Strategies, Student Interest and Readiness
By choosing instructional
strategies that differentiate for and engage learners, students will be given
choice and flexibility with how they learn in order to meet their individual
learning needs (Learning A-Z, 2023). In my curriculum design process on kindergarten
opinion writing, I began with the end learning goal in mind. Using the
backwards design plan, it helped me to develop defined learning goals which in
turn allowed my lesson to be built around purposeful learning activities
(Bowen, 2017). When selecting appropriate activities for students to engage in I
took into consideration the different learning styles; auditory, kinesthetic
and visual. I chose the initial activity, Hand-Up-Pair-Up to get students moving
and interacting with their classmates. During this time, students are
instructed to use one of the opinion sentence starters to answer the following
prompt, “What do you like to do at recess best?” Having students engage in this
activity at the beginning of the lesson, allows them to hear their sentence orally
and repeatedly before having to write it on their own. I selected a prompt that
was of interest to the kindergarteners, since recess time seems to be the
highlight of their school day. This instructional activity was used as a formative
assessment, as it allows me to determine my student’s readiness to learn.
Assessment
To assess the student’s learning,
they will be asked to write at least one sentence that aligns the pre-selected
opinion prompt, “What do you like to do at recess best?”. However, taking all
students individuals needs into consideration was imperative. Differentiating
instruction allows all students to be given equal opportunities to keep pace
with the learning goal (Learning A-Z, 2023). For the English Language Learners,
they would be pulled into a small group setting and asked to orally recite
their opinion by using the simple sentence frame, “I like ____ best” along with
drawing a picture to match. They would
also be provided with visuals and a word bank of different recess equipment
like a slide, the swings or the monkey bars. If needed, Google translate can be
used as a support. The students with special needs will be given sentence starters
on their writing paper if needed. The gifted learners are asked to expand their
writing by providing 1-2 reasons that support their opinion. The lesson designed
was developed with an abundance of scaffolding in mind. Students were given the
opportunity to use sentence frames, visuals, word banks, illustrations and enrichment.
Figure 1. Opinion Writing in Kindergarten.
(Edge, 2017).
Technology
Once
students are finished publishing their opinion writing piece, they are asking
to begin recording a Flip video. The Flip video is for students to share their
writing to their classmates via technology. Students can read their opinion
sentence and show their picture during their recorded Flip video. Doing this
eliminates the stress of students being nervous to present but still gives them
a chance to showcase their work. Flipgrid makes it easy and quick for students
to share and celebrate other’s work, which can often be forgotten in the classroom
when dealing with time constraints (Nieves, 2020). Differentiation isn’t always
an easy task but taking the time to familiarize yourself with your students, their
learning styles and interests can help to create motivation within the classroom.
Figure 2.
(Can Stock Photo, 2023).
References:
Bowen, R. (2017). Understanding by Design. Vanderbilt University.
https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/understanding-by-design/
Can Stock Photo, 2023. Stickman Kids Recording Video Mobile
Illustration. https://www.canstockphoto.com/stickman-kids-recording-video-mobile-70641337.html
Edge, N. (2015). The easiest most authentic ways to build
opinion writing in kindergarten. Nellie edge kindergarten resources. https://nellieedge.com/writing/opinion-writing/
Learning A-Z. (2023). Differentiated Instruction. https://www.learninga-z.com/site/company/what-we-do/differentiated-instruction
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