Unit 2- Teaching Strategically

Case: Down Syndrome (Casey)

Group Members: Ibraham, Mike, Jerrah-Lee, Courtney, & Stephanie

Casey is a grade 10 student at Pearson Collegiate with Down syndrome. Her

reading level is at a grade 2/3 level, and her math is about the same. She is an eager
student however, and likes to participate. She is very social, but can sometimes be
disruptive in class. She likes sports and trying new things, but is resistant to using
different materials from her peers.

The general education setting is the grade 10 Social Studies classroom. The grade
10 Social Studies curriculum focuses on Geographical Issues of the 21st century. Our
group focused our presentation on Cluster 2- Natural Resources. The students are being
presented with Acquiring strategies, as this will be the first lesson in their new unit of
Natural Resources.

The techniques demonstrated in our presentation are:

-Lesson Plan

-Graphic Organizers: Sort and Predict chart

Adapted Concept frame

-Group work

We chose to give Casey a lesson plan at the beginning of the class that was
adapted slightly with more visuals and clear expectations of her behavior in class. We
thought that by doing this, she would be more comfortable and less disruptive because
she will know in advance how the class will proceed. This lesson plan handout that she
receives will model a general one that the teacher could put on the overhead for the rest
of the class. That way, Casey will not feel like she is getting any special treatment or
anything different from the rest of the class.

Visual organizers are a great way for any student to map out their thoughts and
allows for the teacher to check for comprehension. We used two types of graphic
organizers in our demonstration; The Sort and Predict chart and a Questions organizer
that was adapted in the Blackline Masters of the Geography Curriculum. The adaptations
of this Questions organizer turned the organizer from a general tool, to a more specific
one geared towards Geography, with the use of the “Why There” and “Why Care” boxes.
We felt that since Casey’s reading was at a lower grade 2/3 level, we could help her to
work on her reading by giving her graphic organizers that prompt her to look for key
information in the texts, instead of being overwhelmed with the volume of the reading.

Finally, we chose to integrate group work into our lesson demonstration because
we felt it would benefit both Casey, and the rest of the students. In small groups, the other
students can help Casey stay on task and model respective listening and speaking
behaviors. We broke the students into groups for the Sort and Predict strategy, and to find
out more about their assigned natural resource by using the adapted Concept frame. It
would be beneficial for the teacher to assign the group roles so that Casey feels included,
for example, assigning Casey as group leader and letting her call on group members to
speak.

Lesson Frame:

This strategy is useful in preparing the whole class, and can be filled out by the
teacher prior to the classes’ arrival, either on the whiteboard, or a transparency.
Alternatively, the lesson frame can be filled out by the students and teacher together.
Success for All Learners (2007) also recommended that pictures and visuals be used in
lesson overviews as it is “a valuable support for all learners” (Thomas, 6.19). The blank
Lesson Frame can be found in the Attachments section of Success for All Learners
(Thomas, 6.93).

Graphic Organizers:

Sort and Predict:

This strategy can be used with many others, and is helpful in familiarizing
students with vocabulary. It is also helpful in prompting the students to make connections
between specific words and larger concepts. (Thomas, 6.33) First, the teacher gives 20-30
key words to the students. In this case, the words generated from the brainstorming
session by the students. Next, students work in small groups and sort the words into
different categories that they either have already established, or make up their own
headings for, based on their predictions of the meanings of the words. In our case,
students categorize the natural resources in to categories that they think they belong,
either Canada, North America, or the World. Students then share their findings with the
class and the groups compare what they have predicted. Teachers can then write the
categories and terms on the board, creating a master list.

Questions Organizer:

This strategy is useful in helping students read the texts for specific information,
and to make connections between the general term, and its significance to the world. The
organizer consists of a middle box where the student puts the specific word or term. Then
they read the article or passage to find out information for the other four boxes; WHAT?
WHERE? WHY THERE? and WHY CARE? Students can then keep and use these
organizers for later work, or hand the sheets in to be assessed by the teacher. The sample
Questions organizer we used can be found in the Blackline Masters section of the
Manitoba grade 10 Social Studies curriculum guide (Friesen & McDowell, 2006, G20)
Group Work:

Group work is used in almost every classroom and promotes active learning,
allows students to express their understanding and talk through a consolidation of ideas,
and teaches and reinforces social and collaborative skills. Many strategies are also
encompassed in group work, such as the Sort and Predict strategy listed above, as well as
brainstorming and group learning project. Groups can be configured many ways, but
teachers should be conscious of grouping. Fisher and Frey (2008) caution against
“tracking” groups with peers that are at the same ability level, as it is harmful to the
students’ emotional well-being, and against having fixed groups, where students stay in
static groups for all group work. Instead, groups should consist of mixed-ability students
who can collaborate and help each other. (Fisher & Frey, 18)

Special Considerations:

For our lesson plan outline, we added more visuals than we would have for the
general class, because in the Canadian Down Syndrome Society’s Information series, it is
encouraged that teachers use visual supports, but teachers need to be careful not to add
too much, because students with Down syndrome are easily confused and frustrated by
too much information (Johnson, n.d.). Another consideration that must be made in
regards to group work is that students with Down syndrome are distracted by noise and
visual distractions, so it may be beneficial to send the small group of students to a quiet
place to work. It would also be advised that the teacher lets the other students in the
group that they should help Casey stay on task by modeling proper behavior for a group
setting.

In regards to the Questions Organizer, we felt that Casey needed a lower level
reading that still gave the information needed, but was easier for her to navigate.
However, since Casey was resistant to using materials that are different from the other
students, we felt that it would be best to give the groups of students an assortment of
readings that they could choose from to complete the Questions organizer and eventually,
to research their pre-selected natural resource.