Learning Activities for the Resource Room

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These activities are for students who "don't have nothin'" or are "going to study." Depending on just how much structure the students require, you may assign point levels to various tasks (which can be individually adjusted) so that the student knows how much s/he has to complete to achieve a certain grade on a daily (or more frequently if necessary) or weekly basis. If students keep an ongoing notebook of their resource room work, they can see progress, especially if they do a lot of work in one area.

Learn to study. Instead of "looking at notes," there are many active ways to study. Student can be graded on things such as illustrated flashcards for words they're learning, or paraphrased notes, or oral quizzes on the material they reviewed, especially if you can give a quiz after fifteen minutes of active studying. The Study Skills Database from Muskingum College has many, many ideas.

Practice basic skills. That doesn't sound too exciting, but often students would pick out one of my "basic Math review" sheets -- and since they couldn't do the same sheet twice, they ended up doing progressively more challenging work but staying at their "comfort level." A good secondary spelling program can also help -- if a student learns the "i before e" rule all of his teachers may thank you!

Learn something else of interest. Some students will work on an independent 'project' in a subject of interest -- especially if they are provided with structure and feedback throughout the process. You could even find out in advance about upcoming projects and give the student the chance to get a jump on assignments that can otherwise be overwhelming. I have had students who decided they wanted to learn all the states and capitals, and scheduled the number they were expected to learn each day; others used blank maps and atlases to learn where countries were. Another student did an extensive report on the nine planets - that wasn't copied from the encyclopedia. It's amazing what students will do when they have choices and expectations.

Learn to keyboard. Keyboarding is a tangible, marketable skill and one that can be learned relatively independently. Odds are reasonably good that there's at least one old typewriter or computer suitable for learning to keyboard somewhere in your building or school system. This site lists many keyboarding programs (software and book form) and products which have been used successfully with people with learning disabilities and/or motor skills challenges.

Learn from commercial comprehension materials. There are many, many products designed to appeal to "at risk" or "reluctant" readers. Be aware, though, that often the reading levels of these materials is still beyond the independent reading levels of your students. Don't add to the humiliation by giving a student "special" materials -- that they still can't read. Look for materials that actively engage the students. Weekly Reader has an "Extra" magazine for middle and secondary special needs students that has many activities and interesting articles.

copyright © 1998-1999 Susan Jones, Resource Room. All Rights Reserved.

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