Accommodations & Modifications
Situation: Miguel has been identified as dyslexic. The class is looking forward to reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. The teacher is worried Miguel will struggle to keep up with the reading despite testing as being on grade level in comprehension.
Solution: The teacher arranges to provide Miguel with the audiobook version to listen along with during independent reading.
What is an accommodation?
Situation: The Kindergarten teacher is introducing a new letter today. She wants to design four centers for students to “discover” the new letter. She knows her students well enough to know that if she tells them they must work on their own and not “share” their findings with others, the majority of them will anyway.
Solution: The teacher makes a fifth “center” which is an independent learner center. Students can choose to work through all four activity centers in pairs or groups, or they may choose to work on their own rather than travel with a group to each table by working independently at the fifth center.
What is differentiated content by readiness?
The content provided to a group of students.
What is curriculum?
Students will demonstrate the ability to appropriately identify letter sounds.
What is an objective?
Situation: Cristina, a refugee student from Guatemala, has just joined the class. She understands more English than she is able to read or write. The class is looking forward to reading Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The teacher is worried Cristina will struggle to keep up with the reading despite testing on grade level in comprehension in her native language.
Solution: The teacher arranges to provide Cristina with both the English and Spanish versions of the text
What is an accommodation?
Situation: The teacher has just covered a unit on nutrition and diet. He knows he should assess his students’ understanding of the material, but he also knows from experience that regardless of whether he gives them a traditional exam, asks them to write an essay, or create a creative representation (such as a poster), some students will choose not to complete the assessment, and he therefore, will not have an accurate view of their understanding.
Solution: The teacher creates a traditional exam, an essay prompt, poster instructions—and video instructions (heck, why not as long as the video demonstrates the same key understandings and skills?). He allows students to choose their own method of assessment. Each method of assessment will provide him with a view of students individual understanding of the material.
What is differentiated process by interest?
This is the “how” teachers provide a particular content.
What is pedagogy?
HS-ESS1-1. Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation.
What is a standard?
Two international students just transfer into class. They struggle with English.
Solution: The teacher asks two students whose native language they share to sit near them and asks if they would be willing to help out with translation as needed.
What is an ELL accommodation?
Situation: Spelling and vocabulary words are generated from the shared classroom novel. Timothy has a learning disability that affects his ability to memorize large quantities of material at a one time. When it comes time for the spelling tests, he becomes overwhelmed and gives up.
Solution: The teacher allows Timothy to be responsible for just ten out of the twenty words.
What is a modification?
Situation: The teacher is required to cover a standards-based nonfiction unit on reading and writing. The standards include key understandings and skills all students should acquire. He knows from experience that students groan as soon as he introduces a nonfiction writing assignment.
Solution: The teacher provides students with an array of possible nonfiction topics he believes might spark their interest. He then builds the unit around their selections.
What is differentiated content by interest?
An acronym that demonstrates what students already know, what they would like to know, and what they have learned after the lesson.
What is KWL?
Students will develop an understanding and appreciation for issues of social justice.
What is a goal?
Situation: The teacher has a diverse class this year: Roughly 40% identify as being of Hispanic decent: 10% identify as Black. 15% identify as Asian; and the remaining identify as White or Other. Knowing the cultural diversity of her class, the teacher wants to plan activities and lessons that both introduce students to other cultures but also create an inclusive environment that all students identify with.
Solution: When planning materials, the teacher intentionally includes items/topics that reflect some of her students’ cultural identities. For example, in a lesson on descriptive writing, students are presented with a “mystery box.” They are instructed to feel the hidden objects inside a box and accurately describe them in writing. The teacher includes objects she knows some students will identify with because they are readily used by a specific culture.
What is diversity?
Situation: Lazaya has tested two grade levels behind her peers in math. When it’s time to do independent practice, she is unable to complete basic computations on her own.
Solution: The teacher has arranged for Lazaya to work out of a different workbook during independent practice time that provides her with more appropriate challenge.
What is a modification?
Situation: The teacher has an 8th grade science class that is a bit of a challenge. As a whole, they exhibit a general disinterest in science. However, the teacher is required to cover a standards-based unit on evidence statements. The standards include key understandings and skills all students should acquire.
Solution: The teacher provides students with an array of possible “gross” topics she believes might spark their interest. She then builds the unit around their selections.
What is differentiated content by interest?
While initially developed for English Language Learners, this strategy benefits all students through the use of high-level thinking and academic language, as well as cross-curricular skills.
Students will develop an understanding and appreciation for diverse cultures.
What is a goal?
Situation: A teacher is having ongoing difficulty with a particular student in her class. She has reviewed all possible Tier I interventions. None of them have been successful.
Solution: She decides she needs to notify her school’s Student Assistance Team to see about moving this student onto Tier 2 interventions.
What is the multitiered system of support (MTSS)?
Situation: A student in the teacher’s class has been identified as dyslexic and as having ADHD. The teacher wants to be sure to meet this student’s individual needs.
Solution: After a meeting with the student’s parents and school specialists, individualized modifications have been agreed upon to meet the student’s needs.
What is a modification?
Situation: At the start of the year, all students took a math diagnostic test. Results from the test allowed the teacher to group students into three levels: Emerging, On-target, Advanced. He teaches 10th grade and has not had much luck at this level with rotations. Shared classroom lessons tend to work best. However, he still wants to push each group to their appropriate challenge level.
Solution: The teacher sorts the students according to readiness without revealing to them that that is what he is doing. Students in each group are seated together at three tables. He gives each table a different challenge activities packet covering the same topic. He explains to students that he has designed activities this way to provide each group with engaging choices for covering the material.
What is differentiated content by readiness?
While initially developed for English Language Learners, this strategy benefits all students through the use of high-level thinking and academic language, as well as cross-curricular skills.
What is GLAD?
Students are able to apply an understanding of the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object to analyze a design solution.
What is an objective?
Situation: The teacher has a diverse class this year: Roughly 40% identify as being of Hispanic decent: 10% identify as Black. 15% identify as Asian; and the remaining identify as White or Other. Knowing the cultural diversity of her class, the teacher wants to plan activities and lessons that both introduce students to other cultures but also create an inclusive environment that all students identify with.
Solution: When planning materials, the teacher intentionally includes items/topics that reflect some of her students’ cultural identities. For example, in a lesson on descriptive writing, students are presented with a “mystery box.” They are instructed to feel the hidden objects inside a box and accurately describe them in writing. The teacher includes objects she knows some students will identify with because they are readily used by a specific culture.
What is diversity?