Final Exam

Diverse Learners Take Home Final Exam Name: Kim Larson

Differentiated Instruction Guide Grade Level & Content Area : 3^rd Grade ELA

1. How can teachers at Sycamore Middle School meet the educational needs of all of their students?

b. To meet the needs of the widest range of students, what should teachers consider when planning their instruction?

The teachers should consider the diverse strengths and interests of their students. They should offer a variety of ways for students to learn and express their knowledge. The school should represent the different cultures and background of all students so the students feel valued as part of the community. Teachers should have high expectations of all students and share these expectations with the students. Teachers should also let the students know that they are there to help them meet those expectations. Teachers should use a variety of methods and materials to make the curriculum accessible to all students. Teachers should recognize that some students will take longer then others and need more practice to master the material. Students who need more practice should not be pressured to move on before they are ready, while students who are confident with the material should be encouraged to expand on their learning and pursue independent projects that keep them challenged. Teachers should provide a variety of experiences that are meaningful and engaging for the students so they will value their educational experiences.

Representation Principle 1	Action and Expression Principle 2	Engagement Principle 3
Presenting information and course content in multiple formats so that all students can access it	Allowing students alternatives to express or demonstrate their learning	Stimulating students' interests and motivation for learning in a variety of ways

Your Examples (5)	Your Examples (5)	Your Examples (5)
Allow students to read independently or with partners. Provide pictures and visual examples of new vocabulary words. Allow students to listen to text being read by text reading software. Use dramatic reenactments to go over important scenes in books. Provide words written in sand or other three dimensional forms so students can feel them while they practice spelling them.	Students can write in various formats such as poetry, fiction, newspaper article etc. Students can visual represent their ideas with charts and outlines. Let children create drawings or models to respond to a text. Children can create digital media such as a photostory where they can record their voices instead of writing. Let students choose to work independently or in groups on projects and let them decide how they want to share their product with others.	Give student’s specific roles and tasks to complete so they have a sense of responsibility to the class or their group. Ask the students to connect the literature read in class to their own life experience and let them share their personal knowledge with the class. Let the students make choices about what they want to read or write about so they can chose something significant to them. Have buddies with older or younger children in the school so the students can connect to people outside of their classroom. Bring in experts from outside of the school or take field trips so the students can make connections between their learning and the real word jobs.

Given the traditionally stated goal below, help the teachers at Sycamore Middle School to a) identify potential barriers that might make it difficult for some students to achieve the goal and b) rewrite the goal so that it incorporates UDL principles. In this case, the intent of the project is for students to learn about a child's experience during the Holocaust and to present this information to the class.

Goal: The students will read the book The Diary of Anne Frank and give a five-minute oral presentation about the author's experiences.

Include at least 4 barriers that might make it difficult for some students to achieve this goal in the table below.

Representation barriers: Students may have trouble seeing the text. Students may have trouble comprehending the text. Students may not have enough prior knowledge about the Holocaust to fully understand the context of the book. Students may have a linguistic barrier that prevents them from understanding the text. -Provide alternative ways to access the text such as listening to an audio book, on screen text which can be englarged, or have some of the students act out the diary as a play. -Provide more information about the Holocaust and WWII so students know more about the historical context of the situation.

Action and Expression barriers: Students may have difficulty preparing a five-minute oral presentation. Some students may have speech impairments which make speaking in front of the group stressful and difficult. Some students may not be able to express their thought about the book clearly just in words. Students may be nervous or embarrassed about sharing their work in front of the whole class. -Allow students to use visual aids such as posters, drawings, or power points to supplement their presentations. -Allow students to share in small groups or with partners so they do not have to share in front of the whole group. -Allow students to represent their ideas through another creative format such as making a response diary or comic.

· Consider three (3) materials you might use, listing at least one potential barrier for each.

3 Traditional Materials – Content Area	Potential Barriers
Ex - Textbook	Requires students to read and comprehend in English. Students must be able to comprehend the visual information.
Lecture and Chalk board	Students must be able to hear the teacher and understand the spoken information. Must be able to take notes and pick out important information. Students must be able to see the chalk board clearly.
Overhead Projector	Students must be able to see the projection and make the connections between what the teacher is doing and saying at the same time.

· List at least three possible universally designed materials or media that you can use and explain why each will more flexibly meet your students' needs.

UDL Materials (3)	Rationale for Use
Digital Text	Provide the text book material in a digital format so students with visual impairments can enlarge the print or students with difficulty reading the text can listen with text reading software. Computer based practice drills can provide feedback for students as they practice.
Graphic Organizers	Graphic organizers can be provided to the students to help them take notes. They can provide notes to guide the students in recognizing important information and help the student make connections between what they are expected to do and what the teacher is doing on the overhead. Students who need more scaffolding taking notes can have more information provided on their organizer.
Models and tactile material	Students can use their hands to work with tactile representations of the concepts they are learning. The students can physically construct the problems and see how they work. Students can slowly transfer this understanding to more abstract written work without using the models.

After completing the activity at the bottom of the page, conduct a similar analysis with one of your ELA, Mathematics, or Middle School lesson plans. Check off boxes that apply and write comments. (Attach your lesson plan).

Presentation + Provide multiple examples + Highlight important information Present content utilizing multiple media and formats + Build or activate background knowledge

Action and Expression Model skills in a variety of ways + Provide opportunities to practice with scaffolds and supports + Provide corrective feedback Allow alternatives for students to express or demonstrate their learning

Engagement Offer choices of content and tools + Provide adjustable levels of challenge Allow students to choose from a variety of reinforcers + Allow options for the learning environment or context + Utilize flexible grouping

Example Lesson Plan. ELA

Title: Finding Prefixes in a Science Writing Sample

Standard 4-3: The student will use word analysis and vocabulary strategies to read fluently.

4-3.2 Use base words and affixes to determine the meanings of words.

4-3.4 Spell correctly

· words with prefixes and suffixes and

· multisyllabic words

Objective: The student will recognize prefixes in a piece of content writing and demonstrate the ability to match a prefix to a root to make a word.

Materials: A sample of a student’s writing in a science subject which contains several examples of prefixes or a prewritten sample on a new subject to be introduced. Sticky notes or name tags with the prefixes and roots written on them.

Procedures:

· Activate the student’s prior knowledge of prefixes, ask the students to define what a prefix is and give an example.

· Introduce this lesson by informing the students that they will be looking for some prefixes in a science report written by one of their classmates (or in a short article about a science subject if not using a student sample).

· Give each student a copy of the writing sample and have them read it themselves or have one person at each table read it aloud to the others. Ask the students to work with their group to find and underline the words with prefixes.

· Ask the students to share the words with prefixes they have found until all of them have been mentioned.

· Hand out the sticky notes with the words already written on them so half the class has prefixes and half the class has roots. The students will place their sticky notes on their shirt and walk around the room until they find a person who has a root or prefix that makes a word when combined with their own.

· Each pair will write their word on the board. Ask each pair to discuss with each other what they their word means, if they don’t know what it means ask if they can infer the meaning from the context.

Conclusion: Remind the students that prefixes are used very often and that they should see if they notice any while doing their reading for science or other subject areas.

Students can write down the words on the board, these can be used as vocabulary words for the science unit, in this case either biomes or weather.

This same lesson can be used with suffixes or compound words and can be used across different curriculums.

3 Traditional Assessments	3 Alternative Assessments to Consider for your Content Area
Spelling quizzes or tests – based on students’ ability to memorize and write words and spelling. Assumes all students have the same reading and language ability.	Allow students to create alternative projects for vocabulary words, such as picture dictionaries, crossword puzzles, and allow students to select words that are appropriate for their level and related to content area.
Book report/written essay – requires students to compose and write an organized thoughtful essay, ignores needs of students with difficulties in writing and language	Allow students to choose a format to respond to text with. Allow students to prepare a presentation, create a digital presentation, or respond in a creative visual or dramatic representation. Encourage the students to share their thoughts and ideas using their individual strengths and interests.
Comprehension test at the end of a book – Doesn’t recognize factors that cause students to struggle or have difficulty throughout the book. Doesn’t take into account various responses or reactions to the text.	Conduct large or small group discussions while reading the text to conduct formative assessments throughout the text. This will allow the teacher to recognize when students are having difficulty with the text and address their needs. Students can be encourages to ask questions and think critically about the text to deepen their understanding.

1. GO TO Page 8: UDL in Practice. Read the page and complete the chart below as it pertains your content area. Include a minimum of 10 multisensory strategies you plan to use.

Learning Style	10 Examples - From Your Content Area
Visual Learners	Provide text in print and digital text. Display grammatical concepts in graphic organizers. Use books with pictures and other visual representations.
Auditory Learners	Reading directions and texts aloud. Holding small group discussions. Provide audio books. Use storytelling.
Tactile Learners	Have students create model settings or characters. Have students make books to publish their writing.
Kinesthetic Learners	Use drama and encourage students to act out stories. Encourage students to trace words they are having difficulty spelling and remembering.

2. GO TO Page 9 – Implementation Issues. List three (3) potential implementation issues that you may face in your classroom.

3 Possible Implementation Issues – Your Content Area

1. There may not be enough funding or support to provide the desired materials. 2. Students with more severe disabilities may need modifications that require more than the teacher can provide without assistance. 3.The administration or other teachers may not support the UDL methods.

3. GO TO Pages 10 – References. From the list and from resources shared throughout the course, identify at least five resources that you plan to use in the future and explain your rationale for the selection.

Differentiated Instruction Resources & Rationale for Use

1. Collaborative Strategic Reading. http://www.ncset.org/publications/researchtopractice/NCSETResearchBrief_1.2.pdf This article discusses strategies for helping students in upper elementary grade levels develop reading comprehension at an age where this skill is not often a focus. If students who need extra practice are singled out or ignored they may never become confident readers. 2. The Access Center – Strategies to Improve Access to the General Education Curriculum. http://www.k8accesscenter.org/pdf/normal4.pdf This article provides researched based strategies to help students with special needs succeed and feel included in the classroom community. 3. How to Create a Behavior Contract. http://k6educators.about.com/cs/classroommanageme3/a/createcontract.htm This article addresses creating a behavior contract to help students recognize their own behavior in the classroom, how it affects other students, and how they can help themselves to take control over their own actions and learning. 4. Differentiated Reading Instruction. http://www.fcrr.org/assessment/pdf/smallGroupAlternativeLessonStructures.pdf This article discusses various strategies for small group reading instruction for students with a variety of strengths and needs. 5. Creating a Positive Classroom Environment http://www.personal.psu.edu/scs15/idweb/positiveclimate.htm This article and video provides tips on creating an inclusive and respectful classroom environment which is an essential step to helping students succeed.

1. Briefly describe Universal Design for Learning. Make sure to include the three principles of UDL.

Universal Design for Learning is a framework which encouraged teachers to provide all students with access to the curriculum. Teachers provide flexibility for the students and use a variety of methods to represent information, let the students express their understanding of the material in the ways that promote students individual strengths, and engages the students by relating to their personal interests and experiences. The goal of UDL is to make sure all students are given the opportunity to learn and express their knowledge without being hindered by diverse learning styles and backgrounds.

2. When they develop goals using the principles of UDL, what is the main thing that teachers need to keep in mind?

Teachers need to reduce the number of barriers that might affect students because of the materials and instructional methods used. Teachers must consider if the materials and methods are challenging and age appropriate. Teachers must be sure to provide a variety of ways to provide information and for the student to demonstrate what they learned to meet the needs of all various types of learners.