Adapting Expectations

Activating Prior Knowledge

Engaging Everyone

Rationale for the Use of Teaching Strategies

All good teachers use strategies to teach their students. Working with students with learning disabilities is no different from working with students without learning disabilities. In fact, THE VERY SAME STRATEGIES THAT WILL WORK BEST WITH STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES WORK BEST FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE THEM! The key idea here is that good teaching is good teaching. It works for all kids. The adage "There is no substitute for good teaching" is true. So if you are having trouble "reaching" that student that you know has a learning disability, look around. You are probably not connecting with several more students, too. The goal is to involve every kid in learning, not just the eager ones who will be interested no matter what you do.... not just the college bound star who is intrinsically motivated...EVERYONE! This is done through many different ways. Check out the topics below and put some of the ideas into practice in your classroom today!

Adaptation of Academic Expectations

In general education classes, student with learning disabilities will sometimes have reading and/or writing skills that are so far behind those of their classmates that some serious adaptations must be undertaken. The following is a list of strategies excerpted from an ERIC web site. The ideas were provided by Linda Bastiani, Lori Ellis, and Paula Furick, and the list was compiled by Linda Bastiani. (Additional comments in parentheses are attributed to this web site's author.)

(It is especially important to remember that the particular skills that schools most demands of students are the very ones im which students with learning disabilities are deficit. (see Isaac Asimov's essay on intelligence) There is a whole world of interests and skills that are never asked for in the very narrow range of skills that most educational settings demand. So, resource students can be brilliant in another setting, in school they are consistently been called upon to perform in the very modes they find most difficult. This means that lots of unlearning has to take place before they will be willing to put themselves on the line and show their true understanding and abilities. It is the task of the teacher to provide ways in which these students' skills and knowledge can shine forth. The following strategies represent an attempt to do so.)

1. Prepare the student with several reminders before calling on him/her. (This can go a long way to reducing the anxiety of a very shy student or one who has been humiliated in classrooms before. You can even tell him/her what question you intend to ask ahead of time. This isn't "cheating." It is allowing the student to be successful, for a change. Also, frequently call attention when the student makes an attempt, has a partial answer, or shows good thinking. These are all skills that good students have and you should honor their growth every chance you get!)

 

2. Try to plan one academic activity a day in which the student can participate easily. Letting the rest of the class do something beneath their abilities for a few minutes a day will not harm them and will help the included student learn to truly participate with a large group.

 

3. Give directions in a mode other than solely auditory. (Make sure assignments are always written down as well as delivered orally, and that the students have plenty of time to copy them down and understand what they entail before the end of the period. Imagine if you were given directions in a language of which you had only a rudimentary knowledge, and were asked to immediately assimilate what they meant and be prepared to ask right then and there for any additional information you needed to do the work!)

 

4. Rewrite directions at an appropriate reading level. (Have several students tell back directions or instructions to be sure they are understood by all. Remember, if one student didn't understand, chances are that several didn't understand. And this is certainly not limited to resource students!)

 

5. Tape record directions or have peers deliver directions. (Very often another student can give directions in a way that makes sense to students. Make use of their skills.)

 

6. Allow the student to dictate responses. (This allows them to relax and concentrate on the content rather than the form. Otherwise you are always testing writing ability instead of evaluating whether or not the kid got the content.)

 

7. Provide a sample of the finished product before beginning an activity. (Always model what you want.)

 

8. Limit the number of problems on a page. Make sure worksheets are visually simple, without lots of extra drawings or crowded problems.

 

9. Talk with your principal about appropriate accommodations for "down time." A student with a short attention span will need time away from the behavioral demands of the large group which is not a punishment. Try to provide this "down time" BEFORE the child's behavior becomes difficult.

 

10. (Make liberal use of books on tape to substitute for written materials. Most schools have access to pleasure reading and texts on tape. It is ideal for the student to read along with the printed text while listening to the tape. Many students can benefit from this strategy. Why not form a listening group of students?)

 

Ideas provided by Linda Bastiani, Lori Ellis, and Paula Furick.
Permission to copy is granted, as long as this note is kept at the bottom.
List compiled by Linda Bastiani. Revised August 3, 1997
(Ideas and explanations in parentheses are the work of this web site's author)
http://www.Jacksonville.net/~inclusion/classroo.htm

Activation of Prior Knowledge: Strategies for Connection

1. Introduce the topic: Make simple statements about the topic and rationale for discussing it prior to reading more about it.

 

2. Brainstorm and list what we already know: Use partners (for example, think-pair-share) or small teams, or brainstorm as a whole group to involve everyone. This can take the form of a K-W-L chart. K= what we know (some things on this may be inaccurate. However, don't correct any errors at this point.) W= what we want to know. L= what we learned as a result of this lesson. (This is the place to correct the earlier mistaken ideas which helps students see themselves as creatures who CAN learn and who know how to find new information.)

 

3. Structure and categorize the information to be read: Select 3-5 key ideas or topics from the selection to be read, convey those ideas to your students. If possible, use a graphic map or "cognitive organizer" to structure the ideas and topics.

 

4. Relate previous experience as you generate questions and predictions: "What do you want to know about______?" (teacher can also pose questions that haven't been brought up by the students) "What do you expect to find in the article/text?" List these questions and predictions on the board or with individual partners. This helps to fill in the gaps for kids who lack prior knowledge.

 

5. Read the text interactively: Students can read individually, with a partner, in a cooperative group, with a group jigsaw, or as a class out loud. Reading as a group can go a long way to lowering the anxiety level of a student who struggles with the printed word. As we all know, anxiety makes learning more difficult.

 

6. Look back at the questions and predictions as you read: Stop to circle information that was validated. Stop to cross out information that proved erroneous. Stop to answer the questions generated by the class, groups or individuals.

 

7. Fill in a class or group map or outline to summarize key findings: Go back to the map/organizer used in step #3...fill in key information. Paraphrase ideas in your own words. Use partners and small groups to ensure all are engaged.

This information is attributed, largely, to Paris & Lindauer, via Kevin Feldman, with further examples and clarification by Katy Hall

< Back to the top >

ENGAGING EVERYONE

There are many, many ways to actively engage kids in their learning. Use these ideas as a springboard to activate your classroom. Don't hesitate to change and tweak them. Just keep in mind that the goal is to keep every kid involved.

LEARNING IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT!

TELL-HELP-CHECK Use: This simple partner strategy is ideal for use during, and/or after, teacher directed instruction---especially for judicious review of critical information. It gives students an opportunity to review and confirm their understanding, orally participate, elaborate their understanding and fill in any gaps in knowledge. This is also a great way for the teacher to check for understanding.

1. Teacher assigns partners. It is usually best to mix high with med. students and med. with low students. Number off the students as 1's and 2's.

 

2. Model the strategy. Teacher is 1 and class as 2's. Use choral responses as you demonstrate how to Tell--Help--& Check.

you pose the question and tell part of the answer

cue/prompt class to choral response, help with the rest of the answer

check using the board or overhead

 

3. Set the time. Tell students, for example, that 1's will have 1 minute to tell their partner the answer to the question you pose. Tell 2's to practice active listening, one minute to help, and then check. Calling on one student at this time to tell to the whole class validates student's ability to do the work of the class.

 

4. Monitor. Circulate the room as students work and give students feedback about how they are doing on the task.

 

5. Practice the strategy. Begin with simple materials until they get the hang of it. This can be used often in just about any classroom situation. It is great for reinforcing material and keeping those busy little minds connected to the assignment at hand.

This excellent strategy is the work of Anita Archer at (800) 225-0248. ("strategic teaching" on resource list)

Think-Pair-Share Use: this simple partner strategy is ideal for use before, during, and/or after, teacher directed instruction. It gives students an opportunity to think about divergent questions that do not have one right answer, especially if the multiple interpretations can be defended or explained. Think of good quality, higher order thinking questions for this activity. (analyze, compare, infer, etc.)

1. Teacher assigns partners. It is usually best to mix high with med. students and med. with low students. Number off the students as 1's and 2's.

 

2. Model the strategy. Teacher is 1 and class as 2's. Use choral responses as you demonstrate how to: Think-Pair-Share.

you pose the question and model your thoughtful response
cue/prompt class to add other possible responses, remember there is no one right answer
check then share as a class

 

3. Set the time. Tell students, for example, that 1's will have 1 minute to tell their partner the answer to the question you pose. Tell 2's to practice active listening, one minute to help, and then check. Calling on one student at this time to tell to the whole class validates student's ability to do the work of the class.

 

4. Monitor. Circulate the room as students work and give students feedback about how they are doing on the task. Tell them what you are looking for.

 

5. Practice the strategy. Begin with simple materials until they get the hang of it. This can be used often in just about any classroom situation. It is great for reinforcing material and keeping those busy little minds connected to the assignment at hand.

Ambassadors Use: this activity is perfect to foster individual accountability, which is essential to an effective use of cooperative group work. If used at the end of a cooperative group activity, this strategy allows students to practice: presenting information to each other, active listening skills, and consolidating understanding of Big Ideas from the task.

1. Explain the rules before you start. Tell students before they begin their group work task that you will randomly select one member to share what they have learned together as a team. So it is essential to the team success that every member pay attention, stay on task, etc.

 

2. Set the time so you allow at least 15 minutes at the end of the group work to share with the whole class what they have learned.

 

3. Give groups their task. Setting group roles ahead of time is very helpful.

 

4. Randomly select one student to be the "Ambassador" to go to another "country" (group) and share the information generated by his group. You can select according to roles..."all facilitators go to the next country." The first few times you do this activity, before assigning ambassadors, give the groups a few extra minutes to make sure everyone in their group is well familiar with the information their group has generated.

 

5. Ambassadors can also be assigned to collect data from the country they are visiting to bring back to their home country. Monitor, monitor, monitor.

 

6. Ambassadors return to their home countries and share their experiences, etc.

 

7. Wrap up. Guide classroom discussion to ensure that all students have the Big Idea(s) that the task was centered around, make new connections, offer specific acknowledgements, etc.

Numbered Heads Together This idea is a great way to keep the whole class involved in a discussion, instead of just one or two students, as so often happens. This is a shift from partner groups to teams of four in heterogeneous groupings. Use: This is best used for practice and mastery of knowledge, recall, comprehension and other brief answer type questions.

1. Place students in heterogeneous teams of 3 or 4 and have students number off.

 

2. Teacher asks a high consensus question; these can include recall of various higher level applications of a concept. (For example, "Make sure everyone can name one application of the law of supply & demand.") Set a time limit for the group to come up with their answer.

 

3. Heads together. Students literally put their heads together and generate their answer, making sure everyone knows the answer to the question. A "checker" can make sure everyone in the group is ready.

 

4. Teacher calls off a number--at random-- and students with that number raise their hands or stand up and are called on to answer. You can expand the discussion by asking successive students to respond to the answer given by a previous group, paraphrase the previous answer, etc. This can be sparked up and treated as a game by counting points, etc.

Numbered Heads Together was developed by Russ Frank and later refined by Dr. Spencer Kagan. this description, and the 3 previous strategies were gathered together by Kevin Feldman. (strategic teaching on resource list)

I hope that you find this web page useful. It will grow and develop through the contributions of its readers so I encourage you to visit the reader response page and share your ideas and questions.

copyright 1999-2000