https://padlet.com/dfitzgerald16/6px9ddshw6gf A mismatch between my student's learning style and my teaching style en-us 2016-10-10 20:19:06 UTC 2026-02-11 17:15:40 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Apple.png dfitzgerald16 https://padlet.com/dfitzgerald16/6px9ddshw6gf/wish/129632452 Student A was identified exceptional through an I.P.R.C. in Grade 1. He is currently in Grade 7. He is Autistic with a language based learning disability.  He has an IEP.

His strenghts:  Student A is a friendly and affectionate student.  He works well with his technology, enjoys working with manipulatives, and is a visual auditory learner.

His needs:  Student A has very poor fine motor skills and struggles with letter formation.  He has difficulty with expressive language (writing and speaking). His reading is currently at a late Grade 3 level.  He struggles with social skills and anxiety.  He has difficulty working in larger groups.  He has organizational and self-regulation difficulties.  Student A also has difficulty staying focused for extended periods of time.]]> 2016-10-10 20:28:22 UTC https://padlet.com/dfitzgerald16/6px9ddshw6gf/wish/129632452 dfitzgerald16 https://padlet.com/dfitzgerald16/6px9ddshw6gf/wish/129635858 Every class begins with a quick verbal introduction from each student using a language structure taught in the previous class. (e.g. Comment ça va?  Je suis content; Je suis bien, mal etc..).
Mismatch: Student A struggles with expressive language. Speaking before a group causes this student a great deal of anxiety.
Differentiation:  Student A has a series of numbers on a card on his desk.  He indicates the level of anxiety he is feeling and can hold up the numbers of fingers in class to let me know how he is feeling.  5 fingers means he is very anxious and doesn't want to participate. This is often the case with the warm up activities.  
Student A has a reference list in his binder with commonly used phrases.  He knows that when I get everyone to work on a large group task, I will make my way to him, and we will do the warm up one-on-one.  He can refer to his notes and read them, then repeat them to me to tell me how he is.  A goal for this quarter is to learn 3 by heart that he can use when asked "Comment ça va?" without looking them up in his notes: je suis bien (he can also use thumbs up); ça va mal (thumbs down); Comme-çi, comme-ça (sign for so,so). Once student A has achieved these goals, we add to his list of commonly used phrases. There are also pictures associated with the phrases to assist with reading and comprehension.]]> 2016-10-10 20:44:29 UTC https://padlet.com/dfitzgerald16/6px9ddshw6gf/wish/129635858 dfitzgerald16 https://padlet.com/dfitzgerald16/6px9ddshw6gf/wish/129639562 Grammar lessons are sometimes taught using the whiteboard at the front of the class.  These grammar rules and language structures are necessary to apply when speaking and writing.  Students make notes, and are then given exercises in their notebooks to practice these activities.

Mismatch: Student A can follow along with the lesson, but is easily distracted, and this often distracts others in the class. He struggles with the writing activities. His fine motor is very poor and recording any notes or completing the notebook activities is very laborious and frustrating . He will often refuse to work or scribble on the page given to him. If left without attention, he will begin attention seeking behaviour, like making loud noises, clicking sounds, etc...
Differentiaion:  Student A is a visual auditory learner.  He enjoys music videos, and I am now using these as often as possible to introduce new verbs or language structures to his class.  For example, when introducing Future Proche, I used Etienne's music video for the verb aller, for the whole class. 
https://youtu.be/dAOHRL843IY
Student A enjoyed this, followed along and learned the words to the song.  It benefited others in the class as well.
I created laminated verb games- concentration, matching, puzzles, etc.. Students work in pairs to put these puzzles together.  Student A enjoys working with others to assist with completing the games.  I can assess how he is doing by observing him work.  
I have created reference notes for Student A, so he is not required to have to take notes, but can highlight key words (e.g pronouns and verb endings).
When the others are completing the written activities, Student A works on completing matching games using Quizlet.  If writing paragraphs or sentences is required, Student A is given a model to follow, and can use his technology to complete the work.  This has to be properly timed, as one-on-one assistance is required.  I will chunk his work and use "if-then" statements.  I will tell him how many to get done and ensure I will be back...usually no more than two or three.  I am consistent, so Student A generally sticks to task, knowing I will return to help with the next task.]]> 2016-10-10 21:05:21 UTC https://padlet.com/dfitzgerald16/6px9ddshw6gf/wish/129639562 dfitzgerald16 https://padlet.com/dfitzgerald16/6px9ddshw6gf/wish/129643498 Reading Comprehension tasks involve the students reading a variety of texts that are approximately 700 words in length.  They then must answer a number of reading comprehension questions.  When these are given as an assessment for learning, they must be completed within the 60 minute time period.

Mismatch: Student A reads in his first language, at the Grade 3 level. This type of task is not appropriate for his reading level, and it would be too difficult, given his issues with self-regulation, to complete in the allotted time.

Differentiation: Student A will be given his assistive technology to use when completing reading assignments. Book Creator and/or Reading A to Z are programs that can be used. Book Creator will allow me to create books related to my themes, that Student A can listen to ( approximately 100 word simple French texts). Learning A to Z, also ha leveled texts, in French, that can be used for these types of assessments. In this instance, the student will also record his voice while he reads. The length of the assignment is based on the student's level of ability. I try to incorporate multiple choice and matching questions as much as possible. All texts have pictures to assist with comprehension. Since it is comprehension being assessed, and not French spoken or written language, comprehension questions are asked and answered in English, where appropriate. Student A is quite good with his technology. There are times, however, that some reading assessments will require more one on one time. The learning strategist is not available during my French period. In these cases, Student A may come to my office during study hall, to complete his assignments during this 30 minute period. Student A has 30 minutes of study hall each day.]]> 2016-10-10 21:33:29 UTC https://padlet.com/dfitzgerald16/6px9ddshw6gf/wish/129643498 dfitzgerald16 https://padlet.com/dfitzgerald16/6px9ddshw6gf/wish/129662266 Student A is a very kind student and has won the hearts of many of his peers over the years.  This said, his behaviour has become more disruptive as the demands of his program have increased.  This has resulted in his requiring more one on one assistance, and greater complaints from some parents about what is perceived as time being taken away from student learning.  As an EA is not possible in my French class, it was essential that adaptations/differentiation be made that would allow Student A to receive direct teaching as part of the whole group.  In other words, the strategies chosen would need to meet the needs of many students in the class.  I was also finding it difficult to keep up with the demands of one-on-one assistance myself.  Strategies had to allow him to work independently, so that I could better monitor my class.]]> 2016-10-11 00:40:44 UTC https://padlet.com/dfitzgerald16/6px9ddshw6gf/wish/129662266