Working With a Small Group of Children

¶ … working with a small group of children from years 4 doing a reading activity sheet set by the teacher. One child is being disruptive and "off task." It is possible the child is off-task because he or she is not quite developmentally ready either for pre-reading tasks or tasks that include worksheets. The child might be feeling somewhat insecure. Like the child who is given a toy too advanced for him and plays with the box instead of the boy, the child might be in a little too deep.

I would sit by the child and encourage him, simplifying the task for him if necessary, providing moral support and using his paper as an example so he would have the help he needs. Probably proximity alone would calm his behavior but he might need more than that. A couple of older preschoolers are teasing a child with cerebral palsy by imitating some of his gestures and movements. This is totally against school policy, which advocates a caring, inclusive atmosphere and is distressing for the preschooler in the wheelchair.

The children are teasing because they do not understand. I would gather some books written for very young children about children with differences. Since this is an inclusive atmosphere, they may encounter children with varied differences. I would incorporate these kinds of materials into the curriculum on a regular basis. I would also seek the help of an adaptive physical education teacher so we could develop ways to play games the child in the wheelchair could participate in.

I would also look for a few child-sized wheelchairs to borrow so the other children could try using them. Then we could talk about ways wheelchairs help, and ways they're not really very convenient. With the parents' permission, I would explain, simply, why this child uses a wheelchair. Part of this education would be reminders that teasing is not a friendly thing to do. 3. You are working individually with a year 5 child who is meant to be completing a math activity sheet set by the teacher.

Instead of working, she wants to engage you in a long conversation about what she did on the weekend with her family. I don't think 30 seconds of conversation will hurt anything, and will allow the child to get the weekend's activities off her mind so she can think about the math assignment. However, if she makes efforts to extend the conversation, it may be an avoidance tactic. Then it's time for her to set her other thoughts aside.

It is possible that the page is too hard for her or that she did not understand the instructions. I might try several ways to get her focused on the task, but since she wants to task, I might say something like "Show me how we're supposed to do this." This would get her more involved with the task, and if she does have difficulties with it, it would be clear that she does. 4. You are working in the Home Economics room with a group of year 10 girls.

It is your role to assist as unobtrusively as possible, a student with learning difficulties. Some of the girls make unkind comments about the student and laugh at her behind her back. Year ten girls will not be as easily swayed to accept others as preschoolers might be. Since my help should be unobtrusive, with the teacher's permission I would occasionally visit other students as well. My proximity, especially several times, to the girls doing the teasing would probably be enough to end the teasing during that class.

They would realize they were being overheard by adults and likely stop. However, I would also tell any teachers involved with the targeted students what happened, and I would mention.