Strategies
My Kinderscholars have a wide-variety of needs. The vital strategy that I use throughout all of my teaching is differentiated instruction. Differentiated instruction is exactly what is sounds like it should be. The instruction is adapted to meet the needs of the scholars. This includes scaffolding the scholars who are ELL (English Language Learners) that need support with vocabulary. I provide this support with imagery built into every lesson, numerous hands-on visual activities, and additional small group time. This strategy accommodates a variety of learning styles which are the best style in which a scholar learns. There are numerous learning styles and the following is a simplified definition of each style. Visual means that the scholar learns by seeing. The auditory mode is for the scholars that learn by hearing. Musical, which is a form of auditory, is when learning takes place through song and dance. Kinesthetic or tactile is for a scholar that learns by hands-on experiments and recreating it for themselves. Logical or mathematical scholars relate to facts that can be organized and analyzed. Interpersonal consists of scholars that learn through a whole and small group format. Intrapersonal is a scholar that learns best working independently. Naturalists are scholars that excel at learning outdoors. Another key element to differentiation is flexible seating. Flexible seating can be as simple or complex as the scholars’ needs. It might be a choice between a chair and lying on the floor. The scholar may need a space to work that allows for constant motion such as a chair that rocks. It may be a space that is secluded. It is entirely dependent on the scholar. Another method for differentiation is the technology I have available. There are several laptops and an iPad that offer numerous scientific applications and websites with short educational videos and activities to reinforce the concepts. As an adult, I understand the environment and strategies I need to succeed in learning. As a teacher, it is my job to ensure that I am observing my scholars and identifying their needs to be successful in learning. If I would not sit in a hard chair to write a paper, then why should the scholars be required to do this?
Another key strategy is the design cycle which goes hand-in-hand with the scientific method. The first day of school, I model for my scholars that making a mistake means that there is an opportunity to learn. They stop seeing mistakes as a negative experience. A mistake is an opportunity to analyze and use problem solving to understand what happened. I use the acronym F.A.I.L. which stands for their First Attempt In Learning. Scholars need to understand the mistakes do not mean that you give up but that you try again and discover new ways to succeed. Today’s scholars need to learn grit and determination. These are not characteristics that are as commonplace as they were in my childhood. Now, let us discuss the wording used by my kinderscholars for the scientific process. It is to make an observation, ask questions (research), make a hypothesis, conduct the experiment, draw conclusions and report the results. I use an anchor chart that states this process in a cyclical format along with graphics depicting each stage. I introduce this at the beginning of the year and refer to it at the beginning of every science unit. Another similar strategy is the Design cycle. Though they share similarities, they have different foci on the outcome. The Design cycle steps include: Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, and Improve. It is an ever-continuing cycle until success is met. The scholars ask a question, imagine the solution, plan how to implement it, create it, and then discover how to improve it. This is a vital strategy in my classroom as I have found that problem solving seems to be a forgotten concept nowadays. This is a generation of Google and Siri where most of the answers are available at the touch of a button. These scholars need to learn how to problem solve without relying on technology to provide the answers. The Design cycle has a cyclical anchor chart that the scholars refer to throughout the year. It is reviewed before any engineering activities and design challenges.
Visual aids are important strategies for young scholars. This unit uses anchor charts that are made as concepts are learned such as the scientific method and states of matter. Then, the scholars refer to them whenever they need to refresh their knowledge. Another visual aid used is a graphic organizer. Graphic organizers can be a wide variety of materials. The visual aids provide the organization that they need to stay focused and finish the unit or lesson to fidelity. A second visual aid is our word wall. The word wall stays in one place in my classroom throughout the school year. The words change as new vocabulary is introduced and the scholars identity the beginning letter/sound and place it accordingly. Each word has a small image attached to it to assist with recall. Finally, scientific journals will be used throughout this entire unit. The scholars will use imagery, labels and sentences to document what they observe throughout the unit. The scholars will not be writing multiple sentences until near winter break so in the beginning it will be words and single sentences they use to record data. Their journals will have blank sheets for sketches that they will draw with pencil and then illustrate with different art media. Graphic organizers for documenting the scientific process or design process will be inserted into the journals when appropriate for the knowledge that they learned. There are numerous additional strategies that I use in my classroom which would fill pages if I were to list them all. Thus, I have just listed the main strategies.
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