I have a self contained classroom special needs classroom with a WIDE variety of needs. When I give an assignment that is based on a whole group lesson, there are 2 kids who can not ever do ANYTHING that is asked of them. They are just that low functioning academically. The one child is also low in functional skills, such as cutting, tracing, matching and can work on task boxes, etc. The other child is not; he is just low academically. Here is the issue I am having..... Sometimes these are several day long assignments that we work on for 30 mins at a time. I HIGHLY modify the assignments for these 2 students. But, that means that the higher child is always FINISHED way before everyone else. His work is always sloppy, always messy, and he is just not motivated. If I make him do it again, he doesn't care to do any better. He just doesn't appear to want to work in a classroom setting. I also had this student last year, and he has not grown academically at all. When he came to me last year, I couldn't even believe he had ever sat in a classroom he knew so little. He is still at that point. I have tried making different task boxes for him, but he just flies through them and doesn't check over his work. I am not new to this field. I have tried setting a timer, giving him failing grades, making him stay in from his "specials" to fix work, positive reinforcement such as a token system, etc. He never seems to understand that his work is not sufficient. He will say, "I did what you told me to do." He is not a disrespectful child. He follows classroom rules. He just doesn't seem motivated in the classroom. What can I do? Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Can you pull him and help him one on one when possible? It's not always possible, I know, but often it helps to do the first half of questions with him to give him confidence on his own. It also lets him see the quality you expect. What does your SPED teacher say to do?
Thank you for replying. Everything he does do is completed in a 1:1 basis. But, it's always me facilitating the thinking/writing/answer and him just copying, sadly. BTW, I AM the special education teacher. <3
Haha sorry oops! I read your original post wrong. It’s impressive that this is an issue when he already has 1:1 help. I’ve had several students like the one you’ve described, but mostly sitting down with them is the one and only way for them to remain motivated.
Do you have technology that he can work on to get immediate feedback? Does your school pay for any online subscriptions? A bonus for that is that there usually isn’t an end to it.
