Case,+Julie,+Inclusion+Strategies+in+Writing

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__ Julie Case: An Introduction __


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Hello all. My name is Julie Case and this is my Wiki page for Inclusions at SOU. Before answering the question from the syllabus, I thought I would tell you a little bit about myself. I am 29 years old and have a beautiful daughter named Jenae who is 10. Her father died when she was five and it has been just the two of us since she was 3. She is my whole world! When Jeane was one year old, I realized I was not taught how to be a mother and as my mother was a poor example, I wanted to learn all about children so that her life could be better than mine. This led me into teaching. When she was four, I found that the best way to learn about children was studying child development. I loved it and decided to study teaching.

====I am very passionate about education because I believe that the lack of is the main reason for most of the problems in our world. If there is no ignorance, there is no hate. But we are not taught many important ideas and information so hate and ignorance still exist. I am also very passionate about child abuse prevention. I really needed an adult to notice my situation when I was little and not one person tried to help my siblings and I. I want to be that person! I want to be that adult who sees a child in need of intervention and has the courage to do it the right way! ====

====I am also very into a few others things in case you want to know a bit more about me. I love to sing, dance, play with my daughter, read - mostly fantasy and scifi -, tattoos, tigers, laughing, and being with my family. Hearing my daughter laugh or sing songs in the shower always makes me smile and I love the natural world. I am into classical music but love rock and roll (especially the classics) and enjoy meaningful thoughts and quotes. I'm a ponderer so if I am quiet don't think I'm bored! I love to think! Also, I started writing a scifi/fantasy novel last year and it is going really well. Most of all, I like to be a goof and have fun! ====



1. Something that I want you to know about me or something about me that is interesting:
====A. I am a mother above all else and I believe that children are rarely cherished as they should be is something you should know. Something interesting... I have an unhealthy obsession with weapons (not guns but old school stuff like swords and daggers). ====

2. Explain you education and career goals:
====A. My previous education is as follows: Graduated high school from Santa Teresa High in San Jose California. Received an AA in Liberal Studies from DeAnza College. Spent one year at San Jose State before moving to Oregon and attending SOU. My education goals are to finish with a Masters in Education and a teaching degree and to continue my education in music after my daughter is grown up. My career goals are to teach in an elementary setting after graduation. ====

4. What is my greatest fear about becoming a teacher:
====A. That I will get burned out by all the politics; that I will not be able to make a difference in the educational system as well as in individual lives because our society does not value education or children; that I will fail. ====

5. Did I ever experience a time when something was extremely difficult to learn; how did that make me feel:
====A. In school, not so much but in life all the time. I find understanding myself and others extremely difficult. Also, I have a close friend who is an expert at anything technological and when he tried to help me learn how to fix software myself, I smile and nod becuase no matter how he says it or how many times he shows me, its all Greek to me. These both make me feel frustrated and inadequate. ====

6. How might this piece of my history help me connect to students with learning differences:
A. Empathy is key to understanding others and nothing gives you empathy more than being in someone else's shoes.

7. What do I want to gain from this course:
====A. To learn how to understand what these children feel like and go through; to gain understanding; to be capable of loving and helping every child no matter what. ====

__ Introduction to Inclusion Strategies In Writing __
====Students with a specific learning disability in writing, or dysgraphia, have no issues communicating verbally or with speaking but when asked to put thoughts on paper, there is a real block that keeps them from writing in ways their peers can. These students may have bad handwriting and complain about pain in their hands and arms after a short time of writing. Being educated on this disability is very important so that as educators we can notice the signs and not expect more from a student than they are capable of. Many students with dysgraphia are labeled as lazy or bad writers, neither of those are true. Just as those with dyslexia need reading interventions, children with dysgraphia just need strategies in writing. ==== ====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">I chose this particular disability because I have a deep love of writing and it has always come so naturally to me. I did not realize how naturally until my younger sisters grew up and I started helping them with their homework. When I would read their English papers, I could not believe how they read! Then, soon after, I entered college and started doing peer editing and encountered the same issue. I could not believe that people had trouble writing; I simply assumed that I came as easily to everyone as it did to me. As such, I know that this area is one that I truly need to understand from the point of view of a student who has problems in writing. ==== ====

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__<span style="color: #671a7a; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Top Five Concepts That I Learned About Dysgraphia __
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">1. Empathy: we need to put ourselves in their shoes. If we simply think of them as lazy or incapable, then that is what they will be. We need to teach empathy to the other students so that an atmosphere of learning will be created. No child, LD or not can learn well in an environment that is not conducive to their needs and we can not know what a child with dysgraphia needs without thinking from their point of view. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">2. Give time: time is an interesting concept. There never seems to be enough unless there is too much. Putting children with dysgraphia under the "normal" time constraints in writing will only hinder their progress. Give them the time they need not only to accomplish but to understand. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">3. Different types, different accommodation - know your student's condition and needs: each student will exhibit dysgraphia in their own way, although there are same base problems to look at in diagnosis. Know the disability and know your students. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">4. Interventions and accommodations: I learned a great deal about the different strategies involved in helping children with writing problems. I was among the many who thought that clearly, writing out words, letters, phrases, and sentences over and over will help improve writing but when dysgraphia is involved, this will only cause frustration for you and especially your student. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">5. Know your school's views and resources on dysgraphia: knowing what support or lack of you may have within your school climate can help you to know what you need to do to prepare yourself for accommodating students with dysgraphia. If your school has a lack of education on the subject and/or have misconceptions about it, you may need to take the time to educate them and get them involved so that the school will have resources for you.

__<span style="color: #6b139a; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Top Resource __
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Jones, S. M. Ed. "Accommodations and Modifications for Students with Handwriting Problems and/or Dysgraphia."Resource Room/Team Prairie, LLC. Dec. 1998.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating - 5 of 5
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This article is informative, well laid out, and gives many helpful suggestions and interventions for students with dysgraphia. Susan Jones discusses not only the signs and symptoms of dysgraphia and what the condition involves but also gives accommodations, modifications, and other tools for instruction and assistance of students with writing issues. The organization of the site and information is not only easy to follow but set up in logical way that makes the information accessible for all types of educators. If a teacher has realized a student may have dysgraphia, this site would be an ideal place to start looking into it and getting the right kind of help for the student. ====

__ Additional Resources __
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">1. Wagaman, J. "How to Teach Students With a Writing Disability". Special Needs Education @ Suite 101. Nov. 2008 ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating - 4 out of 5
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This site gave a great easy to understand definition of dysgraphia and discussed modifications and effective teaching ideas to assist students with writing issues. Although informative and well laid out, it lacked depth of information - there was not very much offered. This web page is very short and only gives a few paragraphs worth of information. ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating - 5 out of 5
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Although a somewhat short page, this web page was full of very easy to access and informative information on dysgraphia. It includes a video that goes along with the description of the disability, descriptions of warning signs of dysgraphia by age group, as well as strategies which are also organized by age group. At the end of the page, it also gives ideas on how to best approach written assignments which is broken down into drafting, revising, and finalizing. ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating - 4 out of 5
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">There are many different issues students with dysgraphia may have in writing and this article discusses many of them as well as giving detailed information on the condition. It goes into several different types of strategies (compensation and remediation) and has many ideas within those two headings for helping students succeed in writing. The page even had acronyms to help you remember strategies as well as a list of other sources on dysgraphia and dyslexia. ====

====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">4. Learning Disability Association of American. "7 Proven Strategies to Help Kids with Dysgraphia". Fonts4teachers.com. Jan. 2011. ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating - 4 out of 5
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This web page simply lists 7 strategies to assist students with dysgraphia. Each strategy starts with the condition - for example it will state what the child may be struggling with - "if your student is having trouble....". Each strategy is informative and helpful but there is not much else to the page. ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating - 3 out of 5
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Although there are many qualms about Wikipedia because anyone can edit it, this page about dysgraphia talked about many of the topics of the other sources on dysgraphia as well as going in to causes and treatments. ====

====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">6. Jung, M. "Activity Lets Kids Understand Learning Disorders". Teacher Tips/Training @ Suite 101. Mar. 2009. ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating - 5 of 5
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">I chose to include this site because I believe educating students without disabilities is key to helping them have empathy towards their peers who struggle. This site page gives a great, easy to implement activity that will show the students just how difficult writing is for a student with dysgraphia. ====

====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">7. Handwriting Problems and Solutions. "Solutions for Kids with Written Output Disorders". 2005-2012. ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating - 4 of 5
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">One aspect of this site that I enjoyed was that it goes into issues with the school system pertaining to dysgraphia. They talk about how schools can think that enough practice makes perfect and don't keep in mind that endless writing practice does nothing for children with dysgraphia. They also list the five different types of dysgraphia which many other sites did not break down or discuss. ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating - 3 out of 5
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Gives definition of dysgraphia and some accommodations. Has a striking real example of not only a students writing but how they feel about the frustrations that comes with having a writing disability. ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Video Links: Writing with Mirrors Empathy Exercises

You Tube Video 1

You Tube Video 2