Subject

How can I increase participation in written work for my science students?
Accept products that enable students to demonstrate knowledge in diverse ways. For example, let students fabricate collages with pictures from magazines that represent energy. Students will be using their fine motor skills while learning about science. Or, encourage students to use a Polaroid camera to photograph items, glue and arrange them on a poster-board to meet your specific lesson objectives. 

Click here for writing activities

Communicating knowledge in science class!

Students who are non-verbal or communicate using technology have something to say about science! For review periods, arrange students into groups instead of having them work independently. Students with augmentative communication devices lead the review or repeat key vocabulary for the class.

Click here for communication tools.

Adapt science worksheets!
Sticky labels are an easy and effective way to help students participate in writing the answers on worksheets. Instead of labeling the parts of a plant with a pencil, create labels for students to stick on the worksheet. Look at the creations we have used in schools and adapt the idea for your specific lesson.

Click here for labels for science and samples in other subjects.

How can I reach and teach that student who needs extra practice or creative technology?
Content can be  animated, visually highlighted, audible, or simplified  with a multimedia-authoring tool. Create activities to engage students with decreased attention, or make the content relevant to specific learners or increase the participation of single switch users.  The Project Participate CD contains several multimedia activities, order one today.

Reach out and touch the stars!
Create a tactile replica of the solar system with Styrofoam balls of different sizes. Let students feel the planets as they learn their names and size in relation to the size of sun. Offer students an ice cube or ball of shaved ice to learn that comets are frozen balls of gas and ice. Use small rocks as examples of asteroids and help students remember the difference between comets andasteroids. 

While some students calculate the mass of Mars and the distance between Jupiter and Pluto, other students may be counting the number of moons and planets in the solar system. Students are working toward different learning goals in the same subject area!

Four-Wheeled Physics Phenomenon
A wheelchair provides an excellent visual aide for core concepts of physical science such as speed, acceleration, and inertia. Encourage students who are wheelchair users to practice power mobility skills while learning how the laws of motion affect their movement as they encounter curbs, travel up or down slopes or make turns.

Colorful Talking Lab Directions
Use a talking word-processor to type the directions for science lab! Color-code the key vocabulary or concepts for emphasis. Print the colorful sheet and pass it out to each member of the class. If some of your students need auditory feedback or assistance reading the lab directions, permit them to read it on the computer using your talking word-processor. Most talking word-processors highlight words as the computer reads the text aloud which provides multi-sensory input for students who need it.