Teacher Tools Related to Instructional Accommodations

List of tools

  • Presentation Instructional Accommodations

    Presentation accommodations allow students to access instruction in ways that do not require them to visually read standard print. These alternate modes of access include visual, tactile, auditory, and a combination of visual and auditory.

  • Response Instructional Accommodations

    Response accommodations allow students to complete assignments, tests, and activities in different ways or to solve or organize problems using some type of assistive device or organizer.

  • Timing and Scheduling Instructional Accommodations

    Timing and scheduling accommodations change the allowable length of time to complete assignments, tests, and activities, and may also change the way the time is organized.

  • Setting Instructional Accommodations

    Setting instructional accommodations change the location in which a student receives instruction or the conditions of an instructional setting in order to reduce distractions, receive distracting accommodations, or increase physical access.

Ideas to Assist Teachers, Parents, and Students with Instructional Accommodations

  • Format to Remind Teachers about a Student's Accommodation Needs

    This format puts the student in charge (building self advocacy skills) and sets the expectation that, with these accommodations, the student can meet the academic standards set for the class.

  • Student Evaluation of Classroom Accommodations

    This form allows the student to rate the effectiveness of the accommodations that he or she is using.

  • Accommodations Journal: Keeping Track of What Works

    One way to keep track of what accommodations work for a student is to support the student in keeping an accommodations journal. The journal lets the student be in charge and could be kept up-to-date through regular consultation with a special education teacher or other staff member.

  • Questions to Ask When Considering Going Beyond Accommodations to Modifying a St…

    This is a list of six important questions to consider when looking at modifying a student’s instruction.

  • Example of Increasingly Independent Presentation Accommodations

    This is a flowchart listing options ranging from the independent use of a digital text reader to having another person read the text directly to the person who needs it.

  • Choosing and Using Accommodations: IEP Team Considerations

    When choosing and using accommodations, the IEP team should start with the standards. The team needs to be aware of what all students at a grade level are expected to know and be able to do and examine the student's learning strengths and challenges in light of each standard.

Developed by: 
Sandra J. Thompson, Ph.D.,
Research Associate, National Center on Educational Outcomes, University of Minnesota