7 Easy & Practical Ways To Support Students with IEP/504 Accommodations

Published in

Live Wire Learners

4 min readDec 12, 2023

The only Special Education class I took in college was during my first semester of freshman year, titled Understanding Special Populations. To say that it did not prepare me to handle everything that SPED offered would be an understatement. I had no idea how to accommodate for all 32 different kiddos and several of their needs. There are helpful tools, such as having fidgets available or Bouncy Bands on chairs for our kiddos who need movement, but there are many ways that different students learn, and several laws in place to protect them. It may sound scary, but that’s why I’ve created this guide + FREE resource to help you get through it.

1. Accommodation Type: Adapted/ Simplified Text

Ways to Implement in your classroom: Copy whatever text you have, and paste into Diffit!

It will generate the text below-grade level for your student who needs extra support. It also provides a summary, vocabulary words, and comprehension questions for learners who need extra help.

2. Accommodation Type: Note Taking Assistance

Ways to Implement in your classroom: Print out your slides for the day, notes that are pre-filled, and any other materials you are using. Give that student a highlighter to have them highlight key terms and main points.

3. Accommodation Type: Read Test to Student

Ways to Implement in your classroom: If you don’t have a resource room or paraprofessional that can do this with a small group for you, never fear!

Create a FREE Edpuzzle account, and either record your screen, yourself, or the test. Read each question out loud along with the answer choices. I LOVE Edpuzzle because you can also insert questions throughout your video to check for understanding.

4. Accommodation Type: Modify Weight of Course Components

Ways to Implement in your classroom: Honestly, I feel like this one throws general education teachers for a loop, because it kind of goes against what we’ve learned in college. For reference, they trained me for 5.5 years to be a general education teacher and now I’m a full-fledged life-skills teacher. So, I get it.

An EASY way to do this is to use a rubric method of grading. Your general education students will be aiming to score a 4 (or whatever the highest category is) which will equate to a score of 100%, right?

Your SPED students with this accommodation can benefit from using the score of 3 to equal their 100%. You aren’t doing anything different, but modifying the weight of how you’re grading them.

5. Accommodation Type: Preferential Seating

Ways to Implement in your classroom: This might sound like a no-brainer, but I’ve gotta say it- have the kiddo who has this accommodation sit at a desk that is close to your desk. You’re probably already doing this with the kiddos who need extra help, but this secures that you met the accommodation. Also, if a kid has vision/ hearing problems, putting them at the front of the classroom can help them.

6. Accommodation Type: Frequent Reminders of Rules

Ways to Implement in your classroom: Your classroom rules SHOULD be posted somewhere in your classroom. However, if you have a student who has this accommodation, try taping out visual reminders of the rules to their desk. That way, every time they look at it, you remind them of the expectations.

7. Accommodation Type: Frequent Check For Understanding

Ways to Implement in your classroom: Say it with me…Warm ups + Exit Tickets!

My warm up every day is a Google Form that is posted in Google Classroom. And guess what? Exit tickets too. They should not be time consuming, or require your help in any way. Click HERE to see an example warm up for my science class.

Another way that is tech-free? Sticky notes. Have each kid write answers/ summaries of what they’ve learned so far and ask them to put them on the door/ wall/ whiteboard for you to see. This way, you also incorporate checking for understanding AND some movement for your students with ADHD.