In lesson four I decided to manipulate the lessons worksheet for students with IEPs and 504s. This manipulation consisted of cutting down on the amount of work the students did. I did this because they have a hard time concentrating as well as staying on task. This caused them to be reminded to stay on task. I also wanted them to feel accomplished with their work and feel as if they got something done. Even with an aid in the room for those students it is hard for them to feel like they are actually learning something. So shortening that worksheet helps them feel less overwhelmed and more like they can complete and do the work.
This change was one I made after lesson one. I noticed that after lesson one students seemed to be less engaged on the topics that I thought would result in an engaged class. So during lesson two I allowed students to work in partners and small groups. I found this change to be very effective. One specific thing I found to be effective was that students were helping each other and explaining answers to each other. These answers and concepts were not the easiest to explain either. For example, I had a student that for some reason didn’t understand why you had to just bring the decimal down when adding two decimals with the same place values. Their partner was able to explain to them that, because the decimal spot does not change and since we are adding decimals, you are able to just bring down that decimal. The student who was confused finally understood the concept. Later on the post-assessment, that student got adding decimals using the standard algorithm 100% correct.