Making Text Connections & Letter Recognition 

As an asynchronous remote learning activity, the above book was read aloud. During this reading, the student was encouraged to engage in letter recognition, make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections, learn new vocabulary, and examine pictures to support comprehension.

Writing a Summary - The Wings of the Butterfly 

To enhance student engagement while reading a long text, a recorded audio was completed. Different voices were used for each character, which the 5th grade students really enjoyed! This reflects the UDL principle of providing multiple means of instruction. Breaking the text down into three parts also supports struggling readers and resource students who require extra time to process information. Students practiced writing a summary of the beginning, middle, and end of the text.

Writing Poems about Spring

This 6th grade class included general ed, bilingual, and resource students. The class was provided differentiated instruction for achieving the same objective, to write a poem about Spring. As a whole group students brainstormed Spring related words for inspiration. Then, non-bilingual students were instructed to write a poem with 10 or more lines including figurative language. Bilingual students were instructed to write a haiku about Spring. Both groups were focused on word choice with bilingual students counting syllables. Students were excited about the writing, artwork, and recitation of their poems. 

Writing Sonnets

In order to complete these sonnets, students used many elements of the poetry genre: rhyme schemes, rhythm, repetition, and imagery. This was a task that definitely involved critical thinking! As well as focusing on the elements of poetry, students had to write a poem that made sense and remained on topic. Many of them did an excellent job with this difficult task! 

Locating Our Neighborhood on the Map

Briefly, my view on teaching and learning is that all students can learn and teachers must design curriculum to facilitate that learning. But it takes patience and persistence. For this standards based Social Studies lesson for 2nd grade, U.D.L. strategies were used, incorporating multiple means of representation, action and expression. Tools used included a video, a PowerPoint presentation with images from the local neighborhood,  student collaboration via a game, and a custom made graphic organizer for assessment. 

Writings Paragraphs With Metaphors & Quotes 

Although the 5th grade students had been working with graphic organizers to improve their writing all year, they struggled when presented with a new format.

In Google classroom, the students were provided with information about one of six Women's History figures.  Along with a brief article, images, and quotes, students were provided with videos of mini-biographies to ensure the use of reliable sources. 

Struggling students were able to use text-to-speech to read and visual learners were supported by the images and videos. Students were then instructed to write about their figure using a metaphor and a quote, while also explaining what they admired about that woman. I also modeled the writing task and provided an exemplar which I felt was enough to help them understand what they needed to do.

 However, it was not. As you can see, the first writing organizer (Image 1) provided did not make these instructions clear. Therefore, I created a second organizer (Image 2) with more explicit directions which led to the results I was seeking (Image 3). I learned that modeling and exemplars must still be accompanied by explicit directions, especially when students are learning something new.

Preparing for Assessments

There is usually a large amount of information covered in a unit of study. Often students, especially those with learning difficulties, require support identifying the significant data and organizing it before they even begin to study and memorize it. Providing study guides and references sheets can model for students how to organize what they've learned so that in other subjects and future grades they can create their own study guides. In both the Science and Social Studies guides, visual aids help students understand and remember information better. All of the study guides include visual aids such as images, bolded or high-lighted words, examples, and charts that provide an easy to follow structure of the information provided. 

Supporting Key Literacy Skills

In addition to verbal discussions, textbooks, videos, and online articles, I believe that anchor charts and word walls are an important aspect of instruction. They are vital reminders of key instruction. A classroom environment should be rich in print that includes word walls and relevant anchor charts. When students are instructed and encouraged to use these resources, they do. This promotes independence in completion of daily tasks.