BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM: SMALL CHANGES THAT MAKE A BIG IMPACT

Creating an inclusive classroom doesn’t require a complete overhaul of your teaching style or a massive budget. Small, intentional changes can have a huge impact on making all students feel welcome, valued, and supported. If you’re new to inclusion or just looking for fresh strategies, these inclusive classroom strategies will help all learners thrive.

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1. Designing an Accessible Classroom Environment

Did you know that the physical environment of a classroom plays a role in student success? To increase independence, students need to be able to access all parts of the classroom. Start with clear pathways so students using wheelchairs, walkers, or other mobility aids can move easily around the room. Sometimes, this takes some creativity if you have a smaller classroom.

Don't forget to include a sensory break space with calming tools like noise-reducing headphones, fidgets, or weighted lap pads. These sensory supports help students regulate emotions, making them a key part of any inclusive classroom. This will help all your students with emotional regulation, not just your students with disabilities.

Get these free break space posters in the resource library.

Finally, label areas with visuals to support students with limited reading skills or English Language Learners. Pair words with pictures. To help support independence and executive functioning, you can add pictures of what an area should look like or a copy of the label for students to match. Having clearly defined areas of the classroom will support many of your learners, not just students with disabilities.

2. inclsuive classroom routines that support all learners

For many students, especially those with disabilities, knowing what to expect reduces anxiety and increases engagement. Use visual schedules with pictures, words, or both to outline the day’s activities. For activities with multiple steps or components, you may need to break the task down into smaller steps for the student. For example, reading may look like a whole class time on the rug, small groups at tables, and then reading centers. Some students may need this specified as part of their routine, and others may be fine with just "reading" on the schedule.

Incorporate timers and transition warnings so students can shift from one task to the next. A visual timer is a huge help for many students. It helps them understand how much time is left and prevents overwhelm.

Visual timers prevent overwhelm and create a sense of predictability for all students.

Consistency is so important for inclusion. This creates a sense of structure for students and helps them know what's coming next. This is especially important if you have students who receive services outside of your classroom. They need to know what to expect when they come back in.

When you aren't consistent with your schedule, students often come into your classroom and cannot participate fully in inclusion activities. For example, if students are pulled for tier 1 math, but you're always finishing tier 1 math during science, when all of your students are present, they are left out of the end of the math lesson, and they miss out on science.

When schedules shift, like for assemblies or fire drills, prep students in advance. Review the routine and expectations, and make sure to add changes to the visual schedule when possible.

Changes to the daily schedule are noted on the whiteboard, paired with visual icons.

3. Inclusive Teaching Practices

Differentiation doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Small adjustments to a lesson help all students participate meaningfully. Use Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to make lessons more inclusive from the start.

1. Use multiple means of engagement: Provide more than one way for students to interact with the lesson content, peers, and the teacher. Whenever possible, incoprorate choice.

2. Use multiple means of representation: Present lesson content in different formats, pair text with audio and audio with visuals, offer leveled task options, such as using pictures instead of words or providing sentence starters.

3. Use multiple means of action and expression: Providing choice for how students can demonstrate what they've learned, honor different forms of communication, include assistive technology where needed, such as speech to text or adaptive writing tools.

These inclusive teaching practices reduce barriers and support all students, especially those with cognitive disabilities or language needs. To learn more about UDL and Differentiated Instruction, check out this podcast.

4. Encouraging Peer Relationships in Inclusive Classrooms

Inclusion isn’t just about academics; it’s also about belonging. Peer relationships are a key component of inclusion, especially when working with students with more significant disabilities. To encourage peer interactions-

• Try implementing peer buddy systems so students can support each other during activities.

• Use read-alouds and discussions to teach about diversity and disabilities in a positive, strength-based way.

• Encourage structured group learning activities where students work together in ways that highlight everyone’s contributions.

If you have students in your class that work with a one-on-one paraeducator, it's especially important to encourage the para to fade out their support when possible. Having an adult by your side all day definitely discourages peer relationships and can be a stigma for students.

Conclusion

Creating a more inclusive classroom doesn't require perfection, just progress. By adjusting your classroom layouts, routines, and teaching methods, you can create a space where all students feel valued. Inclusive education matters to every student, and you can make a more inclusive space with just a few changes!