Teacher+Research+Project+-+Valerie

** Research Question: ** How do we effectively teach and assess writing about literature for students with learning disabilities who are in a regular standard English classroom? ** State Standard: ** **W.PS.08.01** exhibit personal style and voice to enhance the written message in both narrative (e.g., personiﬁcation, humor, element of surprise) and informational writing (e.g., emotional appeal, strong opinion, credible support) ** Rationale ** For most of my life, I have struggled with a learning disability, ADHD. Often, students with learning disabilities are labeled as either lazy or underachievers because they are not able to keep up with the fast paced, ever changing workload they are given in a normal classroom setting. I have had many English teachers tell me not to use my learning disability as a crutch because I do not want to keep up with assignments or do not feel like paying attention; what they do not understand it is sometimes, it is just physically and emotionally difficult to learn while having ADHD. Trust me, I would do anything to be able to sit down in a classroom and understand the material right away instead of taping each one of my lessons and listening to them over and over again until I finally understand what is going on. Personally, my ADHD has affected my learning process, and at times it is a struggle to get through the littlest tasks that have been given to me. With this being said, as teachers we must understand that each student is different and each student must be taught and assessed differently. Just because a student is labeled with a learning disability does not mean they are unable to keep up with the work; rather, they just need extra time to assemble the pieces together. My goal for this research proposal to find an effective way to teach students who have a learning disability how to be the best writers they can be. ** Review ** Learning how to teach students with learning disabilities is something very new to me. For the past month I have been volunteering at Tappan Middle School with Jaclyn Spring, a 7th grade special education teacher who teaches a three-period English class called //READ 180//. In this classroom, I have noticed significant and positive improvements from each one of the students within their reading and writing ability in the short period of time I have been helping. Ms. Spring has taken a lot of preparation to help ensure success for all of her students. Although this class is for special education students, I have learned so much on the process and break down for writing for students in general. //READ 180// is designed to help students who are reading two or more grades below their grade-level. This program gives teachers a strict curriculum, instruction, assessment and professional development program in which has been created to help students become better readers. Although this class geared toward helping students becomes better readers, Ms. Spring has also incorporated an intensive writing program into the process as well. Ms. Spring has placed each student in three different groups in which are categorized by the level which they scored on a formative assessment at the beginning of the year (which is assessed by //READ 180//) and another formative assessment created by Ms. Spring which she takes into consideration as well. From there, each student is given an individual education plan and goal for the semester. Although they are in specific groups, each student has their own workload. Each student is given a novel, where they then follow a process of: **Reading:** **On the computer:** **Additional worksheets created by Ms. Spring (Not //READ 180// related)** After students have completed each step successfully, they will be tested on their novel. Students will take a test over the book where they will be given three chances to get over 90% before they can move on to their next assignment. Although though reading and computer work is standard in the process of //READ 180//, Ms. Spring has added additional support for the students. Each worksheet given is first reviewed by Ms. Spring and scaffolded to fit each students need. For an example, each work sheet requires students to write one – two sentences about each one of the characters. Ms. Spring expects students to write well-developed, detailed sentences. Some students are more advanced than others, with this being said, Ms. Spring will then decide whether or not the student will write more or less depending on the level the student is at. Ms. Spring assesses the students by the mandated //READ 180// tests and also by assessing the students writing progression each week. At first, I thought this process was a bit scattered. I was not sure on how exactly Ms. Spring was going to incorporate additional writing prompts into //READ 180// without confusing students, or for the students to become overwhelmed. However, I was completely wrong. Students were able to grasp concepts with ease as Ms. Spring customized each students work to fit their individual need with encouragement. In the article, //Simple Ways to Assess the Writing Skills of Students with Learning Disabilities//, it states, “A teacher's first responsibility is to provide opportunities for writing and encouragement for students who attempt to write. A teacher's second responsibility is to promote students' success in writing. The teacher does this by carefully monitoring students' writing to assess strengths and weaknesses, teaching specific skills and strategies in response to student needs, and giving careful feedback that will reinforce newly learned skills and correct recurring problems.” (Isaacson) Ms. Spring did just that. Her main goal was to have students view themselves as learners by giving positive feedback and encouragement. For most of these students, they have been struggling with reading and writing for years, and to have students see their progression unfold before them is very rewarding and gives them confidence. When I asked Ms. Spring if she thought incorporating writing with //READ 180// was beneficial to her students, she responded, “Yes, //Read 180// is a magnificent program to use while in the writing process. It helps students become solid, well-rounded learners…. But what is most important, is encouraging students and letting them know their progress is noticed and appreciated, the rest will eventually fall into place.” In contrast, teachers must be aware if a student in their classroom has a learning disability by being alert to specific content clues. As stated in //Prevention and Intervention of Writing Difficulties for Students with Learning Disabilities,// some students will show signs of having a learning disability by becoming, “reluctant to write, frustrated when given writing assignments, avoid working or sharing their writing with others… hurry through writing assignments, doing little or no planning in advance, writing quickly, taking short pauses to think about the spelling of a word or what to say next, and difficulty to get students to revise written work (if you are able to get an LD student to revise a paper, revisions are only to make the paper neater, correcting spelling, and changing words).” (Larsen) As teachers, we must be aware of students who potentially have a learning disability; the earlier we are able to notice, the earlier we can do something about it before the child falls behind. If you find a student who might have a learning disability in the classroom, Larsen commented on a six principles teachers can practice which are designed to help students ease writing difficulties: These tools are set forth to ensure each student gets the best education they deserve, whether they have a learning disability or not. ** Method ** If I were to assess students on their writing in my own personal classroom, I would gather data by reviewing the progression of their writing from previous assignments, such as journal writing or worksheets weekly. After speaking with Ms. Spring and being able to see her classroom and how the application and process of //READ 180// has benefited all of the students, I have come to the realization, learning disability or not, it is important for all students to practice this type of process in an everyday classroom setting. This will help students to become better writers and for me to ensure all of my students are learning properly. ** Works Cited ** Graham, Steve, Karen R. Harris, and Lynn Larsen. "Prevention and Intervention of Writing Difficulties for Students with Learning Disabilities." //Learning Disabilities Research and Practice// 16.2 (2001): 74-84. Print. "Simple Ways to Assess the Writing Skills of Students with Learning Disabilities | LD Topics | LD OnLine." //LD OnLine: The World's Leading Website on Learning Disabilities and ADHD//. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .
 * Teacher Research Project **    [[file:teacher research project - Valerie.docx]]
 * 1) Read the book independently
 * 2) Listening to the book on tape
 * 3) Reading the book out load to an adult
 * 1) Students will put headphones on and read book out load to into the speakers, where the software program will collect information from their reading
 * 2) Students will go over key vocabulary words in the book that they missed
 * 3) Students will be asked to say the word they missed out load
 * 4) Students will be asked to spell the word they missed
 * 5) Students will be asked to recite definitions of key words from the novel
 * 1) Complete writing worksheets about the book they are reading which deciphers each aspect of the book by picking out main ideas, key points and themes
 * 2) Students are to complete the given graphic organizer
 * 3) Students are given a writing prompt where they will be assessed personally by Ms. Spring
 * Providing effective writing instruction
 * Tailoring writing instruction to meet child’s needs
 * Intervening early to provide additional assistance
 * Expecting that each child will learn to write
 * Identifying and addressing academic and nonacademic roadblocks in writing
 * Employing technological tools that improve writing performance