As an educator, we must
be able to design curriculum that is differentiated, standards-based, and measurable.
Because each student learns differently, the way that lesson is taught must be
able to be differentiated in order to support that learner. Also, success and
mastery potentially will look different for each student. There are so many variables
when it comes to the education of a student.
When
choosing instructional strategies for my class, I take into consideration a
number of different factors. First, what is the demographic of the class? How
many students am I teaching for this lesson? Is there a learning gap with some students
because of their background and culture? Do I have enough materials? Am I going
to be able to meet the needs of all my learners including my ELL learners,
special needs students, gifted and talented, as well as my early finishers?
As I
ask these questions when preparing a lesson, I can get a basic idea of what I need
to differentiate in order to meet the needs of my class. I can also see if the
lesson in general would be a good idea, or if I need to modify it in order to
scaffold and make it a successful lesson.
I
chose to teach about Verbs. The definition of a verb according to Merriam Webster
Dictionary (n.d.) is a word that show an action (sing), occurrence (develop),
or state of being (exist). In the National Core Curriculum for 2nd
grade (2021), teaching about irregular verbs is a standard to meet. This is the
standard:
Conventions of Standard English:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage
when writing or speaking.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1.D
Form and use the past tense of
frequently occurring irregular verbs (e.g., sat, hid, told).
We have
been working on our grammar and now that it is time for verbs, we went for it! I
taught a lesson using technology as well as writing and kinesthetic learning. We
listened to an online story about verbs called Kites Sail High: A Book About
Verbs by Ruth Heller (2020). Then, we had a direct instruction lesson about
what is a verb. After this, we were able to partner up and have students choose
action words and the other person has to guess their action. We came back together as a class and discussed
past-tense verbs. They are actions that have already happened. So, we played Charades
as a class. I gave students an action word- “Run” for example. A student acted
it out. Then, I turned on the Slide Show to “Past-Tense” and the class had to
repeat what the word “Run” is in past-tense. They shouted, “RAN”. We continued
to do this for a few more slides.
I
gave an assessment to my students after this. They were given a 10-question fill-in-the-blank
quiz. To differentiate our learning, we had students who were ELL learners make
sure that they could see the pictures on the Slide Show presented in order to
match the correct verb with the correct picture. For my Special needs learners,
they only had to complete 6 of the questions as well as have the sentences read
to them using headphones and a slideshow if needed. For the Gifted and talented
students, they had to write a paragraph under their completed quiz. It had to
have the following: Complete sentences with correct punctuation and grammar, five
verbs, and five past-tense verbs included. Students who finished early raised
their hands. I came and checked those students’ papers. If they got them wrong
and seemed to not understand, I made them look at the slideshow that the ELL
learners used in order to see that the action goes with the picture.
Technology
was used by using computers, PowerPoint, audio learning, document camera, and a
projector. Each of my students learn using different learning styles-
kinesthetic, visual, and auditory. I was able to cover each of those in my
lesson by using the slide shows, listening to the book on YouTube, and by playing
Charades.
I felt
like this was a successful lesson. I was able to see the summative and
formative assessments and determine if the students understood what was being
taught. We used thumbs up and thumbs down for words that were verbs and words
that were not verbs. Then, by having students complete their assessment, I
could formatively see how the students did and determine if they needed a re-teach
or if they understood.
English
Language Arts Standards " Language " Grade 2.
English Language Arts Standards " Language " Grade 2 | Common Core
State Standards Initiative. (n.d.).
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/L/2/.
Heller,
R. (2020, April 2). Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWvaDkGG0LU.
Merriam-Webster.
(n.d.). Verb. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verb.
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