EDBE 8P43 Junior / Intermediate Language & Literacy

Week Four Class One & TwoDifferentiating Instruction

Questionnaire: Looking back on Year 1• Please think back to last year in your EDBE 8P24 Language Arts

course. You critiqued 4 digital resources for classroom teachers, shared them in your Professional Conversation groups, and later developed a series of blog posts.

• Based on your experience as a “curator of resources,” please list the

features of effective digital learning resources for use in Junior/Intermediate classrooms. Rank them in the order of Most Important (1) to Less Important (but still beneficial).

Learning Object Assignment• Task:

• Independently create a Learning Object that can be used in the classroom to address an inquiry focus.

• Success Criteria: • Design and create a digital Learning Object related to the inquiry

focus• Describe and display the Learning Object during group presentation• Create a Teacher’s Guide to accompany the Learning Object• Upload Learning Object to Sakai Forum

• Assessment Rubric

Differentiated Instruction….is a cyclical process of finding out about the learner and responding by differentiating.

…..as we continue to learn more about the learner, we respond by differentiating instruction with increased precision and effectiveness

Differentiated Instruction...

... is adapting instruction and assessment in response to differing student interests, learning preferences, and readiness in order to promote growth in learning.

… is not individualized instruction; it is responding to varying student strengths and needs by providing a balance of modelled, shared, guided, and independent instructional strategies.

• Students are taught how to make choices (e.g.; assignment, learning centre task, resources) based on their readiness to learn, interests and learning preferences

• Learning goals reflect student learning needs and support student achievement of the Language/English expectations

• Students whose culture/first language/language of instruction are intentionally supported in order to be able to access the intended learning

Accommodation• How might the school accommodate the needs of these two children?

Think particularly in the area of Language Arts.

• A: Lindsay

• B: Casey

3 Types of Accommodations1. Instructional: changes in teaching strategiesincluding styles of presentation, methods of organization, or use of technology and multimediae.g.; the use of graphic organizers, photocopied notes, or assistive software

2. Environmental: changes that the student may require in the classroom and/or school environment

such as preferential seating or special lighting

3. Assessment: changes in assessment procedures that enable the student to demonstrate his or her learningsuch as allowing additional time to complete tests or assignments or permitting oral responses to test questions (see page 29 of the IEP Resource Guide, 2004 for more examples).

Environmental Differentiation• Mrs. Meeussen’s portable. Grade 3

Differentiating Instructional Approaches

1. Adjusting the method or pace of instruction

2. Using different types of resources

3. Allowing a wider choice of topics

4. Adjusting the learning environment, if appropriate, to suit the way their students learn and how they are best able to demonstrate their learning

Nelson Literacy 4Guided Reading cards

• Select an envelope. The theme is listed on the front. In each envelope are 3 Guided Reading cards.

• Read and examine the 3 cards and sort them in order of text complexity. Do not just deal with the difficulty of the content.

• Check with the Answer Key to see how Nelson levelled these texts.

• Begin a list of factors teachers need to consider when providing text for their specific students. Record your findings on the sheet provided.

Differentiated Instruction: • Using Analogies to Deepen Understanding• http://www.middleweb.com/32318/analogies-plus-tech-can-deepen-

understanding/

Your turn!!• At your table think of an analogy to help students understand one or

more of the following text forms:• Blog post• Presidential debate• Persuasive essay• Television sitcom• Short story

Independent Work Time • Learning Objects

• Be sure to consult the Independent Learning Object Checklist as you work on your project