Y’all know that I think you’re awesome, right? Well, I do. I love, love, love all the wonderful comments and suggestions you make! In fact, your comments guided me to today’s topic, and it’s a biggie!
How do you modify your instruction to meet the diverse learning needs of students? What works for you? How do you keep track of the modifications you make? Wow, no wonder teachers sometimes feel overwhelmed!
Here’s an idea! Let’s pretend we’re making a big pot of stew called Modified Instruction. Everyone who’s interested can add an ingredient (a tip, idea, etc.). I’ll stir the pot, and before long we’ll have a prizewinning recipe to meet the diverse learning needs of students!
Let’s get cookin’!
Diane
PS: Each person who contributes to the stew before the end of Tuesday, August 17, will be entered in a gift certificate giveaway from The Mailbox. Delish!
Congratulations to commenter number 1, Diane, who is the winner of our drawing!
I use tic-tac-toe charts for various units and routine subjects like weekly spelling lists. Students can choose “3 in a row”. Tasks in each of the boxes can be modified for ability level, modality, multiple intelligences or just fun activities that students enjoy working on.
Some of my students wanted to take spelling tests like everyone else, but just couldn’t spell the words. So my solution was to give them a choice between three words. They first had to circle the one they thought was right. Then they had to write that word on the a blank line at the end of the choices. This gave them the chance to sound out each word, find the one they thought was correct, and then write it. This gave them the self confidence they needed and boosted their self esteem while learning.
The best way I have found to modify instruction is to use small groups and centers. I use a color coded system. Each center has a colored folder for each group. The activities are leveled based on the group’s reading abilities.
When they meet with me, we work together on the skills that particular group needs!
Great topic! Keep the ideas coming!
An interactive notebooks is a simple tool for modifying work and helping kids engage their preferred modalities. Kids take the “required” notes, or paste material on the right hand side of an open marble or spiral notebook, and make notes, draw pictures, or ask questions on the left. This simple double page spread helps kids actively engage, while giving me material to conference about as I touch base with each student. It also provides fabulous conversation starters for peer connections, and parent support.
The premise is pretty basic – the adaptations are endless. I’ll attach a resource that might help.
I work with my pre-k students in small groups according to ability level. I like to modify games to meet the students’ needs. For example, I can use alphabet bingo and have one group of students play it by looking at the cards to learn letter identification. For another group who already know the letter names but need to learn the sounds, I can say the letter sound and have them work on finding the letter.
I have several students in my class that need to move much faster in math so I give a pretest for each skill set that we do. If they are able to pass the pretest with 90% or better they do not have to do the chapter. They can do higher level instruction on the skill set instead of the grade level instruction. I do the same with spelling. Those who pass a pretest on Monday don’t have to take the test on Friday. They study words they miss when they write or interesting words they come to in their reading. They learn the definitions of the words and give each other a test on Fridays. There are many ways to differentiate your instruction. The book Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom by Susan Winebrenner is an excellent resource.
I tell my little ones to maybe..circle any 10 problems(Math). (Many times they do all!!)
On a worksheet…I help some students “fold up” their paper so that they only see part of the work at a time.
I use a game called 4 across. I divide the class into 4 groups, 1 student from each team goes to the board and it is a race to see who can write the answer to my question the fastest. I use this in every subject area. It is has been a favorite of my class every year. We also play jeopardy quite a bit, it is another hit in my class. (I teach second grade)
In my kindergarten class I found that students will
modify on their own at the center time.
I provide plenty of time to experiment with the materials, such as counters, blocks, letters at the writing center, computer time, listening center and such. The students come up very inventive ways to use items that show me that they understand the concepts ( counting, sorting, letter formation, letter sounds,ect.)
I also provide more challenging tasks for those that are ready, such as creating an ABC pattern when others are on ABB patterns.
As a recent college grad. and a new teacher, I want you all to know there are classes that last a whole semester on this one question!
I think students will modify it on their own, if we will provide boundaries (please use at least three colors) to how we want soemthing done, but not tell them exactly how to do it (please use yellow, green, and purple).
I offer materials at centers that fit all learning levels. But I modify my small groups by levels of ability. In Prek you get a huge range of abilities due to developmental ages, stages etc.
Another I do is make sure those who are struggling get a bit more of one on one time to help them.
Love the topic. Keep them coming Diane, even after 21 years of teaching I learn from your blog and the responses. Thanks
I always group a low, medium and high together so nobody overpowers, nobody is allowed to fail. Even those students who observe rather than participate are learning!
I teach multi-handicapped students and to modify materials, I use photos and boardmaker symbols that go with an activity. For some of the writing activities, I will offer 2 choices that will work and allow the student to select what they want. I prerecord words, phrases, etc. on voice output devices so that the students can participate in giving directions, shared reading and things like that. I will also add textures to shapes so that students can feel the shape.
This question is right up my alley because I have different age in my classroom. They alldo the same activities but I modify according to age and abilities. Example, shape bingo for the the older kids and shape stamps for the younger ones.
This is a very interesting topic to me –I used to have an aide with me and she and I were able to work with the varied levels in the classroom. We would be able to work in small groups and vary instruction. Now that they have taken that position away I try to offer the same lesson in a variety of ways. For example, we complete our reading series workbook pages together. When I noticed that a few students were not able to keep up I started doing it with them on the carpet but I gave the class a choice…if they felt they could do the page on their own they could do it and those that didn’t feel ready could work with me. Both groups were happy. I think the key to this is just trying to present opportunities for children to learn in a variety of ways.
I use pictures (from computer clip-art or old magazines) and a word about the picture. Kindergartners can refer to the pictures; more advanced kiddoes read the words. English language learners increase their vocab and understanding as I point to a picture and say the word.
American Sign Language is very helpful as well.
I have found that my Spelling modified instruction has been very successful. I send my Spelling list home on Friday. Monday students are given the choice to take a test or write their words for practice. If the student takes the test and correctly spells all the words, he/she is not required to take the test on Wednesday or Friday. Instead the student is given free time at the computer,center area, games or reading areas! It is a great motivator too. Depending on the needs of the students the word list may also be modified to his/her ability level.
The majority of my literacy work is done in our journals. At one time I too had an assistant and we divided the children into small groups but those days are gone. We write in journals every day. I have three groups ability leveled and I work at a table with one group each day. The groups are color coded and rotate the tables every day. The higher leveled childen are expected to draw and write first and last sounds of the words at this time and the beginning ones will be expected to draw a picture and tell me a story about it and practice their name, and we will write one or two beginning letters to their words. As the time goes by the higher levels will be writing the high frequency words and most of the sounds of the other words. As the year progresses we will write about pictures I have the children cut from magazines. They will be able to write much more than they are able to draw. At the beginning of the year only the table with me will write journals and the other two will be working on work sheets that we have practiced or playing a literacy game. By the end of the year most of the children can work from journals at the same time. OH for the days of an assistant!
When I taught first grade each of my groups had their own list. That means I had to give more than one test every week. My lowest group went with the reading teacher and did their test orally. We had a great reading teacher who was willing to help anyway she could. They usually did half the grade level words. My middle group did the whole grade level list and my above level group did more challenging words. It was a challenge the first few weeks but well worth it and once they got into the routine no one disrupted during the others tests. They were allowed to have a book out to look at or read during assessment time to keep them busy.
I modify instruction in so many different ways. I change my presentation os materials depending on my students, I may change the amount of work they do, I will add music to instruction for those who learn better with song. I also use different manipulatives such seashells, bear counters, shiny rocks, nuts, bolts, etc. Sometimes I will just vary a worksheet by putting less problems on one students page compared to another. When underlining words we use highlighters, wiki sticks, pencil, marker, glue, jsut our fingers, etc. I find I use a lot of pictures to go along with words. There are so many things I think I could type a novel on this, but then that would be to much to read!!
I also allow plenty of time for exploring the materials provided in each of the center areas. My students are, of course, at different ability levels but, they seem to figure out things on their own without much input from me. For those who need more help in a particular area, I give them more one-on-one support….I also provide this for those kiddos who need more of a challenge to stretch their learning experience.
At the middle school level, we have many ways of modifying/accommodating students with special needs/learning styles. One avenue: For culminating projects at the end of a unit, students may choose any format for completing the project, from research papers or Keynote presentations to posters as long as they meet rubric requirements for content. This allows students who are not very good at writing to show what they know through pictures and words. You would be surprised with what some of the less able students come up with that really show their learning!
Big Concepts- Big thinking
This helps all the students in the class-
Understanding of concepts, such as change and cause
such as How are soldiers and farmers different now than in the seventeenth century or how are hours/ minutes related to fractions.