Support Services
District 27 offers its students a rigorous and coherent curricular program for all students in all of the core subject areas. The District also provides a wide variety of services for children that may need additional help. Some of these students require support for learning disabilities while others have a language barrier because they are new to this country. Still, others are identified as intellectually gifted.
The support programs offered include Special Education Resources, Multilingual Learner Program, and Extended Learning Programs. The District also offers a variety of other services to help our students be successful. These include Social Work and Psychology, Reading Specialists, Resource Specialists, and Speech Specialists.
Resource
Contact Information
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Extended Resource
Description
The resource teacher helps provide various types of special instructional programs for students in consultation with the classroom teacher and other specialists. These programs offer learning assistance primarily in the areas of reading, language arts and mathematics.
Multilingual Learner
Contact Information
Description
The Shabonee Multilingual Learner Program provides a learning environment that is interactive and visually supported to help students easily acquire English language skills in all four language domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.
On the Multilingual Learner links section, you will be find links to educational websites where you can play listening and speaking games, read and write stories, or practice your math facts. These links are for students AND parents who are learning English as a new language.
Social Work and Psychology
Contact Information
Social Workers
The social workers meet with students individually, in pairs, or with groups when academic performance is impacted by social/emotional needs. Social workers are also available to parents for consultation regarding their child. The social worker helps students to solve problems that may be affecting their school performance. Students may refer themselves to the social worker, or may be referred by a teacher, the principal or their parents.
Psychologist
The school psychologist provides assessment to help determine learning strengths and needs of students. In addition, the school psychologist collaborates with staff and parents to problem-solve concerns. The psychologist also provides individual and group counseling for students.
Reading
Contact Information
Description
The Reading Specialist, in consultation with the educational team, provides direct reading instruction to identified students.
Components of Reading
Reading Program Explanation
Finding Books
It is important to understand that a guided reading level is a good indication of students' reading level for instructional purposes. A student's independent level, a book they can read on their own, might be one or two levels lower. However, it is equally important to remember that students' reading skills are improved when they also have the opportunity to choose books that they are interested in, regardless of reading level. Also, to fully develop as competent readers, students should be read to frequently and have the opportunity to discuss their reading.
Opens in New Window Opens in New Window Opens in New Window Opens in New Window Opens in New Window
Fluency
Fluency is the ability to read text accurately and effortlessly, using appropriate expression and phrasing.
Activities
Vocabulary
With a solid vocabulary, a child understands and uses spoken and written words to communicate effectively. A broad vocabulary helps a child in all subject areas. The more words a child has been exposed to, the easier it is for him to figure them out when he sees them for the first time in print, and the easier it is for him to understand new concepts in class.
Activities
Reading Comprehension
Comprehension is the reader's ability to understand, engage with, and think about the text.
Activities to Support Comprehension
- Look at the cover: What do you predict will happen in this story?
- Is this story fiction or nonfiction? How do you know?
- Look at the pictures throughout the book; what are you thinking?
- What do you know about (insert topic) from your own experience?
- Ex: What do you know about going to a new school?
-
Stop at a certain point and talk about what has happened so far in the text, and what you are thinking.
-
After reading the beginning of the book, predict what will happen in the end of the story.
-
How has your prediction from the beginning of the story changed?
-
Be sure to have your child go back and reread if they are unclear of a part of the text.
-
Describe the characters in the book.
-
What is the setting of the story?
-
Compare the main characters to one another or to yourself.
- Talk about the characters, the setting, the problem and solution.
- Talk about the episodes leading up to the solution.
- Is that how you would have solved the story? Why/why not?
- Create a new ending for the story.
- Summarize or retell what happened.
- Why do you think the author wrote this story.
- What message was the author trying to send with this book?
- How would you change the story?
- Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Speech Language
Contact Information
Description
Welcome to Speech and Language! We are looking forward to a wonderful year working with your children! We hold Master's degrees in Speech-Language Pathology and are certified and licensed in the State of Illinois. We provide service to students who are identified with speech and language difficulties in the areas of articulation of speech sounds, language, pragmatics/social communication, fluency/stuttering, and voice disorders.
Typically, we see students in small groups or individually in our rooms. We may also go into the classrooms to provide speech/language services. We also see students for interventions as mandated by Response to Intervention. We collaborate with the staff, conference and communicate with parents.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. We look forward to meeting with you this year and helping your children grow, learn, and make progress on their goals!
Useful Links
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Opens in New Window Opens in New Window
Typical Speech and Language Development Opens in New Window Opens in New Window
Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association Opens in New Window Opens in New Window
Academic Skill Builders Opens in New Window Opens in New Window
Stuttering Foundation of America Opens in New Window Opens in New Window
Jill Kuzma's Teaching Conversation to Children Opens in New Window Opens in New Window