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Jodie Haney

Standard 11 Book Review



Though not a novel or literary work, the book utilized in our Inclusion class proved to
provide information on a contemporary idea in education. Teaching in Todays Inclusive
Classrooms: A Universal Design for Learning Approach by Gargiulo and Metcalf is a vital piece
of literature for todays classrooms. The idea of an inclusive classroom has become so much
more than that, it has become reality in most schools and classrooms.
All children have a right to a free education, and that includes those that require special
needs services. Due to different pieces of legislature, those students with special needs are held
to the same needs as those without. An inclusive classroom is just as it states, a classroom that
involves both regular education and special education students throughout instruction. This is a
generally new concept since students with special needs used to be pulled and isolated from
general education students, typically in a separate part of the building or outside of the school all
together.
This book gives insight into teaching in an inclusive classroom setting. It gives examples
of how to organize lesson to meet diverse learning needs. It gives samples of tables and
activities that benefit different diagnoses and learning styles. The book also covers how to
integrate students with special needs into a regular education classroom, melting the two together
in a way that works for the majority of students, in a safe and positive learning environment.
The use of inclusion has altered the way education is run in schools today. Those
students with special needs should be placed in the least restrictive environment, and one that is
functional, safe, and positive. Inclusion not only benefits those students with special needs, but
also the regular education students. They are now exposed to diversity in a safe environment.
This can help develop compassion, understanding, and patience. The life skills developed by
students with special needs are social skills, teamwork, and listening. Both parties can benefit
from being together in the classroom. These life skills are just as important as the academic
concepts typically instructed in the classroom.
It is, therefore, my job to create a positive and safe learning environment for an inclusive
classroom. As the teacher, I must work with special education teachers, administration, parents,
and others to enforce the IEP developed by the students team. However, there will be more
responsibility as the teacher to create an appropriate inclusive classroom. I have learned so much
from working through this book. I have obtained numerous ways to evolve a regular education
classroom into an inclusive one. This book provided different tactics and skills orchestrate an
inclusive setting, and one that teaches to a diverse array of learners.

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