{"id":15903,"date":"2025-05-01T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/?p=15903"},"modified":"2025-04-30T11:00:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T18:00:29","slug":"3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"850\" height=\"299\" src=\"https:\/\/d1ushxurfijnsi.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/09\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-kids-with-disabilities_850x300_hero--e1632154426938.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15905\" title=\"3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-kids-with-disabilities_850x300_hero\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/09\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-kids-with-disabilities_850x300_hero--e1632154426938.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/09\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-kids-with-disabilities_850x300_hero--e1632154426938-300x106.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/09\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-kids-with-disabilities_850x300_hero--e1632154426938-768x270.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/09\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-kids-with-disabilities_850x300_hero--e1632154426938-720x253.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:3rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not all teachers feel confident meeting the needs of the students with disabilities in their general education classroom. If that\u2019s true for you, here are three specific things to try as you work to ensure all the students in your classroom receive the instruction they need.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tip 1: See if there are overlapping accommodations and modifications<\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each student in special education has an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.understood.org\/articles\/en\/what-is-an-iep\">individual education plan (IEP)<\/a> written by their special ed teacher, often referred to as a case manager, and developed in team meetings (which you can attend!). If a student in your class has an IEP, ask for access to that document and read through it. It may be available digitally if your school uses a learning management system. If it\u2019s not, ask their case manager for a hard copy. Regardless of how you get the IEP, think of it as your first opportunity to build a relationship with that case manager. It will be invaluable for you to be able to consult about the needs of students you share throughout the year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019d like to point out three especially valuable sections in any IEP. While these documents vary a bit from state to state, all should include the following sections. (To take a look at a sample IEP, visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregon.gov\/ode\/students-and-family\/SpecialEducation\/publications\/Pages\/Oregon-Standard-IEP.aspx\">Oregon Department of Education\u2019s website<\/a> for copies of the Oregon Standard IEP form in multiple languages.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Present level of educational performance. <\/strong>This first section explains a student\u2019s current level of performance. Sometimes referred to by the acronyms PLOP, PLAAFP, or PLP, it discusses the strengths, interests, preferences, and needs of a student. It usually breaks down by major academic area and details areas of skill, deficit, or strength in reading, writing, and math. In addition to the academic areas, this section also discusses areas including attendance, communication, and social-emotional, study, and motor skills.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Services. <\/strong>Later in an IEP, you\u2019ll notice a section dedicated to documenting services a student receives. It lists both the service time and area a student in special education is legally entitled to and the location of those services. For example, you may have a student who needs reading services in the special education setting. Chances are they have resource-room time built into their schedule or pull-out services with a special education teacher during your class.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Supplementary aids and services.<\/strong> Here you\u2019ll see what accommodations or modifications (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.understood.org\/articles\/en\/the-difference-between-accommodations-and-modifications\">they\u2019re not the same thing!<\/a>) a student needs to have equitable access to your general education classroom. These are supports like extended time, reduced problem sets, and access to math charts or tools, a calculator, and text-to-speech.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As part of your planning process, I recommend pulling all your students\u2019 IEPs together and comparing and contrasting them, especially the sections noted above. Getting a complete picture of what all your students with disabilities will need this year can help you save time because, if there\u2019s some overlap, you can make fewer plans for differentiating instruction. It can also help you ensure you\u2019re meeting the needs of all the children in your class. You can sort the information into two groups.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Common accommodations or modifications.<\/strong> If all or most of your students with disabilities have a certain accommodation or modification, you can start including that in all your lessons or on your assessments (more on that a little later) and making those supports available with your lesson materials. This approach will likely benefit all the students in your class, regardless of disability status, because plenty of kids who aren\u2019t in special education can have difficulties in many of the same ways when learning math, reading, writing, behavior, and communication skills.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Unique accommodations and modifications.<\/strong> Some students will have needs that are unique to them. These students will require more planning from you. They can be bigger pieces, such as break cards for kinesthetic learning or emotional regulation deficits that allow students to exit the classroom. These cards allow kids to step outside so they can reregulate and use coping skills to deal with emotions, stress, or academic demands. In addition, their sensory needs can be met by moving or burning excess energy. Planning the best time for this is key so students do not miss key concepts. Students with fine or gross motor deficits may also need adaptive technology supports, so sharing PowerPoint slides, <a href=\"https:\/\/kahoot.com\/\">Kahoot!<\/a> content, or other digital resources may require additional planning.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tip 2: Increase guided practice<\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After you\u2019ve studied all the IEPs for your students, your thinking will inevitably shift to, \u201cOkay, well, how? And with what time?\u201d These are important concerns.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While we cannot increase the length of the bell schedule, we <em>can<\/em> shift the structure of the lesson plans we use. Lesson plans that allow for a gradual release of responsibility can help. They rely on a larger guided practice section, which can help you create more opportunities to implement accommodations. Guided practice is a part of the gradual release model <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IOMF06TJAO4\">\u201cI do. We do. You do.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When tackling the \u201cI do\u201d section, limit how much time you spend speaking so the information you\u2019re providing is in digestible chunks. The \u201cWe do\u201d is a modeling collaboration between you and your students that solidifies concepts from the beginning of a lesson.\u00a0Intervals of teacher guidance through modeling and formative questioning strategies, followed by independent student work (the \u201cYou do\u201d), will allow you to move through the classroom and implement individual accommodations and\/or modifications. In addition, you can provide individual or small-group\u00a0modeling, do checks for understanding, or break tasks up into pieces for certain students. Proximity interventions can increase in longer guided practice sections, which enables more one-on-one check-ins.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tip 3: Plan for accessible assessment<\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tip #1 deals with your daily lesson plans and the acquisition of knowledge students need to move up <a href=\"https:\/\/citt.ufl.edu\/resources\/the-learning-process\/designing-the-learning-experience\/blooms-taxonomy\/#:~:text=The%20original%20Taxonomy%20of%20Educational,according%20to%20complexity%20and%20richness.\">Bloom\u2019s Taxonomy<\/a> and develop content proficiency. Tip #2 targets what to focus on during instruction. Now let\u2019s talk about assessment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IEPs contain precise accommodations or modifications for assessment, and they can be different from lesson accommodations or modifications. These will likely be found in a different section of the IEP and will include things like end-of-year state summatives and even the SAT. Whether you proctor those kinds of tests or not, you can use this information when designing assessments for your students, including formative assessments, and when administering interim assessments like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/map-growth\/\">MAP\u00ae Growth\u2122<\/a>. (To learn more about specific features built into our assessments, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/accommodations-accessibility\/\">NWEA.org\/accommodations\/accessibility<\/a>.) This needn\u2019t create significant extra prep! When gearing up for your first set of assessments, ask yourself the following questions, based on the process you followed earlier:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What assessment accommodations or modifications are shared by my students, and how can I plan my assessments to allow for them?<\/li>\n<li>What assessment accommodations or modifications are unique to certain students? How far ahead do I need to plan\u2014and what kinds of plans do I need to make\u2014to meet their needs?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lastly, reach out to your students\u2019 case managers and ask them to review your assessments with you. They can provide further insight on how to fine-tune them. Sharing the prep can also save time and reduce reassessment or a high failure rate.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In closing<\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each school year brings challenges and success, stresses and celebrations. With these pre-planning tips, you can cut down on the prep involved for the students with disabilities in your class\u2014and timed saved while planning more effective instruction is always a win.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rest assured that creating an environment of success early will impact the coming weeks and months. In time, this work will become more automatic, from lesson to lesson, unit to unit, and even year to year.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not all teachers feel confident meeting the needs of the students with disabilities in their general education classroom. If that\u2019s true for you, here are three specific [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":19181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Here are three things to try in your classroom to ensure the students you work with receive the differentiated instruction they need.","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[619,622,634],"grade_level":[830,831,832,833],"product":[],"theme":[],"coauthors":[{"id":198,"name":"Douglas Buttorff, NWEA","link":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/author\/dbuttorff\/","avatar_urls":{"24":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif","48":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif","96":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif"}}],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.14 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities - Teach. Learn. Grow.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here are three things to try in your classroom to ensure the students you work with receive the differentiated instruction they need.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here are three things to try in your classroom to ensure the students you work with receive the differentiated instruction they need.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Teach. Learn. Grow.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NWEA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-01T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-30T18:00:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/09\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-kids-with-disabilities_1200x630_social-e1632154609358.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Douglas Buttorff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/09\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-kids-with-disabilities_1200x630_social-e1632154609358.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@nwea\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@nwea\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Douglas Buttorff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Douglas Buttorff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/aebaded883e8aa567e2511289aef5c05\"},\"headline\":\"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-01T12:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-30T18:00:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/\"},\"wordCount\":1289,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Classroom tips\",\"Differentiating instruction\",\"Students with disabilities\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Professional learning\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/\",\"name\":\"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities - Teach. Learn. Grow.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-01T12:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-30T18:00:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"Here are three things to try in your classroom to ensure the students you work with receive the differentiated instruction they need.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Teach. Learn. Grow.\",\"description\":\"The education blog\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"NWEA\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d1ushxurfijnsi.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2023\/02\/NWEA_Blog_FEB23.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d1ushxurfijnsi.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2023\/02\/NWEA_Blog_FEB23.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":642,\"caption\":\"NWEA\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nwea\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/nwea\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/nweamap\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NWEA\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nwea\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/aebaded883e8aa567e2511289aef5c05\",\"name\":\"Douglas Buttorff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/dc6ca8cdd6a4fc1559451856b1c7d8e9\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif\",\"caption\":\"Douglas Buttorff\"},\"description\":\"Douglas Buttorff has been an educator in the Southern Oregon area for over 10 years. His primary background is in special education, but he has experience in mathematics, English, and health and PE. Douglas served as a content designer for professional learning at NWEA. He received both his MAT and master\u2019s in special education from Southern Oregon University. His research looks at instruction in the general education classroom for students with learning challenges and how teachers can augment or adapt lesson plans for diverse learners. Outside of the classroom, he is a climbing guide, skier, and backpacker.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/author\/dbuttorff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities - Teach. Learn. Grow.","description":"Here are three things to try in your classroom to ensure the students you work with receive the differentiated instruction they need.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities","og_description":"Here are three things to try in your classroom to ensure the students you work with receive the differentiated instruction they need.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/","og_site_name":"Teach. Learn. Grow.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NWEA","article_published_time":"2025-05-01T12:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-30T18:00:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/09\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-kids-with-disabilities_1200x630_social-e1632154609358.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Douglas Buttorff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/09\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-kids-with-disabilities_1200x630_social-e1632154609358.jpeg","twitter_creator":"@nwea","twitter_site":"@nwea","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Douglas Buttorff","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/"},"author":{"name":"Douglas Buttorff","@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/aebaded883e8aa567e2511289aef5c05"},"headline":"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities","datePublished":"2025-05-01T12:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-30T18:00:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/"},"wordCount":1289,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Classroom tips","Differentiating instruction","Students with disabilities"],"articleSection":["Professional learning"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/","url":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/","name":"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities - Teach. Learn. Grow.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-05-01T12:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-30T18:00:29+00:00","description":"Here are three things to try in your classroom to ensure the students you work with receive the differentiated instruction they need.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/3-ways-gen-ed-teachers-can-support-students-with-disabilities\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"3 ways gen ed teachers can support students with disabilities"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/","name":"Teach. Learn. Grow.","description":"The education blog","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#organization","name":"NWEA","url":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/d1ushxurfijnsi.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2023\/02\/NWEA_Blog_FEB23.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d1ushxurfijnsi.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2023\/02\/NWEA_Blog_FEB23.png","width":1200,"height":642,"caption":"NWEA"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nwea\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/nwea","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/nweamap\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NWEA","https:\/\/twitter.com\/nwea"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/aebaded883e8aa567e2511289aef5c05","name":"Douglas Buttorff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/dc6ca8cdd6a4fc1559451856b1c7d8e9","url":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif","caption":"Douglas Buttorff"},"description":"Douglas Buttorff has been an educator in the Southern Oregon area for over 10 years. His primary background is in special education, but he has experience in mathematics, English, and health and PE. Douglas served as a content designer for professional learning at NWEA. He received both his MAT and master\u2019s in special education from Southern Oregon University. His research looks at instruction in the general education classroom for students with learning challenges and how teachers can augment or adapt lesson plans for diverse learners. Outside of the classroom, he is a climbing guide, skier, and backpacker.","url":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/author\/dbuttorff\/"}]}},"formatted_date":"05.01.25","post_default_image":{"ID":16450,"id":16450,"title":"","filename":"6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social.png","filesize":1169907,"url":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/12\/6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social.png","link":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2025\/6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover\/6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social\/","alt":"","author":"142","description":"","caption":"","name":"6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":16447,"date":"2021-12-15 18:43:32","modified":"2023-05-16 19:36:21","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1200,"height":630,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/12\/6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/12\/6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social-300x158.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":158,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/12\/6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social-768x403.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":403,"large":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/12\/6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social.png","large-width":1200,"large-height":630,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/12\/6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social.png","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":630,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/12\/6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social.png","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":630,"lg_square":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/12\/6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social-325x325.png","lg_square-width":325,"lg_square-height":325,"rel_thumb":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/uploads\/2021\/12\/6-ways-to-help-your-child-read-fluently-cover-to-cover_1200x630_social-720x378.png","rel_thumb-width":720,"rel_thumb-height":378}},"time_to_read":"6-minute read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15903"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/198"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15903"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24992,"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15903\/revisions\/24992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15903"},{"taxonomy":"grade_level","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/grade_level?post=15903"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=15903"},{"taxonomy":"nwea_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/theme?post=15903"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=15903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}