2nd Planning Resources

This school year I am using this space to put up resources I am using in my classroom.

Differentiation Strategies (Additional Supports + Enrichment)

Colorín Colorado.org is the leading national website serving parents and educators of English language learners (ELLs) in Grades PreK-12.

http://www.colorincolorado.org/

Culturally Responsive Teaching Instructional Strategies:

Think aloud - Teacher reads passages and models thought processes for students on how to ask themselves questions, as they comprehend text.
Reciprocal questioning - Teachers and students engage in shared reading, discussion, and questioning with the goal being to help students learn to ask questions of themselves about the meaning they are constructing as they read.
Interdisciplinary units - Recommended that teachers include and connect content learning with language arts and culturally diverse literature. Topics drawn from children’s lives and interests (sometimes from curriculum) demonstrate how to make connections across the curriculum through culturally relevant literature.
Scaffolding - Teacher explicitly demonstrates the difference between what students can accomplish independently and what they can accomplish with instructional support.
Journal writing gives students opportunities to share their personal understandings regarding a range of literature in various cultural contexts that inform, clarify, explain, or educate them about culturally diverse societies.
Character study journals permit students to make their own personal connections with a specific character as they read a story.
Open-ended projects allow students to contribute at their varying levels of ability and explore a topic of interest drawn from their readings of culturally rich literature. Artifacts, including writings, poems, and/or letters, from students’ lives or culture can represent an ethnic or cultural group.
Cross-cultural literature discussions groups - Students discuss quality fiction and nonfiction literature that authentically depicts members of diverse cultural groups.
Character reading - Students form opinions about a specific issue or cultural concept put forward in the text or respond to a significant event that occurred during the character’s life.

Click on the below links for resources to tailor this unit to fit the needs of your classroom.

Differentiation Instruction Checklist

Integrated Differentiation Matrix Grid

Sample of Integrated Matrix – Investigate a Book

8 Lessons Learned on Differentiating Instruction

Flow chart that will help guide differentiation for EL's

Classroom Practices Inventory (Differentiation)

The Difference Between Mainstream Instruction and Embedded ELD

Suggested Intervention Strategies - Tier 1, 2, and 3

Tier 1: Research-based Instructional Strategies, and differentiation are an integral part of every classroom. These teaching processes should be implemented first in Tier 1, and then continued through Tiers 2 and 3.

Tier 2 is also known as "Targeted Supplemental Instruction. In Tier 2, students are provided with research-based interventions in a small group. In many cases, Tier 2 takes place in the general education classroom. Tier 2 interventions must be delivered with fidelity. It is important for teachers to create an intervention plan for the student. The intervention plans should include the intervention, duration of time, delivery style, group size and staff responsible. In order for interventions to be given with fidelity, interventions, strategies and plan must follow protocol.

Possible recommendations at a Student Success Team meeting:

Student has met goals, and returns to Tier 1.
Student has not met goals, but is making adequate progress. This student remains at Tier 2 with same intervention.

Student has not met goals, and is not making progress:

Intervention is changed, or
Duration is changed, or
Student is referred to Tier 3 for a more intensive intervention program.
Parent involvement

Tier 3: In addition to Tier 1 and Tier 2 support, these students require a more intensive, individualized program to meet their needs.

Tier 3 instruction includes the following components:

Additional intervention time
Individual or very small group instruction
Continued Progress Monitoring
Explicit instruction/program
Parent involvement

Specially Designed Instruction for Special Education Students

The unit was designed for heterogeneous classes. When teachers implement this unit and develop lesson plans, they should consider the skills and special needs of their students and make adjustments accordingly. The following links are for certain elements of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Whether you're a general or special education teacher, principal, specialist, or paraprofessional, you play a vitally important role in helping children with learning disabilities achieve their full potential. LD OnLine has the following resources to assist you plan your lessons from this model unit.

Apply appropriate elements of UDL:

Options for Perception: 1.1 Customize the display of information, 1.2 Provide alternatives for auditory information

1.3 Provide alternatives for visual information

Options for Expression: 5.1 Allow choices of media for communication, 5.2 Provide appropriate tools for composition and problem solving Provide appropriate tools for composition and problem solving, 5.3 Provide ways to scaffold practice and performance

Options for Comprehension: 3.1 Provide or activate background knowledge , 3.2 Highlight critical features, big ideas, and relationships , 3.3 Guide information processing, 3.4 Support memory and transfer

Options for Sustaining Effort: 8.3 Foster collaboration and communication

Additional Resources:

Specialized Instruction Examples

UDL Guidelines – Educator Checklist

Gifted and Talented

National Association for Gifted Children

http://www.nagc.org/

Gifted Education Articles

The Puzzle of Differentiating Learning for Gifted Students by Barbara Swicord, Ed.D.

Problem-Based Learning: A Promising Strategy for Gifted Students by Barbara Swicord, Ed.D.

Identification
Identification is a critical component of effective gifted education programming. One size does not fit all. In addition to using assessments appropriate to the services provided, different strategies may be needed to ensure students with high potential are identified. Read more about best practices in identification. Read about including diverse populations in the identification process.

Curriculum Compacting
This important instructional strategy condenses, modifies, or streamlines the regular curriculum to reduce repetition of previously mastered material. “Compacting” what students already know, allows time for acceleration or enrichment beyond the basic curriculum for students who would otherwise be simply practicing what they already know. Read more about curriculum compacting.

Strategies to Address Varying Levels of Readiness (Click on strategy for more information)

Higher-Level Questioning

Literature Circles Resources:

Common Core Standards for Literature Circles

Literature Circles Packet

Questioning for Fiction Texts

Literature Circle Sequence

Literature Circle Reflections