NY Beacons: The NY Learning Standards
 Contact Us
Who We Are		  

Search Database
Learning Standards

    
     
 
Internet Links
   
   
           
     

Some Strategies for Visually Impaired Students
To Use on Part IV of the English Regents

    
     
Prepared by Joyce Turvin
    
      In order to ensure that students with visual impairments at The New York Institute for Special Education are able to pass the new Regents Comprehensive Examination in English, teachers are developing test formulas for each of the four questions on the exam. Outline worksheets and in-class activities have been prepared so that students can attempt these tasks with confidence and success.    
           
           
     

  1.      Provide students a with brailled/large print copy of a list of 'inspirational quotes' categorized thematically from the web site http://www.followyourdreams.com.

2.      Ask students to choose one quote for homework each night and explain what it means to them. They must agree or disagree with the quote.

3.      Let students select a critical lens from a “hat” and explain it in class. Divide the class into groups and have one group agree and another disagree with the lens.

4.      Add the next step, connecting the quote to two pieces of literature with support for the choices.

5.      Use a critical outline worksheet:
             An example of the worksheet is provided here

 

    
     

6.      Select only one literary element to explore in the essay namely – Characterization.

7.      Provide a series of sample essays that focus on character. Choose works in which characters:

    • Respond to fear, suffering , obstacles
    • Sacrifice something valuable for the greater good
    • Have a crisis of conscience
    • Reach a turning point or climax that dramatically changes them
    • Make mistakes
    • Struggle for control of outside forces

  8.      Provide model essays based on stories students
            have read in class.
           

    • The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne and
      The Pearl by Steinbeck

    • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and
      Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck

    • Pygmalion by Shaw and
      Great Expectations by Dickens

    • Moby Dick by Melville and
      Macbeth by Shakespeare

     

    [see footer note on locating online
    text versions of these and other texts]

9.      Require students to complete an outline on model samples. Use an outline format rather than graphic organizers for paragraphs.

    
     
An example of the outline format is provided here
    
           
     

  10. Have students write their own model as a group. Brainstorm
         ideas and organize them using the outline. 

   
           
      In conclusion, this is just one test formula which has been developed to enable visually impaired students to pass the new Regents Comprehensive Examination in English. It presents a clear, concise task analysis for appoaching the essay question or the literature question. Given guided practice and continuous reinforcement, it will prove to be a successful test-taking strategy for Regents students in Special Education.    
           
           
     

Editors Note: Many of the books mentioned here are available in electronic format. Some places to locate them are:

 

    
     
BEACON HOMEPAGE | SOLUTIONS PAGE
    
           
                 
     


The New York Institute for Special Education
999 Pelham Parkway
Bronx, New York 10469-
(718) 519-7000

Contact Project Coordinator