Educational Resources

1. Judith Pena
ETEC 424
09/25/19
Teaching References
When it comes to teaching special education one must get creative with their lesson
plans. Luckily, there are a lot of teacher related resources that help get a future educator started.
Finding a good teaching resource has become as simple as walking into a teacher friendly store
and buying one. There are also a lot of online resources, or even person to person ones.
As a soon to be special needs educator, I believe that graphic organizers are a very
important resource to use in any classroom. These types of organizers can be used in any grade
level and for any subject matter. According to Sara LaJeunesse when quoting Charles Hughes
(professor of education) she stated “Graphic organizers are intended to promote more meaningful
learning and facilitate understanding and retention of new materials.” Since students with
disabilities struggle to make connections, graphic organizers will be used in my classroom as a
visual aid of how concepts fit together. These organizers will also be used in order to facilitate
new materials that are being presented in a lesson.
When completing some mandatory observation hours in a special education classroom, I
noticed that the headteacher used differentiated instruction when teaching every single student in
the class. This type of instruction is not only very important in a special needs classroom, but in a
general classroom as well. Every student learns differently, so taking different teaching
approaches will benefit students individually. According to Geri Coleman Tucker when speaking
about differentiated instruction he mentioned, “Instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach, a
teacher uses a variety of methods to teach.” This resource can be applied throughout any school
environment, since not all students are going to understand things in the same manner. In my

2. Judith Pena
ETEC 424
09/25/19
classroom differentiated instruction will be integrated as small group learning, one to one ratio
teaching, or even reciprocal learning.
Special needs students tend to be very visual and hands on learners. According to Saint
Joseph’s University in their Top 10 Resources for Special Education Teachers, “Do2Learn has
thousands of pages that will help students improve on social skills, behavior, and academics.”
Do2Learn is a an engaging website filled with songs, learning games, and coloring pages. In my
classroom this can be a very useful resource in order to increase student participation during
lessons. It would be very simple to teach a lesson, and after put it to practice it while playing a
math game online. This website will be very useful because it can be used both in and out of
school, and can be observed by an educator or a parent.
With resources as good as the ones discussed above, a future educator can feel at ease
when it comes to teaching lessons. I want to be the best I can be for my students, and any
resource available will help me become better. I expect my students to be self motivated, and
eager to learn. Even if things are difficult I want them to give their best in order to accomplish
what they want. With the help of these resources, I believe that my students will feel comfortable
when tackling a new lesson. All of the resources mentioned are very simple and easy to use, so a
student and a teacher will be able to learn the resources quickly.
References
LaJeunesse, S. (2014, September 12). Graphic Organizers Aid Students With Learning
Disabilities. Retrieved from

3. Judith Pena
ETEC 424
09/25/19
https://ed.psu.edu/news/news-items-oct-dec-2011/graphic-organizers-aid-students-with-
learning-disabilities.html
Top 10 Resources for Special Education Teachers. (2018, February 16). Retrieved from
https://online.sju.edu/graduate/masters-special-education/resources/articles/top-10-resour
ces-for-special-education-teachers
Tucker, G. C. (n.d.). Differentiated Instruction: What You Need to Know. Retrieved from
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/treatments-
approaches/educational-strategies/differentiated-instruction-what-you-need-to-know