We know each student is an individual. She or he has his own interests, gifts, personalities, and temperaments. As a teacher making plans, we start with a basic objective or learning goal, then know we will need to make modifications to meet students at their individual learning needs and offer opportunities for their success. Sometimes, I am skilled at finding the right balance, other times, I am a work in progress.
In the Spring, I see the need to individualize learning grow. There are a group of students who internalize the pattern of learning, teaching styles, and expectations, and they "fly". They make connections, take learning to a new level, and leave me gaping (previous vocabulary word) in the dust. The entire time, they radiate with the thrill of opportunities and chances to shine. They are focused, engaged, and
BEGGING for more.
There is another group of students who have been working hard all year long. The weather starts to warm up, the grass turns green, the trees start to show off their leaves (I am assured this will happen eventually), and the sunshine calls this group outside. This group of students brains appear to slow down at times, or struggle to stay focused. Learning plans for them need to engage, inspire, and encourage participation.
Then there are all the fabulous students who learn between these two groups.
So what is a teacher to do? We pull out the creative, the fun, and the hands-on. We start with a basic learning plan.
For Social Studies, we take a quick pre-assessment of what we know. We read about the region. We answer questions. We take notes. We label states. For some students, it takes two to three days to do each of these activities. For other students, they are successful in one class learning time for each activity. So we offer individualized learning opportunities. The projects are available for
ALL students. For students who do not have class time, they may
choose to work on the project at home or when they finish work early in other class periods. The additional project (s) does not lower grades. Students receive credit for the work they complete (and turn in).
In Reading, we all read the
Digging Up Tyrannosaurus Rex book. Everyone made predictions, read the book, participated in discussions and answered questions. Everyone will complete a research project (next week). The next layer of our learning included additional Vocabulary, "Field Notes", "Steps in a Process", and "Making Inferences". For some students they needed to complete all the opportunities, for other students, we may modify the number of examples they complete. When we research, some students will be expected to do a more advanced research, looking up ten topics (describe your dinosaur, what did it it eat, where was it found, when did it live, name the predators, the prey ...). The other group, will look up three to five details about their dinosaur. Each student will complete the same writing expectation, to use the information and write an essay on a dinosaur shaped final draft.
Individual learning is not a reward or punishment. It is not "busy work". Individual learning does not mean a student is "smarter" than another student. Some students who struggle in a learning skill, may rush and finish quickly, their individual learning often reflects the learning skills they need to develop. This specific learning is the on-going effort to individual learning for each student. Flex grouping is another way we work to meet the individual needs of students. Often accommodations also need to be made within the classroom throughout the learning day. It was helpful to meet with parents at conferences to add to the information about the whole student. I look at student learning, meet with students in smaller groups or one-on-one to individualize learning.
If you feel your child needs "more" or "less", encourage him or her to talk to me, or contact me yourself (michele.leom@milaca.k12.mn.us or 320 982-7113). I want students to feel successful. I want ALL of my students to "fly" ... their path may include an airplane, hot air balloon, wings, helicopter or something only they have the imagination to invent.
In April, we will engage, inspire, and encourage using poetry.
We had the opportunity to make connections to text. Our discussions included talking about different careers. For some of us, we considered the career possibility of being a paleontologist, until we started excavating "fossils" and realized it was tedious ... for others, we started excavating "fossils" and thought it had possibilities ... "maybe paleontology ..." Excavating also has many connections to our community, as several community members work in the field of excavation.
