Catapults
by Elise Briseno, Leah Coutorie, and
Charelle Smith
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Modification 1, Modification 2, Modification
3 Since in my classroom I have a gifted student that may not be stimulated or motivated by the catapult assignment’s activities. I would assign an additional, but separate task that the student must complete. The second project is for her to design (but not build) a second contraption that may be used instead of a catapult. The options may be anything from cannons to trebuchets. At the end of each week, she is to use the weekends to analyze and write in one to two paragraphs the similarities and differences her project and the secondary project have. She must write up at least one lesson plan that would help explain the difference in physics, algebra, or geometry to one of her peers. She is welcomed to use any outside resources including the Internet for her papers and must reference them. The student will also need to show actual data about the shooting distance that her contraption has, would it be further or shorter than the catapults’ distances and by how much, why? The student must turn in these papers because at the end of the six weeks when her group’s catapult project is due she is to present the additional project to the classroom. She will have to relate the similarities in the design, mathematical concepts, and the differences that her project has. She must also explain to the class her pick of the two contraptions and why she would want one instead of the other. Dyslexia is a learning disorder marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words (thefreedictionary.com). Students with dyslexia process information differently and so need more time to perform assignments. The bulk of our project is hands-on, but there are a few written assessments. All of our planned assessments are short, offering extra class time for students with dyslexia to complete them. Also, much of the time will be spent working in groups and so we can assign other students to be scribes and readers for the group. I can also situate the classroom so that students with dyslexia can sit in the front of the room along with the rest of their group. When lecturing, we can make it very hands-on and auditory, while making sure to have handouts of the notes for these students. Anything written given to them will be in a big, easy-to-read font, and different handouts can be on different color paper. We can permit students with dyslexia to use a dictionary or a personal notebook of vocabulary when doing written work or reading. During the assessments, we can carefully read and explain the directions, giving the class the option to listen or to work ahead. After the reading of the directions, we will offer to answer any questions during the test and then keep the classroom silent for better concentration. As for grading, we will give credit for a participation grade, reduce the weight of written exams, and grade specifically for content and not grammar and spelling. Furthermore, we will of course stay in contact with the parents in order for them to help the student reasonably and successfully complete the reading and writing assignments. Blind students may face
problems accessing and effectively operating adaptive technologies; locating
large-print materials; getting around in a large, unfamiliar setting;
identifying readers for library work, research reports, and short articles,
and getting recorded textbooks in a timely manner. I would use the following
modifications to help myself and students work peacefully in the classroom.
http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/general-ed-tips.htm http://www.heath.gwu.edu/Resourcepapers/BVI.htm |
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