“If opportunity doesn’t knock…then build a door” –Milton Berle
The elementary classroom is an inclusive place. All students learn differently, and require different amounts of support. Concern for integrating students who are coded is important, but it is equally important to recognize the differences between visual and auditory learners, kinaesthetic and musical learners. All students in the classroom bring a unique set of skills, all students learn differently, and every student has “special needs”!
In an ideal world where time and resources were limitless, every student would be on an IEP to help them reach their full potential. Though it is impossible to have every student on an IEP, it is the role of the teacher to observe and communicate with students about how each of them learns best. By having a grasp of how students learn best and by planning lessons that teach to multiple learning styles during which different level of teacher guidance and support are given, all learners can find success.
I started a club with all of the grade threes called the Mathemagicians. The purpose of this club was to offer extra support to some students struggling in mathematics, and to get them excited about math!
Diversifying every lesson to teach in different ways helps reach the most students possible. I use this section of the lesson to make sure I have a balance of all learning styles throughout a unit. I have trouble integrating music, but when it is there, students love it! I am going to try to have that music image circled more often.
One of my most successful lessons was getting adolescents at an alternative high school to learn the components and functioning of the cardiovascular system.
The lesson should have been outside and the heart drawn in chalk—but it started to rain! I set up a heart inside using construction paper. Students became red blood cells.
Experiential learning helped these difficult students to be engaged and focused while learning about the cardiovascular system.
The best part is, the arrows and labels did the talking, and I barely had to say anything!