Week 5, Assignment #1 - KEYSTONE ASSIGNMENT - Case Study

Week 5, Assignment # 1

KEYSTONE ASSIGNMENT: CASE STUDY

PROFILE OF THE STUDENT, STRENGHS / WEAKNESSES

The name of the student for this case study is John. John is 7 years old. He is in First Grade and his native language is English. John was diagnosed with Learning Disability a little more than a year ago. John shows difficulties in obtaining information and processing it. He has a hard time following the work presented in his grade level and was falling behind in comparison with his classmates. He is not able to recognize the letters easily and as a result, his reading abilities are below grade level. He also shows difficulties recognizing shapes, colors, numbers and more. As a person, John is a very intelligent individual, very well behaved, very polite and kind. He is a shy student, with self-centered behavior in most cases. He will never ask for help when he needs and he definitely needs special attention, constant motivation and encouragement, especially since his condition has made him fall behind academically and struggle socially.

In addition, John also has attention issues. He has a hard time focusing and concentrating in what is taking place in class. He needs constant reminders to stay in task and focused.

His learning and attention issues are brain-based difficulties in reading, writing, math, organization, focus, listening, comprehension and social skills. John is an intelligent boy, and his learning and attention issues are definitely not results of low intelligence, poor vision or poor hearing as his peers and others easily assume. His learning and attention issues rend to run in his families’ history, as his parents say. Those genes can affect John’s brain structure and chemistry passed down from parents to children.

LEARNING NEEDS OF THE STUDENT

John is a very sweet boy that definitely needs support in all academic areas and social skills as well. John has a hard time processing the information provided to him. He seems to get stressed when a large amount of information is presented to him, and that draws him back from his task (any task assigned) and deprives him from proceeding. The written information is what makes him more nervous most of the time. He seems to accept better anything that has a picture next or any audio component. John is below the reading level for his age/grade because he lacks basic reading mechanics. John had a hard time recognizing and distinguishing some letters while reading. He was guessing most of the time in an effort to proceed. He also faces difficulties in remembering information that was presented in reading text that he read. John has a hard time distinguishing measuring unit during math class and his efforts in pretending he knows things that he doesn’t, in an effort to keep up with the classwork and his peers, causes him additional stress and enforces his self-centered behavior quite often. He also faced difficulties in basic math when asked to solve basic computation problems as well.

It seems that John has more than one learning or attention issue.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

John is a student in a class of 26 in his day school. His class has a lead teacher (general education teacher) and a teacher assistant sometimes. The class has a smartboard and all the required centers for this level. The classroom has 10 desktops as well where students can use for their individual tasks when needed. The desks are placed in the center of the classroom in a group of 5 or 6. The students are encouraged to communicate often, especially when they work in groups. The students also are encouraged to provide constructive criticism and feedback on the work of other friends or other groups. John goes to an afterschool activity center every day.

INSTRUCTIONAL TASK

In the attached designed lessons, you’ll find John will be involved in a number of activities such as writing, reading, listening, thinking, measuring, comparing and communicating in the form of discussion, guided research, and also using online technology to enhance the above-mentioned.

TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION AND ACCOMODATIONS

John will be able to use the internet (classroom desktops) to research himself (in a guided denominator) for whatever is needed during the lessons below.

He will also be able to enjoy audio readers and practice his readings with a plethora of games at teachyourmonstertoread.com. The games take children on a magical journey, meeting colorful characters along the way and collecting fantastic rewards. When children are engaged, they’re motivated to learn. As they progress, they rehearse a range of essential reading skills; matching letters to sounds, blending, segmenting, tricky words and reading full sentences. He will be using this platform in an effort to improve his reading skills and keep up with the classwork with some extra help from the teacher assistant or the teacher whenever needed.

UDL Lesson #1 Overview

Title:	Fill them up!
Author:	Kelly Demetra Varsami
Subject:	Measure / Comparison
Grade Level(s):	1st
Duration:	One Period
Subject Area:	Science / Math
Unit Description:	This lesson teaches students to compare how much different containers can hold. Get ready for some overflowing fun! Students will learn by experimenting with: measure, more, less
Lesson Description for Day:	Students will compare which container holds more.
State Standards:	1.Asking questions and defining problems 2. Developing and using models 3. Planning and carrying out investigations 4. Analyzing and interpreting data 5. Using mathematics and computational thinking 6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions 7. Engaging in argument from evidence 8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Goals

Unit Goals:	Students will be able to acquire basic knowledge about measure using science and math topics and compare containers based on how much they hold.
Lesson Goals:	Students will learn how to measure and compare

Methods

Anticipatory Set:	Introduction Take out two cups of different sizes. Show students the snap cubes. Tell them that you are going to fill each cup with snap cubes. Ask which cup they think will hold more. Have students turn and talk to a partner to share which cup they think will hold more. Have students point to the container they think will hold more. Have students use the sentence frame: "I think the __ __ __ __ holds more." Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling Fill the cups with snap cubes, counting the cubes as you put them in. Record how many cubes each cup holds on the board. Ask, “Now what if we fill the cups with pennies. Which do you think will hold more?” Take a few answers from the class. Fill the cups with pennies, again counting as you put them in. Write the numbers of pennies on the board and ask students, “Did the same cup hold the most pennies and the most cubes? Why do you think that is/isn’t true?” Use gestures to indicate more vs. less and invite students to repeat words after you. Ask students to turn and talk to tell a partner which container they think will hold more pennies.
Introduce and Model New Knowledge:	Enrichment: Challenge students to order the objects they measured from the object that holds the least to the object that holds the most. Support: Have students measure the capacity of two objects and determine which one holds more and which one holds less.
Provide Guided Practice:	Allow students to count in their home language. Put all the objects that can be filled (boxes, bags, and cups) in the front of the room. Have students work with a partner to choose one object to measure. Hand out snap cubes and paper to each pair. Have students guess how many snap cubes their object can hold and write their guesses on the paper. Then instruct students to add snap cubes to fill their objects, counting as they go. When they are done filling the object, they should write the actual number of snap cubes they used on their papers. Provide visual instructions for students to follow in their groups.
Provide Independent Practice:	Now have students choose three more objects to measure, following the same process that they did with their first object. Have students draw or write what object they are measuring next to their estimates and actual measurements of how many snap cubes the objects hold. When students are done measuring, they should circle the object that holds the most snap cubes and draw a rectangle around the object that holds the least snap cubes. Work with students in a small group to measure the additional objects. Support students to use the new vocabulary ("more," "less," "same") when describing how much a container can hold. Intermediate Pair students together with a partner.

Assessment

Formative/Ongoing Assessment:

Assess students’ understanding by looking at the papers where they record their work. Assess students understanding by taking note of how they interact with the materials and their classmates when comparing which container holds more. Ask guiding questions as students work in pairs: "Which do you think will hold more?" "How do you know?" "Can you show me?" Have pairs raise their hands to share which object that they measured held the most and which object held the least. Have students point to the object that held the most and least. Have students turn and talk to a new partner to share their findings. The responses of all the students will be checked to make sure they did comprehend the key points.

Summative/End Of Lesson Assessment:

Hand out worksheets related to the above project in order to ensure that the topic covered was fully understood by all students.  You can also ask them to find fun facts about measuring.

Materials

Cups of different sizes Boxes of different sizes Bags of different sizes (sandwich bags, gallon bags, etc.) Snap cubes Pennies Paper Pencils

UDL Lesson #2 Overview

Title:	Where did the snow go?
Author:	Kelly Demetra Varsami
Subject:	Measure / Density
Grade Level(s):	1st
Duration:	One Period
Subject Area:	Science / Math
Unit Description:	Students will learn by experimenting with: measure, density, more, less
Lesson Description for Day:	Students will change the density of powdered sugar by adding a liquid. They will use the changed sugar to decorate a snowflake cookie.
State Standards:	1.Asking questions and defining problems 2. Developing and using models 3. Planning and carrying out investigations 4. Analyzing and interpreting data 5. Using mathematics and computational thinking 6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions 7. Engaging in argument from evidence 8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Goals

Unit Goals:	Students will be able to acquire basic knowledge about measure and density using science and math topics
Lesson Goals:	Students will learn the relationships between density, measure and space

Methods

Anticipatory Set:	Ask: How do you think snow melts? What happens when it melts? Explain that when snow melts, the density (how much space it fills) changes. The students will see how this is done by dissolving powdered sugar. Direct a student to fill a measuring cup with powdered sugar, making sure that the sugar is not packed into the cup. Level the top with the handle of the spoon. Direct a student to pour 1 teaspoon of milk into the center of the cup of sugar. Ask: What is happening to the powdered sugar? Direct another student to add a second spoon of milk. A third, etc. Observe what happens to the sugar. Use no more than a total of 6 teaspoons. Ask: Why does it look like there is less sugar in the cup? Where did it go? Repeat steps 2 and 3. Stir the contents of the cup into a bowl, adding 2 teaspoons of vanilla to flavor. *ask: Is the cup full of sugar? Let’s see if we can change that. Use the steps in lesson 2 to create snowflakes that are 1.75″ in diameter from the parchment paper. Cover the cookies with the powdered sugar icing. Place the parchment snowflake on top of the cookie and sprinkle generously with colored sugar, tapping off the extra before removing the snowflake pattern. A clean pin helps remove the parchment snowflakes from the icing.
Introduce and Model New Knowledge:	Take the time to let the students know that there is a close relationship about measure, density and space. You can start reading to them Sometimes Snow Falls in the Summer, by Deb Troehler.
Provide Guided Practice:	You can have the students read aloud in groups or independently and highlight what draws their attention more, write down important or unknown vocabulary words
Provide Independent Practice:	Have each student do an independent (or in a group of 2 or 3) research on the internet regarding the topic of the lesson. Where does the snow go?

Assessment

Formative/Ongoing Assessment:

Explain what they should keep from the above activity: When liquid is added to powdered sugar, the sugar dissolves into the liquid, increasing the density of the sugar. The amount of air between the particles of sugar is reduced, causing the sugar to take up less room in the cup. This is similar to how the density of snow is changed when it melts. The air between the snowflakes is reduced as the snow becomes a liquid.  The responses of all the students will be checked to make sure they did comprehend the key points.

Summative/End Of Lesson Assessment:

Hand out worksheets related to the above project in order to ensure that the topic covered was fully understood by all students.  You can also ask them to find fun facts about snow.  Here is an example: Snowy fact: If a snowstorm produces a light fluffy snow, then it is possible for 10 inches of snow to melt into merely 1 inch of water.

Materials

2 pounds powdered sugar & colored granulated sugar Milk (2 TBSP per demonstration) Prebaked sugar cookies Vanilla and butter (optional) Set of measuring cups and spoons Spoon and spreading knife Parchment paper

UDL Lesson #3 Overview

Title:	Can you make your own rainbow?
Author:	Kelly Demetra Varsami
Subject:	Elements of rainbow
Grade Level(s):	1st
Duration:	One Period
Subject Area:	Science / Math
Unit Description:	Students will learn the relationship between simple elements and natural phenomena
Lesson Description for Day:	Students will be able to create a rainbow by simply using sunlight and water
State Standards:	1.Asking questions and defining problems 2. Developing and using models 3. Planning and carrying out investigations 4. Analyzing and interpreting data 5. Using mathematics and computational thinking 6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions 7. Engaging in argument from evidence 8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Goals

Unit Goals:	Students will be able to acquire basic knowledge about natural phenomena and how they are formed
Lesson Goals:	Students will learn the relationships water and sunlight and how that gives us a rainbow

Methods

Anticipatory Set:	Show the students images of naturally occurring rainbows (single and double rainbows). Ask: What colors do you see in the rainbows? How do you think these rainbows are created? Look closely at the double rainbows. How are they different? Show students the picture of a right triangle.
Introduce and Model New Knowledge:	Demonstrate: Position yourself with the sun directly behind you so that you and your shadow form the legs of a right triangle, as shown. Position the hose approximately halfway between your shadow and you. The actual angle is 42 degrees for the primary rainbow and 50 degrees for the secondary rainbow. However, halfway will be easier for the students to understand. Have a student turn the water on FULL blast. Arc the hose spray to create the rainbow. The rainbow should be formed close to the halfway point between the legs of the triangle.
Provide Guided Practice:	Ask: What colors do you see in the rainbow? What color is at the top? At the bottom? Have the students take turns creating their own rainbow. It may be possible to create a double rainbow in this manner, but the secondary rainbow will be faint.
Provide Independent Practice:	Have each student do an independent (or in a group of 2 or 3) research on the internet regarding the topic of the lesson. What can they find out about the formation of the rainbow?

Assessment

Formative/Ongoing Assessment:

Explain what they should keep from the above activity: To create a rainbow you need a source of light and something that will refract and reflect the light. The light from the sun is refracted (bent) and reflected (bounced) inside the droplets of water from the hose. As each color of the rainbow has a different-sized wavelength, the way they are refracted and reflected causes the sunlight to split into the different stripes of the rainbow. The responses of all the students will be checked to make sure they did comprehend the key points.

Summative/End Of Lesson Assessment:

Create a rainbow in the classroom: In the story, Sometimes Snow Falls in the Summer, a rainbow is created in Ella’s room by a prism. There are many ways to create a rainbow–using CDs, water, water and oil, and many more. Try your own hand at creating rainbows in the classroom.

Materials

Garden hose with an adjustable nozzle attached Photographs of naturally occurring rainbows Picture of a right triangle or angle Open space outside Sunshine (the sun should NOT be directly above you)