1. Chapter Seven: Adapting the Socioemotional Environment

Assignment: Address the tough issue of asking students to be more than they are, or all they can be by thinking about your feelings with respect to yourself and then with respect to your own children or students. Move the idea around to different fields. Have trouble in math? What kind of challenges will you respond to from others - and from yourself. Have trouble dancing? What would it take to get you up in front of others singing a solo or dancing in competition. How involved is your self esteem? When challenged beyond your ability to rise to the occasion, do you become defensive? Quite trying? Become deeply motivated?

Now write a one minute essay about this issue for 25 points.

2. Chapter Eight: Adapting the Behavioral Environment

Assignment: Structure is a key element in this chapter. It is also important because it relates to one of the most basic human needs - the need for safety and security. Another way that it serves a vital purpose is setting up a pattern or ritual that students can come to expect. Balancing the student need for structure and the teacher's need for it is especially difficult. For some teachers, structure is hard because it causes them to hold to a standard, to be more prepared more organized, more ritualized than they like. In this instance, the teacher often feels pushed by students. Sometimes it is difficult because it forces the teacher to be more self discipline, controlled, willing to accept responsibility to nurture students as they learn self control rather than getting upset, angry or punitive with students who have the greatest challenges in learning to accept an cooperative within a structured setting.

Review your own feelings about structure and videotape a typical hour in your class. Go through and check on each instance when you had a structure in place, a procedure, for example and were using it. Also make note of how many minutes in that your were spontaneous. Note who does the talking, how many students appear to be on task and how much time you were on task. Report that you have taped and analyzed yourself in class and receive 50 points. There is no need to disclose your findings unless you wish to do so.

If you do not teach, ask a colleague to permit you to tape the class or to sit in and make notes about structure. The same procedures for reviewing the hour can be used and you can receive the 50 points by reporting that you observed in the classroom and evaluated the structure.

3. Chapter Nine: Adapting the Physical Environment

Assignment: After reading this chapter, think of five ways that you would like schools to change physically to better meet children's needs. Look the list over. Now make a goal to begin one of those changes in your teaching setting. Once you have written out the goal, make a realistic action plan for something you could do tomorrow to begin that change. Submit your response for 25 points.

3. Chapter Ten: Adapting the Lesson Plan

Assignment: Lesson plans are nearly always done from the teacher's point of view. Take one of your most successful lessons - one you planned well and that worked well in the classroom. Go back and change the lesson, focusing on what the students will be doing rather than on what you will be doing. Send a copy of the altered lesson plan for 25 points. If you can do so, try teaching the lesson using the student focused lesson plan. Report on changes you noticed by making these changes. If you try that and send in a report of findings, give yourself 50 points.

You may not have access to a classroom. If not, try this one for a different look. Take a lesson you liked as a student and determine what level of thinking it asked from students and what forms of intelligence it featured. Now turn the lesson into a smorgasbord by adding activities that would appeal to at least three other kinds of intelligence.

Give yourself 25 points when you submit the altered lesson plan.

4. Assignment: You have a lot of personal experience in education. As you read the chapters you may have developed some idea you would like to share or a feeling about the author's position with respect to inclusion or her educational philosophy. Some of the readings in this section may be things you feel strongly about as well. Feel free to write a one minute essay expressing your ideas. Give yourself 25 points of credit for each one minute essay you submit. If you would rather submit the ideas in a chat room or in WebCT, feel free to do that, and keep track of your points.

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