We all setup our classroom with plans of what the school year will be like and imagine all of the concepts we’ll be able to cover throughout the year. Little do we know that our best laid plans will be uprooted and thrown into a spiral before we end our first day’s greeting. Every year I would have my scope and sequence penciled in on how I thought the year would flow. Every year I had to pivot. This is the beauty and uniqueness of education. No year will ever be the same; scratch that, no day will be the same as the next. Our students’ needs come before our well thought-out sequence. The unique talents that walked into your room for the year, are there to inspire conversations, educate each other, and help everyone develop more understanding of the diverse world around us.
🤔 Where Do I Begin? 🤷♀️
Let’s start from the beginning of the year and take the plans that you have already. When you have your phonic, reading, writing, math, and social sciences all mapped out, or at least a general idea of what you will cover, you can begin to see areas that may need some form of differentiation. I will give you some examples of what I did in the classroom to differentiate my read alouds and we can build from there.
My day started with a read aloud promoting all learners to become intentional observers of their own traits and those of their peers. The month had a specific trait focus that was wanted to acknowledge and instill. We related the trait to characters in the story, provided feedback on how we saw that trait in others or ourself, and discussed any reading elements that transferred into grade level standards. Below you will see a sample of the monthly theme with how the book can be adapted to students who are non-verbal and use a “talker” (speech device like Tobii Dynavox).
Every student was able to participate in the read aloud, could share with a partner by providing insight into what they were learning, and learn the appropriate grade level vocabulary adapted to their ability. For the students who needed additional accommodations, I would find the read aloud on YouTube and make screenshots to add AAC words matching the learning goal or find adapted books on Sherlock Center for Disabilities. Your speech pathologist , resource teacher, and special education department are great resources! Be intentional about planning with these supports or at least asking what resources can be incorporated into the classroom for the highest level of inclusion.
Your read aloud can match curriculum set by your district, include SEL lessons, mentor texts for content areas, or just for enjoyment. Whatever the reason you have for the read aloud, look for ways to be intentional on the inclusion of all students. These intentional steps for inclusion will provide gains with the student needing the adaptation, but also for the larger student community that needs to develop empathy. All students have value to add to the class community. Grab a copy of the Monthly Character Education Titles here.
Ok so reading is easy to adapt. What about….
Just like the reading adaptation to include a speech element or allowing students to share with a partner, you can adapt your other content areas to provide elements of modification and lower anxiety for sharing. I mean, all students need to experience risk and be ok with taking risks, but we also need to develop an environment that is safe for sharing, making mistakes, and encouraging others.
My son is one who loves all things math and science! Give him reading and writing, he will avoid it at all costs. I have had many students that were similar with one subject or another. I know as a teacher I need to cover every standard, but how do I do it effectively when a student out right refuses to do the work?!?! That is where creativity, high-interest material, and adaptation comes in handy. Let’s look at some ways to adapt writing, since we touched on reading. Click the image to grab your research copy.
If you do a read aloud for character education in self-confidence or risk taking, The Dandelion Seed for example, you could tie in life cycles or seed distribution. Students need to be able to write a full sentence, a paragraph, or even a report, so why not take the high-interest of researching their favorite whatever and tie that into your writing curriculum. Maybe you don’t need a non-fiction piece of writing, so it could be a narrative or a diary entry of what it’s like to live as a plant-animal or whatever the topic. When a student is empowered with a high-interest choice, you can get the most reluctant student to engage. But, what if they need modified writing work or hand-over-hand? Highlighters were always in my hand to support students on the fly. They can trace the words you scribe for them. It will be their exact words, but they don’t need to stress over getting it in written form. If you can provide an iPad or Chromebook, turn on the accessibility feature of speech to text (microphone-think “Hey Alexa”). You will still use the high-interest choice (dictated by your curriculum) and modify how they will produce the work. Let’s look at some modified materials:
Don’t let the student shame any learner for their learning ability. It is our job as educators to speak life into our life-long learns and showcase the talents that each student possesses. Too easily we can get caught up in the idea that students will want to “play” or have their assignment modified. Don’t let that stop you from giving the students what they need and encourage the discussion with everyone about how they would learn if work was too easy or too hard. This discussion is organic and allows the diversity of each individual to shine. Discussions are crucial in setting up an environment that fosters independence and ownership. Again, don’t be shamed by students into the “that’s not fair”, “I want what they are doing”, “why do they get something easy” to stop you for being intentional with the inclusion of all your students. At times I even thought “but if I give Floof to that student they will all want it”. I started to use student who would say that as the model student to teach the students needed the extra supports. If they finished their works and did want they needed to show learning, they could support their peers who needed the extra. Win-Win, right? It encouraged community, empathy, deeper understanding of knowledge, and all students were getting work done at their ability level.
Here is a research slide example that provides students choice and a slide deck for writing their research. Choice is one of the most powerful tools you can use within your classroom. Take an interest survey to find out more information and begin to incorporate those interests into your lessons. If you have an artistic student who doesn’t have a strength in reading, partner them with someone who could use the artistic strength and is supportive in reading. Everyone is empowered and you have engaged your students with inclusion.
What are topics you would like more in-depth blogs, examples, ideas for inclusion strategies? I love to hear what you are doing in the classroom and ideas you have to share as well. We are all better together! How are you including all students in your room? What are strengths that your student have to support each other?
Next time I will dive into math and social sciences and how to adapt/modify/include all abilities in the standards without excluding students based on abilities. Until next time, know that you are seen-heard-acknowledged ❤️.