Module 4 - differentiated instruction
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Apr 3, 2024
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Differentiating Learning: The Five Senses for Exceptional Learners
Rachel Bassingthwaite
Department of Teaching and Learning, American College of Education
LIT5363: Literacy for Exceptional Learners
Dr. Kelly J. Roberts
August 3, 2023
1
Differentiating Learning: The Five Senses for Exceptional Learners
Introduction
Differentiation in a classroom is making sure each student has the environment,
instruction, content, and choices in their learning that enable them to thrive
(
American College of
Education, 2017). Teachers need to meet each student where they are by having ongoing
assessments and flexible groups (
Tomlinson, n.d.). The
zone of proximal development is where
students will gain the most and this can only be pinpointed by ongoing assessments (
Vygotsky,
1978). At the elementary level differentiation can be done in a lot of ways such as having a
similar reading at different levels for each student or meeting with small groups to reteach along
with many more ways to individualize students learning (Tomlinson, n.d.). Differentiation is
crucial for all and especially benefits students with exceptionalities.
The Learning Environment
Ms. Becca has a kindergarten classroom with 18 students, 10 boys and 8 girls. Ms. Becca
does a lot of differentiation in her classroom often using technology and resources like the school
library to help her (
American College of Education, (2017).
In order for the students to thrive in
this environment they need to have an understanding of why not everyone's learning looks the
same
(National Society of High School Scholars, n.d.)
. To help with this Ms. Becca has created
a strong classroom community and continues to keep it strong with ongoing community
activities like their daily morning meeting and their complement cubbies
(National Society of
High School Scholars, n.d.)
. Three of her students (Lyla, James, and Helen) are exceptional
learners and her lessons cater to their learning needs in order for them to be successful
(
American College of Education, 2017). Through making each of these learners a learner profile
2
and adding to that profile with ongoing assessments along with flexible grouping in the
classroom each students has the opportunity to grow and succeed
(
American College of
Education, 2017).
Learning Needs for Lyla
Lyla is a 6-year-old kindergarten student who is gifted and talented in the areas of
literacy, math, and science. She loves to learn about the finer details of a topic and is great at
researching her interests at the library or online. Currently, she is fascinated by the ocean and has
spent a lot of time learning about it. She is not a fan of artistic projects or watching videos. She
likes hands-on activities but only after careful research and planning. In her kindergarten
classroom, there are two other gifted and talented students. These students often work in a group
together to learn more about a topic the whole class is learning about. Lyla enjoys working with
her peers but also enjoys working alone. She needs time to work on her own and access suitable
resources such as the library and safe ways to search the internet.
Learning Needs for James
James is an exceptional learner with autism. James is in kindergarten and is just about to
turn 6 years old. He loves the book series Flat Stanely and listening to his dad read the Harry
Potter series to him. He is easily overstimulated and does not like to spend time looking at a
screen. The general classroom environment can be too distracting for him so he usually does his
independent work in a resource room where the lights can be dimmed and there is less noise. He
is very good at reading and reads above grade-level expectations. He prefers fiction books and
can have trouble focusing on nonfiction texts. He struggles with math and science because his
lack of number sense and interest makes it hard to focus on his learning. He is a wonderful artist
and inventor and enjoys showing his learning through this skill.
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3
Learning Needs for Helen
Helen is a quiet 5-year-old kindergartener who enjoys being outside and swimming. She
has been diagnosed with ADHD. To help Helen focus she has preferential seating and can use
the resource room to take a break. Helen also uses fidgets and a chew necklace. She is at grade
level across all academics and thrives with one on one attention and positive reinforcement. She
earns stars throughout the day for staying on task and earns prizes based on how many stars she
gets. She likes to draw and make up stories about her drawings, this has been a great way to see
what she has learned.
Literacy Lesson for the Five Senses
The upcoming unit in Ms. Becca’s kindergarten class is on the five senses. The objectives
for this unit are:
I can sort objects by color size, shape and texture and explain why. Identify the
external parts of a variety of plants and animals including humans. What do things look like,
sound like, feel like, smell like and taste like? What body parts are used for each of the five
senses?
(Minnesota Rule Making Process, 2019). Before the teacher begins teaching this unit she
starts with a pre-assesment to see where each student is at. All three of the exceptional learners
are already able to identify the external parts of a human that is needed for this unit. Lyla is able
to easily say what each of the five senses and sort items into categories based on what senes a
person would use, she is able to explain her sorting. Helen and James do not yet know what the
five senses are. James struggles with sorting and it is not a preferred activity for him. Helen has
been good at sorting but is not able to do it in regards to the 5 senses yet.
With the knowledge gained from the pre-assesment, Ms. Becca is going to give Lyla
choice on which of the five senses she wants to learn more, this choice will make Lyla feel like
she has some power and she will be excited to learn more about something she already know the
4
basics to (
American College of Education, 2017). Lyla chooses to learn more about our sense of
hearing. The other gifted and talented students in the class chooses different senses to study. This
will be a jigsaw project where in the end the will come together and share what they learned with
each other and then put together a presentation for the whole class.
James needs to learn about the 5 senes and will be able to do so in the resources room
with his educational aid. The aid will read to him about each of the 5 senses. The passage the aid
will read are slightly above grade level because an adult is reading it to him this is within his
zone of proximal development (
Vygotsky, 1978).
During and after reading passages the aid will
integrate some hands on learning with things like fabric to touch and shakers to listen too. Doing
this outside the classroom will help James to be less stimulated and be able to reframe from any
sounds and feelings he does not feel comfortable with.
Helen also needs to learn about the 5 senses. She will watch a series of videos in the
resources room and join James and his aid for the hands on parts. This will give Helen some of
that one on one attention she thrives with and give her the ability to pause or go back on parts of
the video she loses focus on. There will also be less distractions in general for her in the resource
room.
Students Practicing Their Knowledge of the Five Senses
Lyla has taken to the library where the librarian has helped her pull multiple books about
how our sense of hearing works. The librarian also gave her a childrens science dictionary for
her to look things up in and is ready to help research online any confusions or misunderstandings
Lyla has while doing her reading.
Some of the books are slightly above Lyla’s reading level but
with the assistance of the resources provided to her and the librarin this is within her zone of
proximal development (
Vygotsky, 1978). Now that she has gathered her information Lyla is
5
putting together a slide show to present to her gifted and talented peers. After she shares with
them and they help her edit and clear up misunderstandings they will combine all of their slides
to show to the class. This is not a project that takes much creativity but does give Lyla a way to
share her learn and deepen it with the jigsaw aspect.
James and Helen have now gone through and learned about what each of the 5 senses is.
Now they need to practice sorting. The aid in the resource room gathers items and they practice
sorting these item based on what sense you could use with it. To scaffold James in explain his
thinking the aid gives him sentences frames. For Helen the aid makes sure to focus on as much
positive feed back as possible making Helen feel accomplished and brave enough to keep trying.
Again the quiet resource room help both of these students. The aid help Helen get her one on one
attention and praise she needs while giving help to James by scaffolding his language.
Finally Project for the Five Senses
After talking with a putting together all their research Lyla and her gifted and talented
peers present to their whole class deepening their understanding even more. This show Ms.
Becca what they learned during their independent study . For Helen and James to show their
learning they individually sort pictures on a worksheet and then share their reasoning why they
sorted each picture as they did. Helen does this in the classroom one on one with Ms. Becca
while James did this in the resource room with his educational aid.
Conclusion
Differentiation can sound intimidating but is crucial for all students in a classroom
(
American College of Education, 2017). The
zone of proximal development is the space where
students can get the most learning and through differenatated education a teacher can target this
zone (
Vygotsky, 1978). In Ms. Becca’s kindergarten class everything is differentiated and this is
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6
particularly helping for three exceptional learners: Lyla, James, and Helen. The differentiation
that Ms. Becca facilitates for her students allowed for them each to meet the grade level
standards and expectations while doing it in a way that was most beneficial for all of them. The
teachers differentiated instruction and products gave these students both individual success and
they had lots of growth (
American College of Education, 2017).
7
References
American College of Education, (2017).
LIT5363 Literacy for Exceptional Learners: Module 4
[Part 1Defining Differenation].
Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1961248/external_tools/118428
American College of Education, (2017).
LIT5363 Literacy for Exceptional Learners: Module 4
[Part 2 Elements of Differenation].
Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1961248/external_tools/118428
American College of Education, (2017).
LIT5363 Literacy for Exceptional Learners: Module 4
[Part 3 Ways to Differentiate].
Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1961248/external_tools/118428
American College of Education, (2017).
LIT5363 Literacy for Exceptional Learners: Module 4
[Part 4 Technology Integration].
Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1961248/external_tools/118428
Minnesota Rule Making Process. (2019).
Minnesota Academic Standards in Science –
.
Minnesota Department of Edcuation. Retrieved August 4, 2023, from
https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/stds/sci/
Tomlinson, C. A. (n.d.). What Is Differentiated Instruction?
Reading rockets: Launching young
readers
. Washington, D.C: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications
Association.
Tomlinson, C. A. (August, 2000).
Differentiation of Instruction in the Elementary Grade
s. ERIC
Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978).
Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes
.
8
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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