Innovative Urban Educator
Effective urban educators are Innovative Practitioners who are able to demonstrate the ability to problem solve, develop ideas, and use creative methods
InTASC Standards
Standard #7: Planning for Instruction
The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
As a Special Education teacher in a categorical or resource room settings, one the biggest components of my job is to modify and adapt learning instruction to the individual student. One example is accessing the amount of work a student is to complete for an assignment or assessment. For some of my students this may mean having them work on a portion of the questions assigned. It can also mean rewriting the questions and providing more visual and physical space to solve the problem. Adding word banks for fill in the blank questions and reducing the number of options on a multiple choice test are two common modifications that are made in a resource room setting. Color coding so that the students have visual cues is another way we modify assignments for students. Some students need the assignment broken into smaller pieces so that they are not overwhelmed, so chunking a task is often done as well. Developing and implementing graphic organizers also provides needed support. In a categorical class room modifications and adaptions might include using an alternative curriculum like ULS that is age and developmentally appropriate for the students.
The lesson/unit plan examples below work well with both general and special ed students.
I also love technology and like to integrate it into the classroom. Walter's Flying Bus Unit Plan is a great example of this. This unit utilizes the e-book Walter’s Flying Bus to teach students about asking and answering questions about key details, retell stories and indentifying characters, settings and major events in a story. During this unit, concepts like different places to live, families and dreams are also examined and there is integration between English Language Arts and Social Studies curriculums. ASD students tend to love technology as well and this gives them a learning method that makes learning easy and enjoyable for them. There are many apps and websites available help provide appropriate learning experience. My ASD students tend to be visual learners, so I utilize the smart board for group learning situations. I implemented a group reading program during my long-term subbing that was a huge success. We would watch/read a book each week. The books all had a “read to me” button and were on the iPad and projected onto the smart board. The class watched the book, read the text and then we discussed it in a Grand Conversation. I was always amazed at the comments and the number of students who would read the book again and again when they had DEAR time later in the day. This is one area where my hardworking, innovative and creative nature has a chance to shine. I am always on the lookout to find a better way to teach a topic
The lesson/unit plan examples below work well with both general and special ed students.
- Walter's Flying Bus Unit Plan
- Discovering the Underground Railroad
- Houses Now and Then
- Going on a Bug Hunt
- Pumpkins
- On the LIne
- Pythagorean Theorem
- Metacognition
I also love technology and like to integrate it into the classroom. Walter's Flying Bus Unit Plan is a great example of this. This unit utilizes the e-book Walter’s Flying Bus to teach students about asking and answering questions about key details, retell stories and indentifying characters, settings and major events in a story. During this unit, concepts like different places to live, families and dreams are also examined and there is integration between English Language Arts and Social Studies curriculums. ASD students tend to love technology as well and this gives them a learning method that makes learning easy and enjoyable for them. There are many apps and websites available help provide appropriate learning experience. My ASD students tend to be visual learners, so I utilize the smart board for group learning situations. I implemented a group reading program during my long-term subbing that was a huge success. We would watch/read a book each week. The books all had a “read to me” button and were on the iPad and projected onto the smart board. The class watched the book, read the text and then we discussed it in a Grand Conversation. I was always amazed at the comments and the number of students who would read the book again and again when they had DEAR time later in the day. This is one area where my hardworking, innovative and creative nature has a chance to shine. I am always on the lookout to find a better way to teach a topic