Jessica Kemmeur EDU 723 Module 7: Lesson Planning Part Two June 24, 2012

2 Introduction The following lesson plan is for a second grade class consisting of 23 students. Five students have IEPs for various disabilities. The students learning needs include two with ADHD, one with mathematics and short term memory processing difficulty, one with executive functioning processing issues and reading decoding and comprehension problems. One student has difficulty with processing and producing oral language. This class also has a unique cultural diversity makeup. Two students are Hispanic Americans, one of whom recently arrived in the country and speaks some English and the other who has been in the area his whole life and speaks fluent English, but whose family speaks limited English; one Cambodian who speaks some English; one Somali who has some English language challenges; and one Native American and two African Americans. Todays inclusive classrooms are a mixture of learning abilities, diversity, and backgrounds. Teachers need to be creative in order to meet all students needs. Differentiating instruction is not just for the special education teacher. General education teachers need to know that they are not alone in the classroom. Collaboration among specialists including special educators, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, social workers, and English Language Learner (ELL) teachers is a necessity to creating a differentiated, inclusive classroom. According to Tomlinson (2001), At its most basic level, differentiating instruction means shaking up what goes on in the classroom so that students have multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and expressing what they learn (p. 1). Collaboration allows all educators in a school to provide students with

3 options to learn. It creates an environment where the mentality is that of our students. This specific class creates a challenging instructional makeup that the teacher may require more information. This classroom teacher must read the students IEPs to understand their needs and learning styles. This teacher must ask for additional information such as what are the individualized accommodations, and do the students with disabilities require modifications on assessments. The teacher would need to know whether the students with ADHD need frequent breaks, and sensory input. The teacher should also ask whether the students with specific learning disabilities require any pullout time in the special education room to receive more intensive instruction. One last question the teacher may ask an ELL teacher would be what supports the students with some English language need to succeed in the classroom. One challenge that the teacher may anticipate would be keeping the entire class engaged and actively learning throughout the lesson without the support of an ed tech or co-teacher. Another challenge would be making sure that the students with limited English understand what is being taught. Garcia (2008) states, An effective approach to improving instruction for ELLs is to design integrated thematic units around the areas of content study. Immersing these students within the content area would hopefully support them in the classroom. The following science unit on habitats could be taught during the third week of school. Maine is a state that has unique habitat diversity. The following standard is taken from the Maine Learning Results 2007 on Ecosystems, K-2 students will

4 understand how plants and animals depend on each other and the environment in which they live (http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/pei/index.html). Science is a content standard that can be immersed throughout the other core curriculum to achieve an optimal learning experience.

Title of Lesson: Habitats Length of Lesson: 3 days, 30-40 minutes each day Objectives: The students will compare different animals and plants that live in habitats around the world. The students will be able to identify which habitat an animal or plant lives in.

Day 1 Materials: Pictures of habitats Pictures of animals Flashcards (http://bogglesworldesl.com/animalhabitatcards.htm) Smart Board Smart Board Activity (http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=6accd1758276-4657-9fbc-29b1b90ae2a5) Letter to parents explaining the unit sent home today Day 1 Plan: Gather students in a huddle on the floor. Show students pictures of animals and ask where they live. Record their answers on the whiteboard. Observe how the ELL students are doing with vocabulary and accommodate as necessary.

Divide the students into two groups. The groups will be equal in ability needs (both groups will have learners across the spectrum of learning needs and cultural

5 diversity). Each group will last about 15 minutes, and then the two groups will switch activities.

The first group will work on the Smart Board. First explain the rules of the Smart Board. The teacher will guide the students in an interactive activity. The students can take turns coming up to the board. The activity consists of a read-aloud book, a sorting game, and instructional material. Visual pictures will be provided to all students, but are intended for students with short-term memory and oral language processing needs.

The second group will pair up in partners and be monitored by a parent volunteer. Using habitat flashcards from an ESL website, the students will play a game of Memory or Go Fish. The pairs may choose which game to play. The volunteer will monitor make sure that the students are identifying the animal and habitat, as well as staying on task. The students will work together to identify the habitats. Students will all get a copy of the flashcards to bring home.

Closure: The teacher will bring the class together to review what was taught. The teacher will pose the question as to what habitats can be found in Maine. Extension Activities: iPad app Animals 360 (free) Day 2: Focus on Maine Habitats Materials: Audubon Society animal/bird from the Salt Marsh covered Journey Around Maine from A to Z by Martha Zachock Paper

6 Crayons Pencils Day 2 Plan: Read Journey Around Maine from A to Z aloud to the whole class. Focus on specific Maine habitats highlighted in the book. Have the students make a list of Maine animals and where they live on the board. Show the students the covered box from the Audubon Society. Have the students guess the animal by the size of the box. Uncover the box and describe the animal to the students. Have the students come up to look closely at the animal. Have the students act like scientists and draw the animal and then sketch the habitat. Closure: Have the students come up and describe their drawing to the class, if they want. This is optional for students.

Day 3: Assessment Day 3 Materials: Collected boxes Art paper/materials Crayons Markers Poster paper Books on habitats Pencils

7 Day 3 Plan: Tell the students that they will be working at their tables to either create animal habitats or write a report on an animal and its habitat. Show students the rubric with which they will be graded. Students will be able to choose the modality and habitat from a list on the board. Students can use books to view animal habitats. The student can use the materials to create dioramas, or posters. The teacher will show students examples of the different projects that the students create. Allow the students the entire class period to create their projects. If they need extra time during the day, they may work on it, as well as have the option to take it home for homework. Assessment: Students will be present their projects to the class and will be graded on a rubric. 5 Points Describe the habitat The habitat is described fully, many details, and descriptions; plants, temperature, weather, animals Describe in detail how the animal needs the habitat to survive. I did the absolute best quality. I had neat handwriting, or coloring/ creating. I took my time. 3 Points 1 Point

The habitat is Only 1 item partially described. description is mentioned.

Animals

Describes the animals needs partially.

Only mentions 1 item.

Quality of Work

I only partially did I did not take my quality work. time. I did not do quality work. I did not use neat handwriting or creating.

Assessment The following assessment is linked with instruction because it ties everything taught over the week together. The rubric allows flexibility in assessing students at all ability levels. Assessment was ongoing throughout the unit. Each beginning and ending of the lesson huddles gave the teacher a chance to assess what the students knew and learned that day. The final assessment is also based on a student product. This project allowed students the chance to use their strengths and knowledge to apply it to a meaningful experience. According to Cohen and Spenciner (2009), By linking assessment to instruction, educators can begin planning instruction that allows students to build on previous knowledge (181). The student could use what they knew about habitats and link it to what they learned to create a product that they could be proud that they made. Student Involvement The students in the class had a chance to be involved in numerous hands-on activities and instructional materials. Providing exciting and engaging activities promotes active student involvement. The lessons also provided the students opportunities for choice, such as the game and final project. The students were also given opportunity to work as a whole class, individually, and with partners. This mixture of learning experience also provides and maintains active student involvement. Differentiated Instruction

9 Without knowing the students for longer than three weeks, presents the teacher with a unique challenge to differentiate instruction. Having read IEPs and student files, the teacher will have a basic sense of individual needs and learning styles. The teacher would also have the beginning of school to observe student interactions and to gauge which pairings and groupings were the most beneficial to student learning. Being able to spread out the students with disabilities and immerse them into a learning experience with at or above grade level learners already puts those students at an advantage. Using a variety of learning modalities such as technology (Smart Boards and iPads), books, read-alouds, and an actual animal allows the students for a rich learning environment to utilize their educational strengths. As it is the beginning of the school year, the teacher was able to select a few learning profile categories and will be able to build learning preferences as the year progresses (Tomlinson, 2001). Also, providing students the opportunity to take home materials such as flashcards, allows the students with disabilities as well as the ELL students extra exposure to materials and vocabulary. Diversity Prospective This area can be challenging for a teacher, especially when there is such a wide variety and skill level and personal background among the students. Hopefully, the teacher was able to connect to the ELL specialist and work with the students families in understanding the letter and materials that are sent home with the students. Researching ways to immerse ELL students in the classroom is also important. Having a classroom environment rich in habitat information, as well as showing ELL students where and how to access this information also allows the

10 students to get more out of the lessons (Garcia, 2008). Pairing the ELL students with English speaking students was helpful in this lesson, as it allowed the ELL students to stay in the classroom and learn key vocabulary from their same-age peers. This is what inclusive classrooms are all about! Conclusion: Differentiated instruction in inclusive classrooms can be a learning experience for the teacher, as well as the students. However, it is worth the extra time for the teacher to expand and accommodate the basic curriculum to meet all students learning needs. Students can learn best when surrounded by same-age peers. The preceding lesson was full of hands-on, active learning. This unit will allow the teacher to better understand her students, as well as give the administrator an opportunity to discuss the challenges of the classroom and provide the teacher with opportunity for collaborative support.

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References: Cohen, L. G., & Spenciner, L. J. (2009). Teaching students with mild and moderate disabilities. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Garcia, A. U. (2008, March 30). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://suite101.com/article/integrated-thematic-instruction-a49271 Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/pei/index.html