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Literacy/Social Traditions & Celebrations

Grade One Interdisciplinary DI Lesson Plan
Cathy Truong
University of New England
EDU 723 Teaching and Learning in Inclusion Settings
07 June, 2014









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Because "Schools are like airport hubs; student passengers arrive from many different
backgrounds.... Their particular takeoffs into adulthood will demand different flight patterns."
Dr. Mel Levine
Description of students
Grade one/two split class of 32 students (28 grade ones and 4 grade twos). This wonderfully
diverse class consists of;
-7 students who are advanced/enriched performing one grade level ahead in both reading and
writing
-19 general education students performing at or slightly below grade level in average of all
subjects
-6 students receiving special education services
*SA (grade one) has been diagnosed with MPS IV Disease which is a condition where
her bones are extremely fragile and has difficulty doing physical tasks. SA has an
Educational Assistant to work with her to ensure that she watches where she is going and
other kids do not bump into her. SA is performing at grade level in both reading and
writing.
*ED (grade one) has been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and requires extensive
adaptations in tasks specifically those requiring fine motor skills or focus.
*MH (grade two), KM (grade one), and JT (grade two) has great difficulty in the
retention of information and is a grade level behind in reading and writing.
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*IL (grade two) is a new student to our class who is English as a Second Language
student; she does not speak English yet

Groupings of students
*All groups are fluid in nature and are consistently changing as the learners needs evolve over
the span of the school year, the numbers quoted are specifically for this lesson/subject and do
not pertain to other lessons/subjects in our classroom within the school year
Fireworks Group (6 out of 32 students) - This group I will work in a guided group most often
first and foremost for they consist of learners who have difficulty getting started and stay on task.
These learners vary in their grade level curriculum standard achievements based on previous
assessments of DNA (Mathematics grade one assessment), ORR (Oral Reading Record
Benchmark Levels), and other subject area assessments/observational records. I often found that
the learners within this group often need explicit instruction and modelling for the second and/or
third time so to clearly understand what they need to do to participate in the task. Learners in
this group need and respond very well to consistent positive reinforcement and the Flip It
strategy.
Countdown Group (8 out of 32 students) - This group consists of students who are below
grade level standards based on previous assessments of DNA (Mathematics grade one
assessment), ORR (Oral Reading Record Benchmark Levels), and other subject area
assessments/observational records. I take these assessments into account dependent on the
lesson at hand.
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Tet Group (11 out of 32 students) - This is the general education students who are functioning
at grade level based on previous assessments of DNA (Mathematics grade one assessment), ORR
(Oral Reading Record Benchmark Levels), and other subject area assessments/observational
records without any behavioral needs. I often circulate to these students between round one and
round two of my lessons. In my monitoring of their progress, I ask questions to check for
understanding and answer any questions that they may have about the lessons concepts and/or
task.
Chuc May Man (Good luck in Vietnamese) Group (7 out of 32 students) - This group
consists of students who are excelling at grade level curriculum standards based on previous
assessments of DNA (Mathematics grade one assessment), ORR (Oral Reading Record
Benchmark Levels), and other subject area assessments/observational records.

Explanation of inclusion decisions
The students in this classroom are grouped based on their specific literacy needs that are
determined by evaluation of their acquisition of concepts within guided groups (reading and
writing Literacy times). Through the online penseive, we note their reading and writing
behaviors and determine a goal(s) that we must work on to improve. These goals are then
reviewed and groupings are formed based on the varied needs of the learners. The groups are
continually changing as their learning needs continue to change. There is also the consideration
of their Oral Running Record Level Benchmarks within the planning of these groups so that
there is not such a large discrepancy or gap between the reading levels within the same group.

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Lesson Plan
Lesson objective: Students will be able to:
Make and share connections among texts, prior knowledge, and personal experiences
(e.g., family traditions).
Show respect for own culture and the various cultures, lifestyles, and experiences
represented in texts including First Nations and Mtis cultures.
Describe diversity of traditions, celebrations, or stories of members in the class/school
Describe behaviors, actions, or activities that are part of individuals family
tradition/celebrations
Lesson objective in child friendly language; I can
o Talk about the differences of traditions, celebrations, or stories of friends in my
class/school
o Talk about how people act, behave, or things they do during my family
tradition/celebrations

Saskatchewan Curriculum Frameworks
Saskatchewan Grade 1 English Language Arts Standards/Outcome: CR1.1
Comprehend and respond to a variety of grade-level texts (including contemporary and
traditional visual, oral, written, and multimedia) that address: identity (e.g., All About Me)
community (e.g., Friends and Family) social responsibility (e.g., Conservation) and relate to own
feelings, ideas, and experiences.
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Make and share connections among texts, prior knowledge, and personal experiences (e.g.,
family traditions).
Show respect for own culture and the various cultures, lifestyles, and experiences represented in
texts including First Nations and Mtis cultures.
Saskatchewan Grade 1 Social Studies Standards/Outcome: IN1.1
Describe the diversity of traditions, celebrations, or stories of individuals in the classroom and
school.
Generate questions about family traditions and celebrations (e.g., Are special clothes worn? Is
there special food? Are there special dances, songs, music? Are there other special cultural
traditions?).
Describe behaviours, actions, or activities that are part of students family traditions or
celebrations.
Rationale/Explanation of Instructional Decisions
In our grade one/two classroom, we often do interdisciplinary units to build upon
Literacy skills as much and often as possible. So along with the Literacy writing skills, I wanted
to do a tradition and celebrations unit in Social Studies in hopes of the learners grasping the
knowledge that we must celebrate what makes us different and unique. The Comprehend and
Respond Saskatchewan English Language Arts Standard CR1.1 and Interactions and
Interdependence of Nations Saskatchewan Social Studies Standard IN1.1 both lend into one
another well, thus I felt it was natural to plan lesson(s) targeted to meet both standards. Also I
wanted to stress the virtue of tolerance and acceptance within a rich country of diverse
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individuals. I adapted the model to better meet the needs and level of attention stamina of the
learners in my class. I chose the technology for the lesson to address several of Howard
Gardners Multiple Intelligences; Visual (picture smart), Interpersonal (people smart),
Intrapersonal (self-smart), musical-(auditory), and kinesthetic (body smart). These adaptations
support the learning goal through the presentation and allowing for the ability to show
information in differing methods that would suit the students diverse learning needs.
Materials
*Adaptations in materials within lesson are highlighted yellow
1. Student iPads with Wi-Fi access
2. Smartboard
3. Smartboard pens
4. Highlighting program for Smartboard
5. Computer laptops with Wi-Fi access
6. Student headphones with volume adjust
7. Headphone splitters
8. Noise cancelling headphones
9. Flexible seating; ball chairs, camp chairs, rocking chair, egg chair, bean bags, stand up
desk, swivel chair, hallway couches, etc.
10. Pre-written I can statement
11. Pre-labelled Venn Diagram
12. Rubric for assignment

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Procedure
*Adaptations within the lesson are highlighted in green
A. Opening
1. As a hook (student engagement) we will watch this Voki video;
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=9948168&height=267&width=200
o FM system for SA
o Seat MH and SA near role model and close to teacher/front of room
o Seat ED near role model/study buddy
2. We get into our imaginary airplanes and fly across the world to Vietnam for
Vietnamese Tet celebration, showing where Vietnam is on the globe and map. We
watched this video on the Smartboard as a set stopping clip throughout to explain and
translate the pictures/music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXR_Ok7gip0

3. Slide I can statement into the I can goals chart under Language Arts explaining that
by the end of this week, we will be able to explore the differences of traditions,
celebrations, or stories of friends in our class/school. We will form questions in our
heads about family traditions and celebrations. We will also be able to talk about
how people act, behave, or things they do during our family tradition/celebrations.
o Remove or cover distracting stimuli during this instruction

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4. Gather at carpet (remind them of procedure to transition to the mat-safety for SA) and
ask students if they know what a celebration/tradition is giving a thumbs up for yes,
thumbs down for no.
o Seat MH and SA near role model and close to teacher/front of room
o Rocking/swivel chairs for ED and MH
o Cue students to stay on task using hand gestures (they are already familiar with)

B. Instruction
1. i. As Ms. H (Educational Assistant for SA) transitions students back to
their desks, the students know this routine for SA safety, I go to change
and enter back to class in my red Vietnamese wedding dress and crown.
o Stand up desks for ED and MH
o Remove or cover distracting stimuli during instruction for ED
o Proximity for MH
ii. I amplify my excitement to share what makes me so unique and that I truly
appreciate their respect and celebration of my special traditions/celebrations
with me.
iii. I showed the students pictures on Smartboard highlighting similarities and
differences between the Vietnamese cultural traditions of Tet and of New
Years celebrations in Canada.
o Seat MH and SA near role model and close to teacher/front of room
o Use coloured paper with black backing paper for MH
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iv. Using the whole brain teaching model (review procedure that when I clap
once and say teach, the students will respond by clapping twice saying ok
and turn to the person(s) beside them and sharing (teach) on the topic) clap,
turn, and teach the differences and then the similarities between Vietnamese
Tet celebration and our New Years celebrations in Canada (Whole Brain
Teaching video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaweXw03kQI )
v. I modeled doing the Venn diagram with Vietnamese Tet celebration
differences on one side and Canadian New Years celebration on the other,
with similarities of both in the middle
o Use black marker on white background contrast for MH

vi. Students write or draw two similarities (on one side) and two differences (on
other side) between Vietnamese Tet celebration and Canadian New Years
celebration on their individual whiteboards.

2. Assignment
i. The learners got on their laptops/iPads to view the Vietnamese Tet video and
then a Canadian New Years video (they can pick which one to start with and
know that they can replay whichever one they need to see again) , allowing
option for alternative setting for working on task.
ii. Hand out child friendly language rubric for assignment and review what a
Excelling-4 fingers up, Meeting-3 fingers up, Progressing-2 fingers up, and
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Beginning-1 finger up scale looks like. Have students put up one to four
fingers for their personal goal for the lesson (reminder of trying our best and
positive attitudes).
iii. Remind students to raise hand if they are lost on a webpage or need help
navigating so that Ms. H (Educational Assistant) can come and help, also
remind students of video I had previously shown the learners how to pause
this video or adjust their volume if they needed/wanted to at any point
o Provide scribe/one-on-one assistance to SA &ED
o Turn on text to speech software for ED, MH, JT, SA, and KM.
iv. The learners then go into their groups to do the Venn diagram with
Vietnamese Tet celebration differences on one side and Canadian New Years
celebration on the other, with similarities of both in the middle
o Smaller seating, pillow & wooden footstool for SA
o Groupings determined by specific needs; academic, behavioral, and bodily
v. I reiterated the steps on our visual 1 2 3 direction steps for task board

3. Remind students our procedures for group work, expectations for alternative learning
environment (if they wished to work somewhere else), and set the time timer.
o Personal small/individual time timers for ED, MH, JT
o Provide study carrel for ED and MH if they wish to use it
o Self-regulation tools available and accessible to the learners


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4. For the first round (15 minutes) I worked with Fireworks Group A (On task) group to
reiterate directions and help them get started directing them visually with me
modelling on the Smartboard. I do the same for the second round (15) minutes with
Countdown Group B (Academic) group often rephrasing the content within the
lesson.
o Group B is encouraged to get down their beginning sound of what they wish
to say and draw their ideas down (Ms. H or I will do a quick scribe so we can
decode what they are trying to say)
In between round one and round two (each round 15 minutes) I went around
monitoring who was struggling to offer assistance to learners in Tet Group C. Ms. H
will give Chuc May Man (Good luck in Vietnamese) Group D directions to write
complete sentences within their Venn Diagrams (the graphic organizer for this group
of students will be increased to a bigger size so to fit their sentences).

o Prompting student(s) to stay on task and give positive encouragement
o Quick scribe for ED and MH if they want to add anything to their diagrams
C. Closing
i. Review major points of the lesson
ii. Have students put up a four-finger scale self-assessment on whether they met their
personal goal for the lesson
iii. Pump up all of the fun things that we will be exploring and doing together for the
rest of the unit; sounding out our fortunes within fortune cookies (food with a
literacy component), Caribbean Carnivale Dance and Mask Making (Dance,
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Music, with cultural colour exploration), First Nations Elder in for traditional Oral
Storytelling, etc.

Evaluation
"Our classrooms are the stimulator not the jumbo jet and that's a critical difference" - Damian
Cooper on the difference in allowing multiple attempts to meet the needs of the student.
Four finger self-assessment scale for whether they saw (1 finger-no
similarities/differences, 2 fingers-one similarity/differences, 3 fingers-two
similarities/differences, 4 fingers-three or more similarities/differences).
Their Venn Diagrams (Beginning-no similarity/differences, Progressing-
one similarity/difference, Meeting-two or three similarities/differences,
Exceeding-four or more similarities/differences).


Special considerations for students with disabilities:
Smaller seating, pillow & wooden footstool for SA
FM system for SA
Visual schedule on ED & MH desks to aid with transitions
Provide scribe/one-on-one assistance to SA & ED
Groupings determined by specific needs; academic, behavioral, and bodily
Flexible groupings (whole class, large, small, interest, skills)
Seat MH and SA near role model and close to teacher/front of room
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Prompting student(s) to stay on task and give positive encouragement
Class big time timer for visual amount of time for task
Personal small/individual time timers for ED, MH, JT
Rocking/swivel chairs for ED and MH
Stand up desks for ED and MH
Provide study carrel for ED and MH if they wish to use it
Pre-teach new vocabulary, concepts, symbols
Text to speech software for SA, ED, MH, and JT
Provide opportunities for movement (fidgets, chewing gum, multiple work areas)
Remove or cover distracting stimuli during instruction for ED

Reflection
From the book, How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms,
author Tomlinson states, [f]or many teachers, uncertainty about how to manage
a differentiated classroom grows into a fear that stops them from attempting to
provide instruction based on their students' varied interests and needs"
(Tomlinson, 2001, p.33).

I truly appreciated doing this lesson plan for this lesson for I was able to have a more
focused perspective of differentiating instruction to adapt my lesson for the needs of my diverse
students. I have not had the opportunity to focus on adaptations specifically for the steps within
the lesson for this unit of celebrations and traditions. This was valuable for it directly links in
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with the literacy standards and celebration of diversity which is the core of this units social
studies Saskatchewan curriculum standards.
As educators, we often get into the routine of executing lessons without thinking in depth
of the reasons why we make decisions within these lessons. It was truly valuable to have the
opportunity to precisely outline what I was to do and the reasoning behind these adaptations
within my lesson. Equally valuable is having the opportunity to reflect back upon these
adaptations to see what worked, what needed to be added and changed for future lessons.
I have found that my learners really responded to the adaptations outlined within my
lesson. These adaptations worked for they help engage, motivate, and addressed the needs of my
learners. In reviewing my lesson plan after executing the lesson, the factor that I would change
for my following lessons is to not try to get so much done within a limited amount of time.
Given that this lesson plan took longer than one lesson, I have internalized that it is more
valuable to take it step by step thus I must slow how much I want to get finished and learn to
stretch out the activities. It is one thing to keep learners engaged, occupied, and motivated, yet I
must be cognisant of the fact that it may be more valuable to divide this lesson plan into two or
three separate lessons so to add more value to the activities outlined within the lesson plan.




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VENN DIAGRAM


















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RUBRIC

4-Excelling: The learner is able to four or more similarities and/or differences between
the Vietnamese Tet celebration and Canadian New Years celebration.

3-Meeting: The learner is able to three similarities and/or differences between the
Vietnamese Tet celebration and Canadian New Years celebration.

2-Progressing: The learner is able to one to two similarity and/or difference between
the Vietnamese Tet celebration and Canadian New Years celebration.

1-Beginning: The learner is not able to any similarity and/or difference between the
Vietnamese Tet celebration and Canadian New Years celebration.







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REFERENCES
Connor, D. & Lagares, C. (2007). Facing high stakes in high school: 25 successful strategies
from an inclusive social studies classroom. Teaching exceptional children, 40(2), 18.
Cooper, Damian. (2011). Redefining fair: How to plan, assess and grade for excellence in
mixed-ability classrooms. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education.
Twyman, T. & Tindal, G. (2005) Reaching All of Your Students in Social Studies. TEACHING
Exceptional Children Plus, 1(5) Article 1. Retrieved from
http://escholarship.bc.edu/education/tecplus/vol1/iss5/1
University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. (2009). Content Enhancement.
Retrieved from
http://elearn.une.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-869636-dt-content-rid-6162527_1/courses/90512-
201501-EDU-723-A1/Content%20enhancement%281%29.pdf