Special Education

Students With Intellectual Disabilities
A Resource Guide for Teachers

Appendix 7: Description and Illustration of the
Curriculum Modification Process

Level 1: Same Activity and Objective, Same Materials

Goals and objectives from the student's IEP are able to be addressed within the regular curriculum/lessons.

Goals and objectives will be no different from those of the student's peers and no adaptation is needed. If the student evidences a sensory impairment, access to the curriculum can be modified by use of appropriate modifications such as Braille, a hearing aid or sign language.

  1. Kim participates in the rational-counting/numeral-writing activity using the same materials and under the same expectations of performance as her peers. No adaptation is required.

Level 2: Same Activity, Modified Objective, Same Materials

At this level the student participates in the curriculum at a prerequisite level relative to his or her peers. That is, the activity remains the same, but the objectives of the student are different. Ways of responding may be adapted. For example, listen rather than read, speak rather than write. Relative to the previous level, instruction at this stage is more individualized.

  1. Kim works on counting and writing numbers less than five, while classmates work on numbers up to 10.
  2. Kim works on only counting objects and will blend the counting and writing processes at some future date.
  3. Kim listens to the teacher give the answer, then writes the correct number on the line under the picture.
  4. Kim counts out objects and tells a peer what number to write on the answer sheet.

Level 3: Same Activity, Different Objectives and Materials

The activity the student is engaged in remains the same as his/her peers, but the objective and materials are changed to enable the student to remain an equal participant in the activity. The degree of individualization is greater at this level, yet the student remains included at the table or desks with peers for instruction.

  1. Kim uses a template to trace numbers on a wide-lined piece of paper
  2. Kim is asked to match her counting objects to the sample provided in plastic bins in front of her on the table.
  3. Kim traces numbers written in yellow highlighter.
  4. Kim counts out objects with a peer and glues items under the appropriate numeral.

Level 4: Same Theme, Different Tasks and Objectives

The student participates in activities drawn from the primary curriculum that are thematically linked to what his/her peers are doing. In this case: math, quantity concepts and sets. The focus for the student with disabilities is on the development of core IEP goals and objectives (e.g., social, communication, motor, cognitive) that can be embedded in the classroom curriculum. Instruction is highly individualized, and, while the student may or may not remain at the same table/desks with peers for instruction, he/she does remain in the classroom

  1. Kim uses a computer to work on numeric concepts of more/less, few/many, empty/full and long/short.
  2. Kim traces textured numbers with her finger and then places them in order.
  3. Kim writes her first and last name using a model on lined paper.
  4. Kim hands out snacks and napkins to classmates to reinforce the concept of one-to-one correspondence.

Level 5: Different Theme, Different Activity

This level of curriculum adaptation represents a focus on functionality and direct application to the day-to-day life of the student with a disability. The student's IEP goals and objectives are not dependent upon or directly linked to the primary curriculum and , rather, are addressed independent of the activities of other students in the class. Instruction is highly individualized and the student often works elsewhere, inside or outside of the classroom.

  1. Using her bin of supplies, Kim matches items with pictures of materials she will need for the next activity.
  2. Kim exits the classroom to go to the bathroom to work on toileting, dressing, handwashing and grooming.
  3. Kim leaves for music before the rest of the class to work with a staff member on ascending the stairs.
  4. Kim listens to stories through headphones at a listening centre at the back of the classroom while classmates do a math lesson.

Used with permission from the Journal of Early Intervention