Inclusive Pedagogy

Every student has unique needs, and my intention as an inclusive educator is to create supportive learning opportunities for all students to participate, succeed, and grow within the classroom space.

Communty-building activities are crucial within inclusive spaces.

I worked with a group of students to build a structure using rubber bands and dowels. While this image captures a literal example of “building,” the ideas behind this activity are extraordinary: every person has a role and a valuable contribution.

Inclusion means that every student has a voice and a role in the classroom community.

Developing an Inclusive Community

These pictures, as well as the photo to the left, are examples of doors that I created with my students. The message to students conveyed by these doors is that they belong.

During the first few days of school, students create several pieces of artwork with their names to be used in the classroom. This creates a sense of ownership in the physical space which translates to a sense of ownership in the nonphysical "space."

One of my favorite morning meeting exercises, which I call Group Construction, is to have children select a building block from a choice of three or four different blocks. While singing, each student has a turn to add a block. In this sense, we are literally building together. This activity is a great place to begin discussions about what it means to build an inclusive community.

Morning Meeting
This is a time that I use to create inclusive community in the classroom. Every student has a voice and a time to share.

A daily question that provides an answer for every student is a great way to not only learn about students, but also to generate discussion and ideas for writing! In this chart, students could chose an "imaginary" pet that they either have or know.

I created a system to manage student activity leaders, with each student’s name on a clip, pictured above. When a student is randomly selected for a turn, the clip attaches to the top to ensure that every student has the opportunity to participate.

I have a cup of popsicle sticks labeled with each child's name, this way I can ensure each child participates if he or she chooses. I also make sure students know that they have the option to pass their turn.

In this morning greeting, students find their match by reading the clock. I designed the backgrounds to match three levels of difficulty, which is indicated by the colors. Students are unaware of the levels, but it helps me ensure that every student is able to successfully participate.

Morning meeting is also a great time to be a little silly! On a turn, students roll the cubes and make a motion that corresponds to the emotion and the animal on the cubes. Then, the whole class mimics that motion!

In this film canister greeting, the canisters are filled with various items. Students have to find their partner by listening to the sound created by shaking the canister. This activity could be used as a metaphor to listening to people before making judgements.

Cooking is a wonderful way to include every student in a purposeful, team-building activity. Parents are welcome to come in and share family recipes with the class too!

Classroom celebrations help create inclusivity through shared experiences. Birthdays, publishing parties, and other celebratory events are great ways to involve parents and other community members, too.

Cooking in the Classroom

Space for Critical Conversations
To support critical conversations, students must be comfortable sharing their ideas with each other. Sharing circles can support students to participate during group conversations and to confront more challenging topics as a community when they arise.

Maintaining a Kind Community

When some behavior issues arose in our classroom, I asked students to think about kindness in terms of how it feels, looks, and sounds. We read Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson and discussed how our community could show kindness to each other in a sharing circle.

Students are able to reflect on their feelings after the sharing circle in their response journals.

In a mini-unit on figurative language in poetry, thirty fifth grade students came up with nearly thirty different interpretations of the sample poems. In our conversations about the poems, I celebrated the variety of interpretations discussed! Inclusivity means celebrating the variety of experiences and perspectives in any classroom.

To prepare for the discussion on the meaning of a poem, I used a think-pair-share participation structure. This way, students were able to develop their own ideas about the poem, share them with a partner, and then share them with the whole group if they chose.

Student Choice
A learning menu is a way that I include a variety of learning preferences so that students can choose how to showcase their skills and understanding. Click on the photos below to download more information!

I developed this mini-unit on New York City architecture and include examples of highly differentiated lesson plans. Click on the photo to open the unit plan.

Supporting Learning with Visuals

These images are from a "living" word wall that I created. I collected artifacts from a lesson to include on the words associated with that lesson. The color-coded words also help students associate the academic terms with a particular topic.

A miniature easel at a station activity helps students visually remember the four major components of blood.

In a minilesson on leads, I used an actual hook to attach the types of leads students could use to 'hook' their audience.

In this Makey Makey investigation, students organize their findings using photographs, rather than writing. This supported many students who were learning to read and write and encouraged all students to participate.

Using Culturally Relevant, Inclusive Texts

Students should see themselves reflected in the curriculum and throughout the texts used in the classroom. My commitment to inclusivity extends to the classroom library and resources.

In a read aloud of Those Shoes, by Maribeth Boelts, students discussed how it feels to empathize with another person by putting yourself in their shoes. Inclusive classrooms teach students to consider multiple perspectives.

Free Play Centers

With the help of camp directors, I created this dramatic play area for students to explore veterinary care. Free play is inclusive because every student has a role in the creation of a narrative in collaboration with others. I always look for an opportunity to create free-play spaces to invite students to role-play within a particular topic and within an inclusive community.

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