5/20/2024
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Julie Ortner
|
I had a third grade ESE student in my classroom who had a very low frustrational level. He struggled with communication and, as a result, following several steps of directions were difficult for him. He would sometimes be set off by other students' comments, which he frequently misinterpreted. There was another student he really looked up to and that student was assigned as a buddy. That student would kindly repeat directions as frequently as the ESE student needed and the ESE student viewed the buddy as someone helpful, not as someone correcting him. The ESE student was also given a small box of fidget tools and a sand timer to help him calm down when he was upset. Knowing he could excuse himself, calm down, and return to a helpful buddy significantly cut down on the outbursts he would have in class. The ESE student told me that he thought the toolbox really helped and even journaled about how much he liked his toolbox. |
5/20/2024
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Julie Ortner
|
Two strategies that could help students in my classroom would be peer partners and mnemonic instruction. Giving students peer partners allows students to exchange ideas; this is particularly helpful for students who get stuck in the brainstorming phase. If the students have a structure (such as sentence stems) this can let students participate more easily or at least practice active listening. Mnemonic instruction is beneficial for students who can get easily frustrated by seeing there is a lot of information to remember. Instead, the student can see the information reduced to something smaller and can feel less overwhelmed. Additionally, giving students some freedom to create a portion of the mnemonic instruction (perhaps just one letter) can make the task feel more fun for students and let them feel like they have choice in their learning. |
5/20/2024
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Julie Ortner
|
An adapted assessment I successfully used with a student who had a learning disability was giving this student a choice to explain a concept in the best way that worked for him. Since he was several grade levels behind in reading, being told to write a paragraph would have frustrated him to the point where he would have refused to do the work. Since he did not have to write, he was actually enthusiastic about his art and was able to explain the concepts to me quite clearly. The assignment turned into a positive experience for him where he felt confident to explain his work to his table for the first time all year. |
5/20/2024
Topic:
Tools And Strategies
Julie Ortner
|
Two strategies that could help students in my classroom would be peer partners and mnemonic instruction. Giving students peer partners allows students to exchange ideas; this is particularly helpful for students who get stuck in the brainstorming phase. If the students have a structure (such as sentence stems) this can let students participate more easily or at least practice active listening. Mnemonic instruction is beneficial for students who can get easily frustrated by seeing there is a lot of information to remember. Instead, the student can see the information reduced to something smaller and can feel less overwhelmed. Additionally, giving students some freedom to create a portion of the mnemonic instruction (perhaps just one letter) can make the task feel more fun for students and let them feel like they have choice in their learning. |