Differentiating for/and Anticipating Student Needs

Common Core State Standards: Kindergarten

English Language Arts Standards: Reading Foundational Skills: Kindergarten

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.D

Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Differentiation

Each student has an individual style of learning. Not all students in a classroom learn a subject in the same way or share the same level of ability. Differentiated instruction is a method of designing and delivering instruction to best reach each student.

(Weselby, 2017)

Differentiating one’s lessons, as stated in the quote above by Cathy Weselby, is made in order to help the teacher better help her/his students. Every student is different. Some of these differences are:

• Disabilities or lack of
• ELL learners or native speakers
• Students’ individual learning styles/profile
• Students’ individual interests
• Different levels of readiness

Therefore, in order to try and meet the needs of these students, teachers need to modify their lesson plans. Weselby goes on to say that there are four areas where teachers can differentiate their instruction:

1. Content: is comprised of the knowledge, concepts, and skills that students need to learn based on the curriculum (McCarthy, 2014).
2. Process: is how students make sense of the content. They need time to reflect and digest the learning activities before moving on to the next segment of a lesson (McCarthy, 2014).
3. Product: is what the student creates at the end of the lesson to demonstrate the mastery of the content (Weselby, 2017).
4. Learning Environment: conditions for optimal learning include both physical and psychological elements (Weselby, 2017).

I will now give some examples in each category for four students that require differentiated instruction. These strategies are meant for kindergartners on the path to mastering the standard stated at the beginning of this blog: the Alphabet.

Student One: ADHD

Content: Follow up directions individually to this student. Break down larger tasks into smaller tasks (Do NOT do uppercase and lowercase letters at the same time).

Process: Use of multi-sensory activities and audio/visual materials. Jigsaw puzzles.

Product: Student allowed to do more hands-on projects (make an Alphabet Book).

Learning Environment: Do not sit them near windows or doorways. Sit them in an area of the classroom where there will be minimal external stimuli.

Student Two: Deaf-Blindness

Content: Large print of all handouts and large print of all work on the whiteboard. More doing, less lecturing.

Process: More hands-on (sensory learning) and less writing (build letters with Legos). Audio books.

Product: Student allowed more choices: choose to do speaking assignments (ex: “Please describe an uppercase and lowercase Q); choose to use body language (ex: “With your arms, please show what an uppercase T looks like”).

Learning Environment: Sit at the front of the class. All wall displays are also printed out with large print on them.

Student Three: Low Level Readiness

Content: Use lots of modeling. Graphic organizers.

Process: Add more teacher assistance. Reflection on what they have learned so far (the letter of the day).

Product: Student does not need to spell out words on their Alphabet Book.

Learning Environment: Student sits near the teacher.

Student Four: High Level Readiness

Content: Teach more advanced concepts about the alphabet (some letters have multiple sounds attached to them).

Process: Less teacher assistance. Student works individually.

Product: Student needs to spell out words on her/his Alphabet Book. Student given the choice to create her/his own project.

Learning Environment: Student has her/his own personal folder full of extra activities to do if s/he finishes the current activity quickly.

Flowcharts: To help guide my decision making.

References

McCarthy, J. (2014, July 23). 3 Ways to Plan for Diverse Learners: What Teachers Do. Edutopia. Retrieved 5 June 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-ways-to-plan-john-mccarthy

Strategies for Students with ADHD l Education.com (2014, October 3). Education.com Retrieved 5 June 2017, from https://www.education.com/reference/article/add-adhd-strategies-tips/

Weselby, C. (2017, February 15). What is Differentiated Instruction? Examples of Strategies. Education.cu-portland.edu. Retrieved 5 June 2017, from http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-strategies/examples-of-differentiated-instruction/