Meeting Individual Student Needs in the Elementary

Classroom

Sandra Bottge

Issues in Education

A Class of Individuals

Each year teachers welcome new students into their classrooms. Students come with a variety of individual needs and backgrounds including but not limited to:• Academic strengths and weaknesses• Learning styles and preferences• Family backgrounds and issues• Cultural and language• Learning differences or disabilities• Giftedness• Social and emotional levels

The Teacher’s JobThe teacher’s job is to take this newly established classroom of individuals and create learning goals to meet the needs of each student to enable to student to flourish in the classroom. The teacher must also create an environment where these individuals can work together as a unified group.

A third grade teacher is getting ready for a new school year. She will have to work hard to accomplish the challenging tasks of meeting individual student needs and unifying her class. She has to take a close look at each student to understand his or her needs and see how the group can work together.

Gathering InformationThe teacher will need to gather as much information as she can about each student. At the end of the students’ 2nd grade year, the teacher set up a meeting with the 2nd grade teachers to learn about each students’ academic strengths and weaknesses, learning styles, family issues, etc.

The teacher sent a letter to her students over the summer to introduce herself and welcome them to her classroom. She included a student questionnaire to gather more information about each student’s likes and dislikes, family, friends, pets, etc. She also included a parent questionnaire to learn the parents’ perspective on how she can meet each student’s needs in 3rd grade.

One of the first activities in 3rd grade is an “All About Me” project where students share information with their classmates on their families, pets, hobbies, favorite vacation spot and anything else they want to share.

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Pam is working above grade level in reading but below grade level in math. She loves animals and does well in science. She has many friends and is very social. Pam quickly gets upset and emotional when problems with friendships arise. Pam’s grandfather has cancer and is not expected to live through the school year.

TaniaTania came to the United States 6 months ago from Peru. She lives with her mother, brother and grandparents who do not speak English. Tania’s English is very limited. She struggles with reading and all subject areas. Tania joined the school in the second semester of 2nd grade. She is very shy and has difficulty making friends and communicating with her classmates.

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MarkMark is gifted in academics and music. He is performing above a 5th grade level in reading and math. Mark always wants to be first and always wants the teacher to call on him. Mark is a perfectionist and gets angry with himself and his classmates when mistakes are made. Mark’s parents expect him to get all A’s.

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Joe loves sports. He plays baseball and soccer. Joe has been diagnosed with ADHD. His second grade teacher feels he would benefit from medication but Joe’s parents are not in favor of medication. Joe has a learning disability and is reading on a 1st grade level. His math skills are on a 2nd grade level. Joe’s parents both work full-time and find it difficult to find time to help him with his homework. Joe gets along well with his classmates but is beginning to feel self conscious about his academic abilities.

Putting It All TogetherPam

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There are a variety of needs even among 4 students. Multiply this times 5 to see the needs in a typical class of 20 students.

Differentiating InstructionThe teacher will take the information she gathered and review her 3rd grade curriculum. She will consider how to differentiate her units for students working above and below grade level.

Carol Ann Tomlinson, differentiation expert, defines differentiated instruction as, “tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction.”

Differentiating ContentContent is what the student needs to learn. Teachers can differentiate or adjust the content goals for individual students. Teachers can also adjust the way the content is presented.

Examples:• Students choose books on an appropriate reading level

(often with the guidance of the teacher)• Spelling and vocabulary lists are adjusted according to

readiness• Teachers present information in a variety of ways to

match learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) • Teachers work with small groups of students for

more personalized instruction and re-teaching or expanding when necessary

• Students work in small groups based on homogeneous or heterogeneous grouping

Differentiating ProcessWhen teachers differentiate the process, they create a variety of activities to engage students in learning.

Examples:• Teachers use tiered instruction where all students focus on

the same enduring understanding; however, teachers adjust the amount of challenge and support they offer students

• Teachers utilize learning centers to allow students to explore topics and activities

• Teachers allow students to create and explore using technology

• Teachers create individual or small group contracts • Students have the option of using hands-on tools and

manipulatives• Teachers adjust the amount of time students have to work in

order to provide time for struggling learners to understand and work through a concept and sufficient time for advanced students to delve deeply into a concept

Differentiating ProductsDifferentiating products means adjusting the culminating, extension and application activities in which students demonstrate what they learned.

Examples:• Allow students to choose how to demonstrate what they

learned (design a poster, write a play, create a shadow box)

• Allow students the choice of working by themselves or in small groups

• Assess students using rubrics that clearly define expectations and assess learning

Differentiating The Learning Environment

Differentiating the learning environment means altering the way the classroom works and feels.

Examples:• Create an environment conducive for learning

including places for quiet work and student collaboration

• Arrange and decorate the classroom to create a comfortable and inviting atmosphere

• Post essential questions• Establish clear guidelines and expectations for

classroom work • Develop routines that allow students to seek

help from the teacher or others, sit or stand and work at their desk, a table or the carpet

Investing in StudentsThroughout the year teachers should invest in their students to continue to get to know them and reassess their needs.

Teachers should pray with and for their students each day. Students should have opportunities to share prayer requests and pray for each other to build community.

The teacher may want to eat lunch with each student once a month. Students enjoy talking with their teacher and having her undivided attention.

Students should keep an ongoing journal to write about their personal lives, school, friends and anything else they want to write about. The teacher should regularly respond to their journal entries to encourage and support students.

Assessment

Teachers need to assess students and learning regularly using formative and summative assessment.

Formative assessment allows teachers to gather feedback to guide or adapt learning plans. Examples of formative assessment are: teacher observation, student self assessment, exit tickets, feedback forms, homework, oral presentations and quizzes (if given before the end of a unit and teachers use the information to guide their planning). Formative assessment helps formulate plans. It is Assessment For Learning.

Summative assessment allows a teacher to measure what a student has learned at the end of an instructional unit. Examples include tests, quizzes, benchmark assessments, most standardized testing. Summative assessment summarizes what students have learned. It is Assessment Of Learning.

Utilizing All ResourcesTeachers must remember that they are not working alone to meet the needs of their students. They have a variety of resources that should be utilized including: LD staff G&T staff Instructional aides Parents Specials teachers Experienced colleagues Books, websites, professional development

SummaryTeaching is an awesome responsibility. It’s challenging for teachers to take a new group of individuals each year and create plans to meet their needs and form a unified group. Teachers should work to:• Get to know their students• Plan for differentiated instruction• Invest in their students• Assess learning • Utilize all resources• PRAY!

ResourcesTomlinson, C. (2012). What Is Differentiated Instruction? Reading Rockets. Retrieved July 11, 2012, from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/263/

Winebrenner, S. (2001). Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing Inc.