How General Education Teachers Can Support Special Education Inclusion Students

By Lindsay Jackson, Special Education Teacher

I have been a teacher for nine years now, and I am fortunate enough to have experience teaching both general education and special education. I taught my first year as a special education consultant teacher for kindergarten students. I then spent the next two years teaching general education second grade and switched to general education kindergarten for the next two years. In my time as a general ed teacher, I had students in my classroom with IEPs and special needs. Since then, I have been teaching a 3rd/4th grade 6:1:1 class. Throughout my experience, I have learned ways that general ed teachers can support inclusion students, which in turn helps all students in the class.

Use Visuals

My first tip for supporting special education students is to use visuals as much as possible. If the child is an elementary student, the more visuals, the better. Visuals can explicitly show students what is expected of them. In elementary classrooms especially, there should be visuals posted of all the classroom expectations.

For example, visuals showing what the routine is when they enter the classroom should be posted for all students to see (picture of a backpack being hung up, folder being taken out, etc.) I have found that if you can take pictures of the actual students following the routines and post those, it can be effective for them to see themselves following directions.

Pictures of the whole class can be posted (such as them all lined up with their arms at their sides, facing forward). For individual special education students, you can also have a clipboard or folder that is easily accessible where you can quickly show them a picture of themselves following the expected routine (“look, you’re showing me here in this picture that you know how to have a safe body. Can you show me that now?) Visuals can help all students, especially those who are non-readers.

Know the IEP

As straightforward as it may sound, make sure you as the general education teacher have taken a good look at the IEP of each student in your class. You should have an understanding of what their goals are, what accommodations they receive, and any other special information. As a gen ed teacher, I found it beneficial to spend some time looking through the IEP and including the must-know information on an “IEP at a glance” form. You can find these on teacherspayteachers for free. You can copy and paste the info from the IEP right into the form. You can then have this form handy, especially when working with the student one-on-one or in a small group.

Collaborate with the Special Education Teacher

Again, this may sound like common sense, but make sure you are in constant communication with the special education teacher, as well as any other adults in the building who work with the student/s. I found that when I was a general education teacher, the special ed teacher always had great ideas and resources for supporting the student. They can even help you with students who may not have an IEP yet but are demonstrating negative behaviors or may be going through the evaluation process. When I taught kindergarten, I had a student who fit the criteria I just mentioned. Even though the student was not on this teacher’s caseload at that time, she provided me with a behavior chart to use with that student which was such a great resource. Special education teachers are experts on behavior and classroom management, so don’t hesitate to reach out to them for ideas!

Set Up Peer Mentors

Another way to support special education students in your class is to find general education students who are great role models to help the special education student. They can help them with their academic work, model positive behavior, sit with them at lunch, etc. My personal opinion is that the general education student should be asked privately if he/she would be okay with being a buddy to the special education student. It should be something the general education student should want to do, not be forced to do. If they are okay with it, you can pair them up to be partners or work together in small groups whenever possible. I was a peer mentor for a student with Down Syndrome in elementary school, and I really enjoyed it. We became friends outside of school and I would go to her house to swim and play together. It was a mutually beneficial relationship and it made her experience at school a more positive one.

Having a classroom with both general education and special education students can be a very rewarding and positive experience if the right supports are in place. Explicit expectations provided with visuals can be an invaluable tool for special ed students. Knowing the IEP and collaborating with the special ed teacher can help you feel more comfortable as the gen ed teacher. Setting up peer mentors (with the mentor’s consent) can also provide great support for the special ed student to feel more comfortable in school. We as teachers are always learning, so don’t be afraid to ask for help!

Lindsay is in her ninth year of teaching. She currently teaches a 3rd/4th grade 6:1:1 classroom at a school for students with emotional needs. She has also taught general education in 2nd grade and Kindergarten. She loves to write and help other teachers and also does some part-time blogging on the side.

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