My classroom is already lucky enough to have a SMART Board that the students will be able to utilize for all subjects. Working in a classroom of students with severe disabilities makes it very likely that some students will be non-verbal or who have problems with speech. An iPad would make a great support for these students. An iPad can provide them with a communication board so they can have conversations, make requests, make choices, ask questions, and give input. The iPad will replace speech for students who are unable to speak at all. Students who can use minimal speech, or who struggle with speech can have extra support with the iPad. It can help students gather complete thoughts or assist them by providing choices. If someone can’t understand a student, the iPad can say it clearly after the student types in or selects a picture of what they are trying to say.

            Free apps can also be downloaded onto the iPad to help students work on vocabulary, root words, plural words, vowels, syllables, and other language arts development. Students can have specific times during the day or week when they can have time on the iPad. They can also participate in activities targeted toward what they should be working on. There are classrooms where every students is provided with their own iPad, but one or two iPads could be used effectively in my classroom. Students won't be typing up papers or doing research products, so individual iPad aren't necessary for everyone. There is one app in particular that allows students to create their own story using an outline that has the main points. This would be a good opportunity for students to use expressive words, organization, and work on compiling a whole story. There are a lot of apps that can be explore  

In our class, we will do a lot of reading; and I want it to be a good experience for my students. Fluent reading is so important and will benefit all students when they have the necessary skills. When reading is incorporated in multiple ways, students can be more successful and more familiar with buddy reading. In my class, students will read as a whole class, in small groups, in pairs, and independently. Reading in small groups and with peers can be a really good experience, but it needs to be well structured and students need to be given explicit instruction on how to participate. Today, I want to give you an example of reading with a buddy. I will be showing this video to my students so the expectations are clear, and so they can have a better understanding of what buddy reading looks like. Please view the video below to get a better understanding of buddy reading.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut1VVfZpe3Y

This video showed a good and a bad example of how to do buddy reading. It's important to have a bad example because that way, the kids know what not to do. It's important that teachers show the negative behaviors and not have the students engage in negative behaviors. The video ends with the good example video so that it is what is remembered by the students. In my classroom I'll be sure to show this the first few times before doing buddy reading.

After viewing the fundamentals on the UEN website (http://www.uen.org/k-2interactives/writing.shtml), I found some fun activities my class could participate in; specifically for Language Arts. It's important to integrate reading and writing into all different subjects, so I wanted to focus specifically on these two topics. Reading and writing provide scaffolding for our students and help them to be successful in the real world.
I found one activity in particular that I thought students would find engaging. This activity is personalized to each student and also provides them with support in writing a complete story. In this activity, students first select a setting and pictures from multiple choices to set up a scene for their story. Students are then asked to fill out some questions based on their personal preferences. This might include their favorite female singer and favorite male athlete. After submitting this information, a story is created, using the information the student provided. 
It's important for students to have self-confidence in their work and feel their work is validated. If students struggle with writing stories, this activity will support them in creating a complete story while they provide the details. It also focuses on reading practice by having the students read their story once it is finished. In my class, I plan to have students share their stories with other peers so they can practice reading and also engage in conversation.
I provided the link below so you can explore the activity and see if your child would be interested in creating a story of their own. 
 http://www.rif.org/readingplanet/gamestation/storymaker/storymaker.htm