Lesson Handout, Special Education, and Maintaining Leisure Reading of Students

Following the role of the teacher, the media specialist can have much lesson planning work to do. Creating a handout on a topic that can be conquered verbally in a few minutes can be painstaking.

I tried reading a book to a severely disabled student today. I gave him time and attention and guided my actions to what he was suggesting to me. He uses a Mercury Computer which speaks for him what he touches. He always tells me that he likes folk and jazz music. I would be interested in finding books about folk and jazz music or books that would go with music for him.

Another special education teacher asked me if I would be able to suggest some books to 2 students who are in 6th grade but on a slightly lower reading level. I perused the fiction section and got some ideas. I brought up some titles to the media specialist that I thought might work for the students. She looked up the reading levels.

The one student needed two different books so the media specialist, after finding out who the students were, their level, and what books they have recently read was then able to say that the Peter Abrahams book would work.

I went to the presentation that Peter Abrahams did with students needing special education so I guess I knew that it would be good for them if possible to take what they knew from one situation and transfer it to another. A connection has already been made. The value in author visits can really be beneficial to students and media specialists!

One of the 8th grade boys who comes to the media center for a study hall in place of a language class when I am here tells me that he does not like to read because he is lazy. He told me that he can get A's if he wanted and does get some, but he likes to be relaxed and does not really see reading as relaxing but as a chore.

He enjoys downhill biking. I looked up to see if I could find books available on that on Amazon.com. I found:

Amazon Title, Soul on Bikes by Tobie Levingston (Author). He said this might be cool, but he would not prefer travel-oriented bike books.