After
reading the two articles for this week I have gained a greater understanding in
make sure that my lessons are reaching all of my students. My theme for my blog
is the Universal Design for Learning. I always think of looking at what I want
me students to get out of a lesson and working from there on what tasks they
will complete. In the district I am currently working in we are following the
modules so I often find it very difficult to cater to diverse learners within
these lessons. Yes, the modules offer suggests for ELL learners however there
are a variety of other diverse learners that the modules don’t accommodate for.
However, after reading the two articles I now have more strategies that I can
use during planning my lessons in order to reach all of my students. When using
UDL I am always looking at the three different ways to get information to my
students. This means allowing them multiple means of expression, engagement,
and representation. For more information on UDL you can visit http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines.
This website provides information on what UDL is.
In Chapter 2: Diverse Teaching
Strategies for Diverse Learners by Marietta Saravia-Shore I was reminded that I
need to get to know your students as a way to meet their needs. When I am
planning lessons for my 5th grade class I try to think of what my
students will need to get through the lesson. For example, if I teach the whole
math lesson and just expect them to follow along they are not going to learn as
much. However, if I randomly call on students to come up to the Smart board
they become more engaged in the lesson. I also add in a kinesthetic component
to my lesson to get them moving. I have also found a way to incorporate support
for my students who may not get much at home. In my classroom I will have a few
students eat lunch in the classroom and we work on their homework together to
help them get started. A majority of these students that have lunch with my
come from a single parent household where there is not a lot of support. Also,
within our school there is Grandma’s room. This is a room that students can get
a little more “TLC” that they may not always get at home. I have an assigned
time that I send students down to work on math facts or reading to help them.
This additional resource really helps students succeed in the classroom.
After
reading Using Flexible Technology to Meet
the Needs of Diverse Learners, there were two things that really stuck with
me that I am currently doing in my classroom. One huge component was adding
graphics to lessons. Most of the module lessons that I teach have a Smart board
Notebook or a PowerPoint that goes along with them. After reading through the
lesson and seeing what my students need to learn then I am able to go back and
add images and often sound bites to help my students. Currently my students are
studying the Rain forest and I am able to pull up images of Rain forests as well
as sound clips of the Rain forest. My students have to write field journals as
if they were in the Rain forest. Using technology I am able to immerse my
learners in the Rain forest within my own classroom. Another important component
is the arrangement of questions and information on a piece of paper. As a grade
level before teaching a unit we go through and look at what the Mid and End
Module assessments are asking the students to do. We then go through and alter
the layout of any of the questions. For example a lot of the Math assessments
are one or two questions that have many parts. The students need to use the
information from prior parts to complete other parts. However, they way the
tests are laid out that can be confusing. By going through and indenting the
parts students are now able to visually see that the one problem has many
parts. I am also able to go back through and change or scaffold any of the
graphic organizers my students are going to use. One thing I have learned about
my students is that they base their response on the number of lines they are
given to answer. If I want my students to give me a deep answer I know I need
to add more lines to that question.
Overall,
both of these articles provide a deeper insight into how I can continue to use
UDL in my planning in order to reach the needs of all of my students. When
working with the modules I feel like I am getting so stuck teaching to the
script that I need to remember that this way of teaching is not going to work
for all of my students. As I contemplate why I am having so many behavior
issues within my classroom I continue to look into how I can meet the needs of all
of my learners in order to control these behavior issues.
