Lesson Plan #5 Special Populations:

Students at risk of school failure typically suffer from some form of

social/emotional struggle often related to life situations outside of school. For
students who suffer from social/emotional struggle, it is important to identify
accommodations that are reasonable to ask of teachers in all classroom settings.
Social and emotional skills are directly associated with problem-solving,
decision-making, self-management and initiating and maintaining positive social
relationships with peers and others. Furthermore, students who suffer from
social/emotional struggles tend to develop learning problems linked to
temperament (or style of behavior). Temperament, rather than a disability of
any sort, might account for how students behave in a particular situation. Thus,
for this lesson I will include a number of accommodations that will promote the
social/emotional well-being of my students. First, I will reinforce the positive
skills. Second, I will teach my students critical skills such as awareness of nonverbal cues, social conversation, being funny vs. acting funny, confidentiality and
getting personal, giving and accepting positive feedback, identifying feelings
(yours and others), and anticipating problems and problem solving. Third, I will
discover ways to build my students self-concept, and help them to attain and
maintain a level of appreciation and positive status among their peers. Fourth, I
will try to minimize competition in my classroom, and focus instead on
cooperative learning. Students are quick to compare their work with the
performances of others, so rather than asking students to work independently, I
will intentionally create opportunities for shared learning and group activities.