George

Strengths - very good word reader - cooperative, friendly - desires to do well - high verbal and non-verbal reasoning abilities - learns well through visual presentations/videos - has done well in other class using wikis, and digital tools like Prezzie Areas of Need - organizing and expressing his thoughts in a written format - transitioning quickly from one activity to another - organizing and prioritizing assignments/notes - breaking down large tasks into manageable chunks - identifying where/how to start an assignment or task - slow processing speed

Adaptations/Accommodations for Success: Assignments Show a finished example of what is expected (exemplars) o Here is an example of a power point of a country in the G20 that a student did last year Assignments/tasks broken down into component parts o Eg. Instead of assigning: Make a powerpoint presentation on a country and orally discussing criteria and then handing out rubric o Try handout with criteria as a set of instructions Choose a country. __________________________ Birth rates _____________ Death Rates ______________ Find a bar graph that shows population age and % of total population Etc. Example questions broken down into steps o Written prompts so this can be referred to by student

Eg. When doing mole problems have steps written on card taped to his binder or with his periodic table so he can refer to it as he goes through each problem. Step 1: Write out complete chemical equation. (Use periodic table) Step 2: Check to see if it is balanced. If NOT balanced, balance it! Step 2: Identify your molar ratio using the coefficients in the equation and write it down. Step 3: Multiply known number of moles by molar ratio and write it down. Step 4: Put a box around the answer, include units and formula These prompts can be faded with time by removing them one at a time or allowing them for every other question, then only every third question etc.

Needs to see big picture of a task then can go back and focus on it piece by piece o Okay, you will be writing an essay that discusses the changes that took place in Canada during WWI. You will need to have an introduction, 3 body paragraphs and a concluding paragraph. o Now, lets go back and write our thesis statement and choose our 3 supports o Plan essay using an organizer Concrete avoid abstract o Questions that involve taking on another persons perspective will be difficult, or identifying symbols or themes will be a challenge. Making inferences may also be a challenge. Eg. Write a paragraph on what a young soldier would be feeling as the boat he was on approached the coast of Normandy. o If possible alter the assignment to be non-fiction, report type style. Eg. Describe the conditions that infantry soldiers had to deal with in the trenches during WWII. Include information on their clothing and shoes, bathing, toileting etc. Allow extra time o Written assignments and tests will take George longer than the typical student Allow for shorter assignments/fewer questions o Written tasks are especially laborious and onerous for him, writing one paragraph can take him an hour o If George can express all the required ideas in one paragraph then do not require him to write three o Allow George to do the minimal number of practice questions to develop/show understanding as his processing speed is slow but his capacity to understand concepts is not impaired Allow for scribe and computer access Will require 1 on 1 assistance (EA) to help with his anxiety and assist him to keep moving in a task o George can get overwhelmed and can shut down o Needs reassurance and encouragement and prompting from EA to be as efficient as possible

Organization Have written schedule, assignment logs (with due dates) available and visible daily Communication with parents key as they are very supportive and will work with him at home to support class work. George also has a private tutor who can work with him on assignments. Give warnings about transitioning from one activity to another. 5 minutes left on questions and then we will watch a video then 1 minute left and then we will be watching a video

Tests and Exams Please allow for significant additional time o Send George up to the Resource room to write, start test at lunch, allow to stay after school to finish, allow him to continue working on his test during his next Resource block o George is eligible for a scribe for all tests, quizzes and provincial exams o If the Socials 11 provincial is in the afternoon (1 pm start) discuss with Administration about allowing George to start at 9 am instead. (George was at the school until 6:30 pm writing his Communications 12 Exam in June 2012)

Other Thoughts George is a perfectionist and one of the reasons that written output is difficult is that he will try and formulate the best possible sentence o If he is pressured too much to just get something down he will likely become overwhelmed and shut down o He is working this at home with his tutor but it will continue to be something that George struggles with next semester It may appear in class that George is sitting doing nothing this is not really the case o Georges brain is wired differently and often it can take them more time than typical students to organize their thoughts to begin a set of practice questions or other daily task o It can also take some time to disengage from one question and begin another o Prompts delivered in a non-threatening, positive way can assist with this George is not at the stage yet where he is able to advocate for all of these adaptations himself, please do not require him to do so o Again, this is an area that he is working on, but lets have him focus his energies on the classwork

Please feel free to come up to room 305 and talk or email me at lmaclellan@sd61.bc.ca about any of these adaptations or if you have any questions. Laura MacLellan Georges Case Manager Learning Support Teacher Esquimalt High School