TEACHING LITERACY TO STUDENTS WITH SIGNIFICANT DISABILITIES

INCLUDING STUDENTS WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES IN MAINSTREAM CLASSROOMS HAS BECOME MORE AND MORE COMMON. THESE SEVERE DISABILITIES INCLUDE BOTH PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL, AND THE DOWNING PROJECT TACKLES THE MOST COMMON SUBJECT AREA FOR INCLUSION - LITERACY. COVERING A WIDE AGE SPECTRUM THE AUTHOR LOOKS AT - ACCESSING THE GENERAL CURRICULUM; - LITERARY ACTIVITIES; - PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT; - PRE- AND POST-ASSESSMENT; - IEPS; - PEER SUPPORT; - SCHOOL-WIDE APPROACHES; - EVALUATION AND GRADING; - GOAL-SETTING. THE PROJECT ALSO INCLUDES VERY PRACTITIONER-ORIENTED PEDAGOGY, INCLUDING FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, CHAPTER BY CHAPTER REFERENCES, BIBLIOGRAPHY WITH SHORT SUMMARIES, AND RELEVANT WEBSITES. JUNE DOWNING IS A PROFESSOR AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE, WHERE SHE PREPARES TEACHERS TO WORK IN THE AREA OF MODERATE//SEVERE DISABILITIES. SHE HAS BEEN THE PROJECT DIRECTOR OF NUMEROUS FEDERALLY-FUNDED PROJECTS TO TRAIN TEACHERS. FOR THE PAST 16 YEARS, HER FOCUS IN TEACHER PREPA