Activity 2 - Sean Calabrese

Sean Calabrese

'''Activity 2: Instructional Stages for Differentiation'''

''6th Grade Math Lesson: Adding Fractions with Unlike Denominators''

' I fortunately have had the opportunity to teach a student with each one of these IEP’s so I will give a brief description of them when I had them in 6th grade math.'

1) IEP: Student is hearing impaired. Written copy of notes/information will be provided to him. Captioning for videos should be used if possible. 

''Student A was a very quiet, shy, and reserved person. She absolutely loved using technology as a tool for learning. She is a very independent person who thrived in a 1 on 1 setting. I had to make sure that I was always looking at her when giving instructions and making sure I followed up by asking her to repeat the directions back to me. ''

Content:  We will start with adding like denominators. Then move to changing denominators from numbers 2-15, assess her understanding. Then move on to numbers 16-25, assess her understanding. If time permits at this point in the lesson and she grasps the concepts I will give her prime number denominators in order to challenge her.

Process: Using flash cards to create the fractions (one over the other to create a fraction—blank ones for changing the denominator) Student A may write down the questions on flash cards, one number on each card and arrange the cards as if they were a fraction. This helps to give a visual aid and helps by having the student write the numbers out and place them in a fraction, they can start to see it all come together. The blank cards will be used to write their common denominator and then their new numerator.

Product: Student A may make a math manipulative, something similar to what was used to differentiate the process for them. They may also create some sort of Power Point or Prezi presentation in order to demonstrate their mastery of adding/subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.

Why these strategies are appropriate?

These strategies are appropriate because the play in to the aspects of the child’s IEP/personality that will help to make them successful in my class. By starting with the basics in the content portion and moving on from there it establishes confidence that they can do it. Using the flash cards helps because there is no auditory aspect of the lesson, outside of the instructions I gave to complete the task. The math manipulatives work to help build up confidence in someone like Student A. It also requires mastery of skill in order to complete it properly.

2) IEP: Student has ADHD. Student should have preferential seating and opportunities to move.

''Student B is a student I have written about before, the one I used the code word “banana’s” with when I thought he needed to re-group/step outside the classroom and gather himself. He was extremely good at math but he would make silly errors because he is rushing or not sitting still like he should. I would do things like let him sit/stand where ever he wanted to take notes or do classwork. When I noticed he was antsy during a test/quiz I would just come and softly tap on his desk to get his attention and help him re-focus.''

Content: Student B was so advanced that once we finished the first assessment of class (15 minute mark or so) I will challenge him by giving him prime numbers in the denominator. With students who are ADHD need to be challenged to have a chance at retaining any information from a lesson. This is more prevalent for when they have mastered the on grade level skill. I would not only challenge him with prime numbers in the denominator but also by giving him challenging, real-world word problems.

Process: Textbook website video (Add/Subtract Fractions with Unlike Denominators) students all know how to access this website, it is the website associated with their textbook. This allowed Student B, during individual work, take an Ipad and headphones and go to a quiet part of the room with his worksheet and notebook and get to work. By allowing him to move from his seat and do something that is a little bit less traditional, it grasps his attention and really helped him to lock in on the assignment.

Product: Create an activity for the class to complete (i.e. worksheet—he must turn in the answer key with all work shown to me, prior to presentation) allows him to be able to move around while being assessed. He would still take tests for a formal evaluation but for most of my other evaluations I allowed him to use his creativity to demonstrate his mastery of the concepts. He even wrote a math skit as an assessment for one assignment.

Why these strategies are appropriate?

These strategies are appropriate because as a teacher you need to do whatever you can to make sure your students are as engaged as possible. So by challenging Student B early on in the lesson I have grabbed his attention. Playing into the concept of keeping an ADHD kids attention, is the approach of letting him use an ipad to watch a video on adding and subtracting fractions. When you are have some freedom in how you can assess the students it is always good to give them an option to explore their creative side. By allowing Student B to create an activity for the class, he took the task very seriously because it was the idea that he was the “teacher” for that time frame.

3) IEP: Student has a reading disability. Modified text should be provided for all reading assignments. 

''Student C was in the same class and same year as Student B, a very energetic and competitive class. Student C had glasses that he never liked to wear. He was a very artsy kid who enjoyed reading but had to have his text enlarged. I found that when I was projecting something on our white board, he was able to see without glasses. So when I had a class that was beginning by using the white board I would tell him he doesn’t have to put his glasses on until after the introduction to the lesson is complete. Little things like this I think really made him feel comfortable. ''

Content: Student B will be assigned worksheets/textbook pages with the font and numbers enlarged. To complete his assessment he will use an Ipad, then open the Drawing Pad App, and use that write down and show his work. Once the assignment is finished, Student B will then use the air printer to print his work so that he can turn it in with the worksheet that has the answers.

Process: I know that I used this approach to Student A but I wanted to demonstrate that some approaches overlap and can be used for multiple different IEP’s or accommodations. Student C will use flash cards to create the fractions (one over the other to create a fraction—blank ones for changing the denominator) Student C may write down the questions on flash cards, one number on each card and arrange the cards as if they were a fraction. This helps to give a visual aid and helps by having the student write the numbers out and place them in a fraction, they can start to see it all come together. The blank cards will be used to write their common denominator and then their new numerator.

Product: Student B will do a class white board demonstration. I will project a few problems (2-3) on the board and have Student C come up in front of the class and work the problems out as he explains to us what he is doing and why he is doing each step.

Why these strategies are appropriate?

These strategies are appropriate because the students disability inhibits them from being able to read the text in a traditional textbook, so to put him in the best position to succeed he needs to have his text enlarged. I know that I used this approach (to the process) with Student A but I wanted to point out that some approaches overlap and can be used for multiple different IEP’s or accommodations. The white board demonstration is appropriate because it naturally enlarges the text, allows him to use a dry erase marker (which middle school kids love) and it gives me a laid back platform to assess his mastery of the skillsets.

 

4) ELLs: 1 at the Speech Emergent Stage, 2 at the Intermediate Fluency Stage, and 2 at the Advanced 

Fluency Stage.

''Student D came to our school halfway through the first quarter from Mexico. Her IEP was no longer valid by her 8th grade year because she became so fluent in English. One of the biggest challenge with the language barrier because I was teaching her math and there are not easy translations for some of the math terms. One of the main things that helped Student D feel comfortable. To help myself I sat down with Student D and went through the math book, pointed at symbols and asked her how to say and spell them. For example, when we got to the addition sign she told me “mas” and wrote it down and when we got to the minus sign she said “menos” etc.. This was a key factor in the foundation of our communication.''

Content: I would give Student D the information bit by bit, so that she can conceptualize each process and it leaves time for questions or misunderstandings which are inevitably going to happen. By going in chunks it not only helps you to see what your student knows but, especially in this case, it helps her feel comfortable in my classroom environment.

Process: We will start with adding like denominators, then move to changing denominators from 2-15, assess, numbers 16-25, assess, if time permits over the course of the lesson and she grasps the concepts I will give her prime number denominators in order to challenge her.

Product: Coordinate with our Spanish/or Resource teacher so that during her planning period Student D, the Spanish/or Resource teacher and myself can meet and go over the lesson. This way we can focus on vocabulary and content without her feeling the pressure of not understanding in front of her peers. We did this for the entire first  year she was at our school and by January we could really see the impact it was having on her.

Why these strategies are appropriate?

These strategies are appropriate because the first step in teaching is communication. So I needed to figure out a way to communicate with Student D before I could begin teaching her. By starting her content low I was able to gage how much she knew by how quickly she answered the questions early on (easier questions) Introducing the skills little by little really helps to make the student feel comfortable in an otherwise uncomfortable environment.