Category:Kimberly Keith

One of the most important aspects of differentiation for elementary school students is environment. If they are uncomfortable or un-acclimated, mentally, socially, or physically; it can be disastrous. It is important for the teacher to assess more than grade level within content knowledge. A teacher has to know how students learn. What attracts them to the material and what will keep them engaged? How do you engage them for the unit or for the objective? Some other concerns may be, is the air cool enough? Is there enough heat? Is there too much noise? Are there resources that they can utilize, in order to enhance their understanding, when they are working independently? All of these thoughts are embedded in differentiation. A teacher may also want to inquire of what makes a student happy? What is their motivation when they are learning? Using the technique of empathy means that the student may not feel as psychologically pressured, in certain circumstances as well. This question can help teachers reflect on choices involving materials, instruction, testing, and homework assignments. Some times it is helpful to plainly inquire through a class survey.

As far as content, I think that students should have a healthy blend of texts, books, media, mutlimedia, technology, hands-on, and field experiences. Usually, when all of these methods are combined, there is an amazing result. They need to be more well rounded, where they can hone their independent thinking skills. They can also produce solutions by themselves or learn to become leaders in the classroom and hopefully in life. Designing effective assessments is part of this process. They should be assessed for content knowledge, creativity, and the ability to problem solve.

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

Captioned videos can usually be acquired if they are requested or ordered ahead of time. I would also provide visual learning materials with hearing impaired enhancements for the selected student. The written materials can be accompanied with audio tapes that are provided specifically for the written lessons.

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

The student can make full use of state approved I-pad learning games. I-pad learning games are very essential in ADHD cases. They grab the student's attention and motivate them for future lessons. The seating would be based on an agreement between the teacher and the student. You could write a contract that states if the student academically and behaviorally performs on a certain level, than they will allowed to have input in the seating arrangement. If not, then they can not be consulted to give an opinion.

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

The student's IEP would need to be reviewed, in order to determine what kind of reading disability it is and for the amount of time that they have been struggling. The types of subject matter that present the most difficult struggle would need to be surveyed. A teacher would need to order the modified text accompaniments or request them from the resource teacher, lead teacher, or counselor; in order to supply the modified text. The teacher would need to research materials actually have the modified text. All of resources do not offer this as an option. In this case, web 2.0 materials for disabled students could be utilized. There are also software packages that can purchased or rented for use in the classroom and at home.

5 ELLs: 1 at the Speech Emergent Stage, 2 at the Intermediate Fluency Stage, and 2 at the Advanced Fluency Stage.

The English Language Learners could all be blended into integrated lessons, that focus on speech through reading. It would be helpful for them to work in groups and collaborate in group projects. The speech emergent students would grow simply through verbal interaction, the intermediate fluency student would grow by teaching the remediated student and by learning from his/her own mistakes from within the unit. A student with intermediate fluency has the potential and the choice to advance, when given the correct resources. The student with advanced fluency can write a short stories, essays, or literary poems with a particular format.

The climate of the classroom should be based on team work, honesty, and the goal to academically succeed. This takes times to achieve through out the year. Team work can be built through learning games, class wide activities, class room gatherings, field trips, and scholarly events where they all learn from an expert.

The content would be based not only on Common Core State Standards but on student motivation and scoring throughout the year. I would only use CCSS as a foundation for developing the curriculum, however; I would also acclimate the students to accepting academic challenges and not solely being empathetic all of the time. It would assist ELL learners in having some empathy involved criteria. Empathy makes them feel less alienated from society and the community. It also increases self-esteem. They also become more socially aware of their environments, in relation, to their own lives. However, I would not focus on empathy all of the time. Students live on a diverse planet, where more than their own personal community is in existence. They must learn to not only acclimate to other cultures, but to be aware of ideas, philosophies, cultures, and social stratagems beyond their own.

The process and product should mirror one another. The process for ELLs should be focused on story telling, writing short essays, inferring from scholarly and newspaper articles. Telling narrative stories is also helpful. I would focus on walking ELLs through most written materials, in order to enhance their academic understanding, and not just what they infer from their own acquired knowledge.

For special education students, such as those having ADHD, dyslexia, or that are hearing impaired; could all benefit from a teacher that slowly looks for progress. With special education students, learning definitely does not occur over night. Instead of miracles, the teacher should catalog milestones as they occur. Usually, a student has to take a certain amount of responsibility for their own learning. However, it is the teacher's responsibility to encourage motivation, inculcate the correct academic strategies and behaviors, while looking for the opportune moments to sustain progress and create achievement. There are particular methodologies that should be used for particular disabilities. Universal Learning for Design is a method that can be used for all types of disabilities. In cases such as these resources, organization, and time management are the most important.

Kimberly R. Keith