SLD Curriculum

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SLD (Specific Learning Disabilities) - The program at ITMS provides educational experiences designed to help each student reach his/her academic potential. Students develop basic skills in Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. The SLD curriculum parallels the regular curriculum in each subject; yet is presented at the student's ability level. Students are served on a part-time or full-time basis depending on their needs. SLD REACH homerooms are scheduled under the name Learn. The programs provide additional help for their regular academic subjects. All SLD students also participate in interdisciplinary teams and regular team activities in order to foster a sense of belonging.

Lang Arts: 6-8
 Students will increase and develop reading, reading comprehension, and writing skills in Level B Language Arts. These skills will be taught daily. Students work on spelling and vocabulary biweekly. Phonics is also studied on a daily basis. Novels are read by the teacher and students - one novel per nine weeks period, which will coincide with a major class project. Writing skills are taught weekly to develop the usage of proper grammar, punctuation, which are used to create well-written paragraphs. Daily reading opportunities focus on finding the main idea(s), characters and plot, and working on thinking skills for higher-order questioning. Every Friday, students discuss appropriate ways to handle self-esteem issues, dealing with conflict, valuing others, and communicating effectively. Vocabulary and spelling levels are at the third grade level. Novels/Reading is at the second grade level. Students follow the Sunshine State Standards for sixth grade students.

Lang Arts: 6-8 - Level B - 2
 This is the middle level SLD Language Arts class and is designed for students who are working on a third to fourth grade reading level. Students use specialized learning strategies to improve reading comprehension, decoding, vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and written language skills. This class also teaches organizational skills through the use of the planner and the organization and usage of a notebook.

Lang Arts: 6-8 - Level C
 Students will increase and develop reading, reading comprehension and writing skills. Skills for the above will be taught and applied throughout the week. Students respond to a daily writing prompt using their journals. FCAT strategies and practice are taught once a week. Biweekly vocabulary and spelling are taught using SLD materials. Specific writing skills for informative, narrative, descriptive, and persuasive writing are broken up each grading period. On Fridays, specific strategies for note taking and study skills are discussed along with open discussion on valuing themselves and others. Novels are read independently, one each nine weeks. The reading of the novel coincides with a major project. The reading, spelling, and vocabulary levels are at grade 6.5. Students follow the Sunshine State Standards for grades six through eight.

Lang Arts: 6-8 - Grade 7 Inclusion class
 The seventh grade Language Arts co-teaching class uses an inclusion model to teach students with learning disabilities along with regular education students. This class utilizes the talents of the regular education teacher and special education teacher for the benefit of all the students in the class. The students with Learning Disabilities have the same requirements as the regular education students. The students may be provided additional time for written assignments and alternate tests designed so that they will be able to demonstrate what they have learned through class instruction and homework activities.

Lang Arts: 6-8 - Grade 8 Inclusion class
 This class is for high functioning eighth grade SLD students. It is co-taught by a regular education teacher and SLD teacher. The curriculum is that of a regular eighth grade Language Arts class and includes extensive reading and writing outside of class. Assistance is provided for the SLD students in the class during REACH.

Math: 6-8 - Level E
 Level E Math is designed for students who are functioning at approximately the fifth grade level. The first semester covers whole number operations. The second semester includes fractions, decimals, percent, and geometry.

Math: 6-8 - Level F
 Level F Math is designed for SLD students working at approximately the sixth grade level. The first quarter is a review of whole number operations; the second quarter covers fractions, the third quarter decimals, ration, and percents, while the fourth quarter covers measurement, geometry, and integers.

Math: 6-8 - Pre-Algebra
 This curriculum is for SLD students on a sixth to seventh grade math level who need specialized math instruction. The text that is used is the American Guidance Pre-Algebra. The students are predominately eighth graders who are preparing for Algebra IA and IB in high school. A few seventh grade SLD students take the class to gain the skills that are necessary for being mainstreamed to a regular education class in eighth grade.

Science: 6-8
 The SLD Science curriculum consists of three different class formats:

General Science
 This class consists of mostly sixth graders who are reading on grade levels one through three. The textbook, American Guidance General Science, gives an overview of Physical, Life and Earth Science. Bi-weekly current events are also an integral part of the curriculum.

Life Science
 The seventh grade Life Science class is an inclusion class with regular education students. The SLD students fully participate in the regular education class, with accommodations. The SLD teacher is scheduled into the class and stays in the class for the entire class period.

Physical Science
 The eighth grade Physical Science class is an inclusion class with regular education students. The SLD students fully participate in the regular education class with accommodations. The SLD teacher is scheduled into the class and stays in the class for the entire class period.

Social Studies: 6-8
 Students analyze both physical and cultural aspects of Asia, Africa and Australia/Antarctica. They explore the unique characteristics of each place - its history, languages, religions, and cultures. They discover how these regions have changed over time and how each affects the world today. The reading level is grade 4.4. This class follows the Sunshine State Standards of the sixth grade regular education curriculum. SLD textbooks and resources are used. Weekly discussions also follow current events. Projects, guided reading, and literature reading activities follow most countries that are studied.