URSA Week 10
April 28th, 2022This week I dove further into how my curriculum that I outlined in last weeks post, and I wanted to fully clarify how this material should be taught and how the projects can be modified so all students can fully participate in every aspect of this class. All of these projects are simple in nature so modifications shouldn’t have to be super extreme, and I would personally recommend holding off on making large modifications for just one student so they do not feel lesser than and they can be equal with their peers. If you are seeing that your students are not understanding one of the topics very well and you have neurodivergent students failing, there is a pattern that most likely leads to improper teaching techniques or miscommunication between your students.
For each week there are different accommodations that teachers can provide to students in need of some modifications or help with the topic. The baseline accommodations are usually provided through the school through a form submitted by the child’s parents. These accommodations are typically something simple, such as extra time on tests and separate testing rooms, so the basic modifications won’t be listed in the table below with each week.
| Week | Possible Modifications | Standards |
| 1 | Sitting close to teacher, accessible materials | |
| 2 | Same as the week before, plus one on one teaching and help with building egg drop | 6.AEE.A, 6.DR.A-D, MS-PS3-3-5 |
| 3 | Help with building egg drop | 6.AEE.A, 6.DR.A-D, MS-PS3-3-5 |
| 4 | Accessible materials, help with building and lower standards/requirements for mechanical hands, possible group project if the student cannot build on their own | MS-ETS1-1-4 |
| 5 | No competition for student unless they agree to it. | MS-ETS1-1-4 |
| 6 | Accessible materials, help with chemistry activities and lab work, one on one teaching | MS-PS3-3-5, MS-PS1-1-6 |
| 7 | Help with volcano and lab work, one on one teaching and help with essay write up, or alternative assignment talking one on one with teacher about what they learned | MS-PS3-3-5, MS-PS1-1-6 |
| 8 | Accessible materials, help with geology work, one on one teaching, | MS-ESS3-3-5, MS-ESS2-1-3 |
| 9 | Assigned teacher aide during field trip, shorter field trip, different location for field trip, or bring in geodes for student to examine, alternative essay/assignment one on one conversation or group presentation | MS-ESS3-3-5, MS-ESS2-1-3 |
| 10 | One on one teaching, accessible materials, help with building, possible group project if student cannot/does not want to build own car | MA.1.CR1.6-8 MA.2.CR2.6-8, MS-PS3-3-5 |
| 11 | Modified requirements for derby car, race/compete with others only if student wants to/agrees to | MA.1.CR1.6-8 MA.2.CR2.6-8, MS-PS3-3-5 |
| 12 | One on one teaching, accessible materials, help with building, possible group project, or alternative assignment on natural disasters | MS-ESS2-4-6, MS-ESS3-3-5 |
| 13 | Testing/competing with other students only if students agree to, or alternative assignment | MS-ESS2-4-6, MS-ESS3-3-5 |
| 14 | One on one teaching, accessible materials | |
| 15 | Help with building, alternative assignment with circuits |
Note: Weeks 16 and 17 are not listed in this table because the last two weeks are for the final project. The final project shouldn’t require too many modifications since it is a group project that will allow all students to be comfortable and shine in their strengths. Week 14 and 15 in this table are listed as the optional two weeks with the electricity unit. These two weeks will cover electricity basics and circuits and the project for this unit will be building a potato clock or potato/lemon battery. There are no standards that fit this project very well, but they can vary depending on the project that the students pick for this unit.
Let’s go over all of the modifications and go more into depth on each. Alternative assignments can include one on one talks about the content covered in the specific unit, or write-ups can be done instead o essays, which would have shorter word requirements. Accessible materials include different printouts instead of presentations, softer materials when working on projects, and specialized worksheets if necessary. Help with building or one on one teaching would just be a teacher or aide helping the student singularly so they can get extra help and understanding on the topic. All of these modifications are meant to help the student, but if the student can do the topics as they were written then try to limit the modifications taken for each unit. Modifications should also be renewed and considered with the turn over of each new unit. The ultimate goal is to make sure the student feels comfortable and gets a fun and enriching experience.
More to come soon,
-Chloe
