As a special education teacher of upper elementary students, I have first hand experience using the Big6 skills with students with special needs. These children often experience difficulty with basic school skills: completing homework and assignments, learning new content material, remembering important facts and information, preparing for tests, and carrying out research projects and reports. These tasks that are often “easy” for some students can present quite a challenge for children with basic learning disabilities. This is where the Big6 comes in. The Big6 allows students to learn and remember new material, complete school and homework assignments, and prepare for tests in a systematic, efficient, and orderly manner. This article will discuss each Big6 stage and how the Big6 is a valuable tool when teaching students with special needs.

Big6 #1, Task Definition, allows children to define their specific schoolwork and assignments. It helps them to identify the work requirements and to determine what information is needed in order to complete each task. This stage is particularly helpful when my students have to complete a research project, book report, or prepare for a test. We always use Big6 #1 to define the task and organize the assignment requirements. When students receive an assignment or project, we first talk through it and then they individually restate the task in one or two sentences. In addition, students are instructed to reflect on the task and answer the following questions:

• What is the task or assignment?
• What do I need to do to complete the assignment?
• What is my job in the assignment?

From answering these questions and reflecting on the task, children will gain a deep understanding of the assignment and will know what is expected of them, helping them to meet success. By using Big6 #1, the children are able to outline the assignment requirements in an orderly and logical manner. This is crucial for students with special needs!

Let’s look at Big6 #2, Information Seeking Strategies. After making sure that the students know what they have to do and what is required for the assignment, we need to help them to determine where they can get the resources that they need in order to complete the assignment. Big6 #2 allows students to brainstorm, evaluate, and select the best resources for the job at hand, again, by a systematic approach. We often do this as a whole group activity, brainstorming and creating a large web or map of the possible resources that will help with the assignment. For example, when working with fourth grade students who are required to write a report on a country, we brainstorm where we can get information about each country. The students all share their ideas and we create a list of resources to use ranging from the Internet, encyclopedias, National Geographic and travel magazines, books from the library, travel agents, and actual people from their chosen country. From this list, each child selected the resources that work best for them and began to gather information about their country. Each child was organized, accurate in their research, and efficient at gaining information. By engaging in Big6 #2, my students are able to recognize that information can be gathered from many sources- a skill that will help them throughout life.

Location and Access, Big6 #3, helps children to actually locate the sources and find the information within the sources. Children with special needs may have trouble with finding and organizing materials and information due to lack of organization and overall processing difficulties. This is where Location and Access comes into play. With this stage, children with learning disabilities are able to gather sources for the job at hand.

Big6 #4, Use of Information helps students to actually extract the information from the source. This is part of the active stage, where students are engaged in the assignment; they are reading, hearing, viewing, and touching to acquire information. For research projects and reports, students are required to site the sources they used as part of the project. This step is critical for students with learning disabilities. All children learn in different ways and Big6 #4 allows for each child to find and use the information they need in the way which works best for them.

Synthesis, Big6 #5, is when students organize and present the information for the task or assignment. Again, this is another crucial stage for children with special needs given their difficulty with organizing information. In my class students are able to present their information in a way that works best for them, whether it’s in the form of an oral report or presentation, diagram, poster, chart, or written report. When third graders recently had to complete a book report, some students orally presented the book, others wrote a song about the book and shared it with the class, while others created posters advertising the book. With synthesis, students are able to organize information in ways that works best to match their specific learning styles while presenting the information according to the assignment directions. This step allows children with special needs to use their learning strengths when organizing and presenting content information.

The last step, Big6 #6, Evaluation, allows children to judge their product and judge the process of completing the task. This is a vital stage for my students. They need to be able to evaluate their work as well as the process in which they completed the task. My students are continuously self-evaluating and determining ways to become better learners. This evaluation takes many forms, including self-assessment, teacher conferences, and peer evaluations. The students sometimes use scoring webs and grading charts (see sample rubrics – Mathematics Rubric and Story Writing Rubric) to evaluate their own work. At other times, I have each child write a short paragraph about their project or work, the manner in which they completed it, and the strengths and challenges of the assignment. In pairs or small groups, students will offer “compliments or suggestions” to their peers in a comfortable and non-threatening manner. By doing this continuous assessment, the children are able to take an active role in their learning and recognize their strengths and weaknesses as a learner. In turn, this motivates my students to always strive to do their best work. Big 6 #6 ensures that children with special needs are able to reflect on their work habits in a positive and non-threatening manner.

The Big6 Skills have become a routine in my special education classroom. It is a familiar process that my students use to “tackle” their schoolwork, whether it’s studying for a test, completing a book report, or answering reading comprehension questions. The Big6 allows my special education students to be organized, efficient in their time management, and thorough in completing assignments.