Alien Invasion: A Unit on Adaptation

Grouping

-Group gifted students with other gifted students or higher-level learners.

-Refrain from grouping gifted students with lower-level students for remediation.

Curriculum

-Encourage students to explore concepts in depth and encourage independent studies or investigations.

-Use thematic instruction to connect learning across the curriculum.

-Encourage creative expression and thinking by allowing students to choose how to approach a problem or assignment.

-Expand students's time for free reading.

-Invite students to explore different points of view on a topic of study and compare the two.

-Provide learning centers where students are in charge of their learning.

-Brainstorm with gifted children on what types of projects they would like to explore to extend what they're learning in the classroom.

-Determine where students' interests lie and capitalize on their inquisitiveness.

-Refrain from having them complete more work in the same manner. Employ differentiated curriculum to keep interest high.

-Avoid drill and practice activities.

-Ask students' higher level questions that require students to look into causes, experiences, and facts to draw a conclusion or make connections to other areas of learning.

-If possible, compact curriculum to allow gifted students to move more quickly through the material.

-Encourage students to make transformations- use a common task or item in a different way.

Environment

-Create a room environment that encourages creativity and discovery through the use of interesting literature and reference materials.

-Allow flexible seating arrangements.

-Encourage students to get involved in school clubs and extra curricular activities that support and extend their learning and experiences.

-Supply reading materials on a wide variety of subjects and levels.

-Create an environment where ideas are accepted without being evaluated and criticized; where risk-taking is encouraged.

-Provide a learning-rich environment that includes a variety of resources, media, tasks, and methods of teaching.

-Allow children to be highly mobile as they move in and out of groups and tasks at their own pace.

-Provide an adult mentor that shares similar interests.

Classroom Management

-Provide alternatives for students who complete their work early.

-Allow students to make choices in their learning.

-Help them learn to set their own learning goals, then provide them with the opportunity to work towards those goals.

-Create a contract with student that outlines tasks to be completed, concepts to be learned and the evaluation technique so students can be active participants in their learning.

Assessment

-Evaluate student individually instead of as a group.

-Allow gifted student to take an assessment before starting a new unit to see what information is already familiar to them.

From: http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/passwd/trc/ttools/attach/accomm/giftacc.pdf

 

General Accommodations for Blind Students

Teacher Presentation

• By verbally spelling out a new or technical word, you will be helping the student with a vision impairment, as well as for other students.
• All colored objects used for identification related to a lesson, experiment, or other directions should be labeled with a Braille label maker or otherwise tacitly coded for most students with vision impairments.
• Describe, in detail, visual occurrences, visual media, and directions including all pertinent aspects that involve sight.
• Use a sighted narrator or descriptive video (preferably the latter) to describe aspects of videos or laser disks.
• Describe, in detail, all pertinent visual occurrences or chalkboard writing.
• Where needed, have lesson or direction materials Brailled, use an enlarged activity script, or recorded ahead of time, for class handouts.
• Have tactile 3D models, raised line drawings, or thermoforms available to supplement drawings or graphics in a tactile format when needed.
• Whenever possible, use actual objects for three dimensional representations.
• Modify instructions for auditory/tactile presentation.
• Use raised line drawings for temporary tactile presentations.
• Use an overhead projector, chalkboard, graphs, or slides as you would normally, but provide more detailed oral descriptions, possibly supplemented with thermoforms where appropriate.
• Allow student to use a tape recorder for recording classroom presentations or the text.
• Make all handouts and assignments available in an appropriate form: e.g., regular print, large print, Braille, or on a cassette, depending on the students optimal mode of communication.
• Use a monocular or a private eye (electronic miniature television) or similar devices for long range observations of chalk board or demonstration table presentations.

Laboratory

•       Describe and tactually/spatially familiarize the student with the lab and all equipment to be used.
•       Consider alternate activities/exercises that can be utilized with less difficulty for the student, but has the same or similar learning objectives.
•       Use an enlarged activity script, directions, or readings for a low vision student (or taped script for a student who is blind) for use with tactile 3D models.
•       Make all handouts and assignments available in the appropriate form for the student: e.g., regular print, large print, Braille, or tape depending on the students optimal mode of communication.
•       Assistance may be needed for converting certain laboratory materials from a visual to a tactile format.
•       Have the student with a vision impairment do a trial run on the equipment before the activity.
•       Allow more time for the laboratory activities.
•       Always try to keep materials, supplies, and equipment in the same places.
•       Use a microprojector or similar device to help the visually impaired student to examine images from a microscope.
•       Place the student and/or tape recorder an appropriate distance from the activity to permit hearing and/or the recording of results or observations.
•       Use an overhead projector or opaque projector to show step-by-step instructions. Mask all the instructions except the one(s) that you want followed for students with vision impairments.
•       Use Descriptive Video for videos or laser disks. If Descriptive Video is not available, use a sighted narrator to describe movies, videos, laser disks, or slides.
•       Provide means for the acquisition and/or recording of data in an appropriate mode for the student.
•       Use tag shapes for showing relationships (such as distance comparisons) buttons, or other markers on a "layout" board.
•       A Braille label maker will be useful for identifying materials and containers in the laboratory for the vision impaired student with a vision impairment who reads Braille.
•       Make equipment available that the student with a vision impairment can access in interpreting and understanding the results of laboratory exercises (e.g. audible readout voltmeters, calculators, talking thermometers, magnifiers, etc.
•       Use a hot plate for heating instead of Bunsen burner.
•       Label material, supplies, and equipment with regular print, large print, and/or Braille, as appropriate for the vision impaired student.
•       Pair the student with a vision impairment with a sighted student. Then have the non-impaired student describe the activities and outcomes as they are observed.
•       A low vision projection screen can be use to magnify images up to 720X.
•       Use a portable communication board to provides auditory scanning of laboratory materials such as: pictographic symbols, letters, and/or words.
•       When using a computer, the student with a visual disability can use a voice input device or a remote voice system to verbally enter commands.
•       Prior to the enrollment of a student with a visual impairment in class, obtain laboratory equipment that have available ability to produce adaptive outputs such as: a large screen, print materials, or various audio output devices.
•       Various Braille devices can be used to assists vision impaired students when reading.
•       For "reading" the outputs of balances and other instruments, one can use a Braille N' Speak device (Blazie Engineering)
•       Have a lab assistant help you if necessary to make sure that students with visual impairments are being assisted.

Group Interaction and Discussion

• Describe and tactually/spatially familiarize the student to the classroom.
• Place the student and/or recorder an appropriate distance from the activity to permit recording of material.
• Use a tape recorder.
• If the student is partially sighted, be sure he/she is seated where lighting is appropriate.
• Use a note taker who takes notes in the appropriate mode.

Text Reading Systems

• Paid or volunteer readers or writers can assist a student with a visual impairment with texts, materials, and library readings .
• Offer to read, or arrange to have read, written information for a person with a visual impairment, when appropriate.
• Arrange, ahead of time, for audio book acquisition of the text or other reading materials through the Talking Book Service, Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic, text reading systems, or audio output devices.
• Various Braille devices can be used to assists vision impaired students when reading.

Field Experiences

• Make all handouts, safety information, and assignments available in an appropriate form (e.g., regular print, large print, tactile Braille, or cassette).
• Consider alternate activities/exercises that can be utilized with less difficulty for the student, but has the same or similar learning objectives.
• Use a sighted guide.
• Do detailed description and narration of objects seen in science centers, museums, and/or field activities.
• The use of a laser cane or mowat sensor can be useful in assisting the student in unfamiliar surroundings.
• An enlarged activity script, directions, or readings for descriptions of a field/activity for a low vision person to use with field observations.
• Suggest that the student use a standard tape recorder.

Research

• Review and discuss with the student the steps involved in a research activity. Think about which step(s) may be difficult for the specific functional limitations of the student and jointly devise accommodations for that student.
• Use appropriate lab and field strategies according to the nature of the research.
• Various Braille Devices can be used to assists vision impaired students when reading.
• Suggest that the student use a tape recorder with a sighted person on the various activities.
• Research on Mowatt sensor