Curriculum Fair Special Education

Many of our Special Education teachers use Dynamic Learning Maps. The familiar texts used in DLM assessments are shared through Tar Heel Reader. Tar Heel Reader is a library of open-source, accessible, texts for individuals with disabilities of all ages. To find books, select by grade and title. The link will take you to the book in Tar Heel Reader. Tar Heel Reader has been designed to allow students to use a variety of alternative access methods. More information about accessing Tar Heel Reader is available on its website. When you are on the title page of a book in Tar Heel Reader, you may click the settings icon at the top right of the screen to download PowerPoint or EPUB versions of the books.

The links on this page go directly to books used in DLM assessments. Familiar texts are used at the Initial Precursor level and sometimes at the Distal and Proximal Precursor levels in grades 3–5. These books have been developed using DLM text development guidelines adopted by DLM states; however, please note that Tar Heel Reader is a large, open-source library of books. Books are contributed to the site by teachers, students, parents, and others from all over the world.

Think Social! is a core Social Thinking curriculum book and complements Thinking About YOU Thinking About ME that is used by Special Education teachers in our district. The book provides step-by-step methods for teaching social-cognitive and -communicative skills to students who have these challenges that affect their school and home life. Students and adults with high-functioning autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, nonverbal learning disability, ADHD and similar difficulties, diagnosed and undiagnosed, have benefited from these methods. Think Social! has 69 lessons that teach students the basics of working and thinking in a group. Each chapter addresses how to use and interpret language (verbal and nonverbal) to understand the contexts where real communication happens. The lessons span from kindergarten through adulthood. Teachers, parents, therapists and other caregivers are encouraged to modify activities to better fit the age of the students. Keep in mind, though, that the most basic activities are often necessary for even our brightest, most advanced and oldest students!