet Smiles
4. and Calm Hands
Showcase students’ work to
grab their attention and
celebrate creative expression!

4. Levels of Engagement
Student engagement is evolving
as we are teaching in a
pandemic.
Brick and Mortar Way:
5 Levels of school engagement
by Schlechty.
Silicon Valley example:
1. Viewing
2. Contributing
3. Leading

5. Pandemic Grading
Engagement is key
Do no harm grading: Grades can
only go up and not down.
Low stakes, time to explore,
reduce the amount of
parameters (e.g. when teaching
GATE)
Choice Menus
Allow for, and encourage
expression

6. K/W/L
Teaching Special Education during a Pandemic
K
What do we know?
W
What do we want to
know?
L
What did we learn?

7. Advocating for Access
Digital Divide
The Digital Divide affects
students with special needs.
1. Low
2. Medium
3. High
For further information see:
https://www.techlearning.com/news/special-needs-s
ocial-computing-the-digital-divide

8. Creating Weekly
Backwards Design
Example from my Butterfly Lesson:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.2
Recount or describe key ideas or details
from a text read aloud or information
presented orally or through other media.
CA Science Content Standard: Students
know the sequential stages of life cycles
are different for different animals, such
as butterflies, frogs, and mice.
1. Pick a Theme (e.g. Butterfly Lifecycle)
2. Start at the end. What’s your goal?
3. Look at the CCSS Standards
4. Interdisciplinary

9. Interactive Google Slides
Themed Digital Flashcards
Self Correcting
Students can practice IEP
Goals (e.g. foundational skills)
modify cards with each
holiday.
Teachers can see students
effort and then quiz via
Google Forms for collecting
IEP Data

10. Be kind to yourself, as you are learning!
Graphic Design
Design in layers.
Digital feng shui is key.
Make it easy on the reader’s eyes.
Many of our students will shut down if
there are too many visuals, sounds,
etc.
Keep it clean and simple.
From an Art Ed point of view, make it
a goal to design slides with plenty of
space. Also, strive for unity when
transitioning from one idea to
another.

11. Google Classroom

12. Accessibility Tools

13. Multimodal
Learning
Project based learning
Ex. My students created a
dollhouse from recycled
materials as a part of their
Recycle Art Unit.
Learning through play
Students can create their
own social stories

14. Animation
Students can create animation
via the StopMo app.
Students collaborate to
research a topic and each
contribute.
This is a practice video my
students made.

15. Class Instagram
Build a classroom community
Share window into classroom
with parents
Demos for future projects
Here’s the link to our class Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/elementaryartcarting/?hl=en

16. Virtual Worlds
Teaching Story Elements
through gaming.
Describe the setting.
What do you notice?
What do you think will
happen next?

17. Virtual Worlds
For my 4th & 5th graders,
we are working on the 5
Elements of Storytelling
and creating a Minecraft
Comic Book.
Problem Solving through
Gaming:
What is the conflict that
the main character faces?
How is the conflict solved?

18. Social Stories
Very Special Techies
For students with autism, I
have found it helpful to
partner with families when
creating social stories.
Collaborating with families
to create meaningful
learning opportunities that
can be generalized across
settings.
What will we do next?

19. Be a champion for your
students!