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Daniela Cupples

Creating Strengths-Based Adaptations

Objective:
Given the desire to help each individual student succeed, candidates will discriminate areas where the instructional plan produced for their Lesson
Plan Evaluation assignment will produce difficulties for two fictitious focus students so that they will be able to illustrate the skills connected to
making instructional adaptations.

Overview:

The assignment provides evidence related to the candidates understanding of:

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Course Objective 1.4 and 3.1

MS/SS SLO 1.0 Professional view of teaching and learning

MS/SS SLO 3.1 Deliver meaningful learning experiences

MS/SS SLO 3.2 Verify student progress by designingmultiple means of assessment

MS/SS SLO 3.3 Ability to select and integrate appropriate technologies into instructional practices

MS/SS SLO 4.0 Design instructional practices that serve individualpromotes optimized learning opportunities

MS/SS SLO 5.0 Leadership as is marked by thoughts and actions that value the inherent dignity of others

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TPE #1: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning

TPE #2: Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning
TPE #3: Understanding and Organizing Subject Matter for Student Learning
TPE #4: Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students
TPE #5: Assessing Student Learning
TPE #6: Developing as a Professional Educator

This assignment will require that you assume the following two students are in the class described in the Lesson Plan
Evaluation assignment overview.
th

th

English Learner (either 4 grade OR 8 grade)

Personal Characteristics

Hispanic Male, a little shorter than the average male height for the grade, moved to the U.S. with his family two years
ago and has been in your school the entire time, records indicate that he was an above average student in Mexico.

Learning Modalities

Musical as is illustrated by his consistent humming and singing throughout individual work time; Kinesthetic as is
illustrated by his inability to sit still for more than 15 minutes

Cultural Characteristics

Lives in the neighborhood government housing project with his mother (works as a maid, speaks Spanish a very small
amount of English), three grandparents (one stays home to take care of the children, the other two have janitorial jobs,
all three speak only Spanish), two siblings (both younger), and two uncles (one in high school the other attending the
local community college); his father is currently in the central valley employed as a farm hand (the school has never
interacted with the father); the family spends at least one month per year in Mexico during which time he is absent
from school; he is on a soccer team; he is consistently using his smart phone to snap chat.

Conversational
Language

During in-class group instructional times speaks non-standard English. During break times he almost exclusively speaks
Spanish.

Academic Language

Part I EL standards he is one grade level behind and is currently classified expanding; Part II EL standards he is at grade
level and is classified as emerging

Content Knowledge

Classified as far below basic

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Daniela Cupples

th

th

Learner with ADD (either 4 grade OR 8 grade)

Personal Characteristics

Hispanic Male, average male height for the grade, parents moved to the U.S. just before he was born, enrolled in your
school at the beginning of the academic year

Learning Modalities

Visual as is illustrated by his consistent doodling; Verbal as is illustrated by his inability to remain quiet for more than 5
minutes; Kinesthetic as is illustrated by his inability to sit still for more than 3 minutes.

Cultural Characteristics

Lives in the neighborhood government housing project with his mother (works in a factory, speaks Spanish and English),
his father (works as a gardener, speaks Spanish and passable English, one grandparent (stays home to take care of the
children, speak only Spanish), and four siblings (two younger and two older all in the same school district); he is on a
soccer team and goes Salsa dancing at least once every other week.

Conversational
Language

During in-class group instructional times speaks non-standard English. During break times he exclusively speaks in nonstandard English. He has never been observed speaking Spanish.

Academic Language

Part I EL standards he is at grade level behind and is currently classified bridging; Part II EL standards he is at grade level
and is classified as emerging

Content Knowledge

Classified as far below basic; He always the first student to turn-in an assignment; work typically is minimal and often
one or two questions are missed

This assignment requires that you assume that you are teaching the instructional plan designed for the Lesson
Plan Evaluation assignment.

The assignment will be submitted to the professor through the courses blackboard site.

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Daniela Cupples
Daniela Cupples

Lesson Plan Template

Since the original lesson plan was created for a 2nd-grade class, I modified the original lesson
plan to make the lesson appropriate for 4th grade. All changes are indicated in red.
Preparation to Teach
Grade Level: 2

Subject Area: Language Arts

Content Area: Parts of

Speech
Adjectives

CCSS
Standard

ELA L.2.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
e. Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified.
ELA 4.1.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
d. Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather
than a red small bag

Critical
Concept
Academic
Language

Content
Language

Students will be able to define and identify adjectives.

Students will be able to define, identify and order adjectives within sentences.
Academic Language:
1. Students will write a definition and examples of adjectives on a poster.
2. Students will read and show their posters to the class.
3. Students will listen to other students' presentations.
4. Students will write their answers on a worksheet.
Students need to be familiar with the following terms: find, identify, describe, recognize,
modify, order, use, and apply the following adjectives in the lesson:

Students need to be able to define the following adjectives:

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Technology
Implemented

Lesson Step
Anticipatory
Set

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LCD projector connected to computer to share YouTube video https://youtu.be/jaRC2Il8l5c

A document camera is used to project worksheet.
Activity Summary
Introductory video which includes the adjective song.

Adjectives Song, Adjective Song (Adjectives

by Melissa)

Rationale
Video with corresponding song is
used to:
-

Instructional
Input

1. Display a picture of an elephant in the inner circle

of a bubble thinking map and write the word noun
below it in green.

Link the new concept of

adjectives with the parts of
speech that were previously
introduced.
Introduce academic language
Build background knowledge by
providing concrete audiovisual
examples, which supports both
visual and verbal modalities 66%
of the students prefer.
1. The use of a graphic
organizer that incorporates a
picture provides a visual way

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2. Introduce adjectives to the students by asking

them to think of words that describe an elephant.
3. As the class brainstorms the words write them in
the outer bubbles of the map, use red for
adjectives.
4. Introduce the definition of an adjective and add it
to the top of the thinking map. Write the word
adjective in red, and write the word noun in green.
5. Ask the students to think of a sentence using the
adjectives they brainstormed.
6. Use this class created poster as an anchor chart and
display it in the classroom so that students can
refer to it as they work with adjectives.

Daniela Cupples
to engage all students,
including English learners
and special education
students.
2. Collaboratively creating the
anchor chart and displaying
the chart helps the students
by exposing them to the
concept over a longer period
of time.
3. The color is used to reinforce
the academic vocabulary in a
visual way.

Example:

Student
Practice/Clos
ure

Teacher provides list of adjectives: see 4th-grade list

above
In small heterogeneous, supportive, groups students
practice using and identifying adjectives by creating an
adjective poster which includes. Students will
incorporate 2 adjectives into the poster and use both
of them in the correct order in the sentence.
-

Adjective
Definition of the adjective
A picture the describes the meaning the adjective
Each group also comes up with a gesture or
movement that represents the adjective.

1. This activity incorporates the

intrapersonal modality as
students collaborate in a
group.
2. Students use multiple
modalities to represent their
adjectives:
Auditory
Visual
Kinesthetic
Students practice oral
language skills when they
present their projects to the
class.

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Closure: Students present their posters and gestures

or movements to the class. Posters are displayed in the
classroom.
Modification for advanced students: students add
synonym and antonym to the poster.
Extension: Students find and circle adjectives in a
leveled text.

Connects to students
interests as they can choose
their sentences and connect
the adjectives with their own
experiences.
Students hear, see and apply
the concept in multiple
ways.

Evaluation Strategy
Key Formal
Assessment

Students complete Adjectives worksheet. (attached).

Teacher projects the worksheet with the document camera, models
the example and explains to the students how to circle the answers.
Teacher reads each sentence to the class.

The worksheet is used

to assess the
students mastery of
the concept.
Assessment
procedure is modeled,
the teacher reads the
sentences to the class
to ensure that
students can focus on
answering the
questions about
adjectives and dont
get lost because they
cant read some of the
words.

Reflection
How did the
principles of
universal
design
influence
your lesson
plan
modifications
?

Universal design largely influenced my lesson plan modification. Since this classroom is
extremely culturally diverse, more than half of the students are below standard in content
knowledge, and students prefer a wide range of modalities, universal design ideas are a great
way to support this diverse group of learners. I modified the lesson to include multiple
modalities, added a technology component, visual, auditory, interactive and collaborative
component to best accommodate all learners.

How did the

principles of
SDAIE

SDAIE principles largely influenced the modifications:

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influence
your lesson
plan
modifications
?

Daniela Cupples

I incorporated the following SDAIE strategies:

1. Concept mapping: the Thinking map serves as a visual and interactive way to
demonstrate the concept.
2. Co-op Co-op: students work in small, teacher created, heterogeneous, collaborative,
supportive groups, which foster a non-threatening environment for EL students to
practice their oral language skills.
3. Poster: students create collaborative visual representations that are shared with the
class.

Requirements:

Based on the data provided for the EL student, respond to the following prompts: English Learner 4th Grade
1. In what ways will he struggle in learning the covered concepts?
Since the students content knowledge is below basic, he will struggle with the application of the
adjectives in the grade level content. Ordering the adjectives in the proper order within the sentences
will also be a challenge for the student because the word order is different in Spanish.
2. In what ways will he struggle in meeting the academic language demands of the lesson?

Academic Language Objectives:

a) Students will write a definition and examples of adjectives on a poster.
The student will struggle writing definitions for the different adjectives and applying two
adjectives in one sentence in the right order. Since the students Part I EL standard level is at 3 rd
grade and emerging, the student will be able to contribute to the group but will need additional
support, such as sentence frames.
b) Students will read and show their posters to the class.
The student will struggle to read the poster to the class.
3. Students will listen to other students' presentations.
The student will struggle to listen to all the different presentations in class since he has
difficulty sitting still for longer than 15 minutes.
4. Students will write their answers on a worksheet.
The student will struggle to write the answers on the worksheet because he lacks both
academic language and content knowledge.
3. In what ways will he struggle in meeting the content language demands of the lesson?
The student will struggle with the terminology of the lesson and will miss critical content vocabulary to
be able to apply the concepts. Since the students content knowledge is classified as far below basic, he
will have many gaps that will make it difficult to apply the concept of the proper word order of the
adjectives.

4. In what parts of the learning plan will he achieve a degree of success?

a) Based on the students musical ability he will enjoy the adjective song. The song is an effective
support tool for this student because it provides an opportunity for the student to review the concept
and to remember the concept through the song.

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b) The extensive modeling included in the activity, and the inclusion of a thinking map with a picture will
support the student and provide a way for the student to visualize the concept.
c) The co-op co-op, small group practice activity will support the students success because it provides
him with an opportunity to practice academic language skills in a small group setting. This setting can
clearly contribute to his academic growth if I select an appropriate heterogeneous group, which contains
students that collaborate well with the student.
e) Coming up with a gesture for the adjective for the group will provide an opportunity for the student
to move and will increase his engagement. Using the movement and participating in the gestures of the
other groups will support his kinetic ability and support him he since he has difficulty sitting still for
more than 15 minutes at the time.

f) The group presentation will support the student because it provides an opportunity for the student to
shine. The student can present the gesture and show his area of strength

5. In what parts of the learning plan will he struggle?

The student will struggle with the independent activities of the learning plan. The student needs
additional guided and independent practice to develop an understanding of the concept and to be able
to apply the concept independently.
The student will struggle with the worksheet.
Circling adjectives in a grade level text will also be a challenge for the student.
6. Design an adaptation that uses his strengths to assist in overcoming his struggles
I will adapt the lesson to include a way for the student to integrate his musical ability. The student could
sing the adjective song or sing the definition as part of the presentation with his group. Providing
additional guided and independent practice would also support the students success.
I will modify the word list for the student and have the student focus on high-frequency content words
that will be used across multiple domains.
I will preteach the essential vocabulary to the ELD group and provide an opportunity for the students to
get familiar with the words first before they create their posters.
I will provide a text at the students independent reading level and provide an opportunity for the
student to circle the adjectives in it.
7. Describe the manner in which you used technology to design and implement the adaptation.
I will provide an alternative form of assessment for the student; the student could use a technologysupported assessment that provides text-to-speech support instead of the worksheet.
8. Why do you believe your adaptation will help the child make progress toward meeting the content
standard?
The adaptations will help the student because they provide him with an opportunity to use his singing
ability, which will increase his engagement. The technology-supported assessment will also provide a
way to scaffold the language gap and provide a way for the student to show that he mastered the
concept despite the fact that he doesnt have all the language skills yet.
9. Why do you believe the adaptation will help the child improve their English language skills?
The adaptations support the students participation in the small group and enable the student to engage
with the content. The adaptations provide an additional opportunity for the student to practice his

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language skills. The more practice the student gains applying academic English language, the easier it
will be for the student to apply the language and participate in class. The text to speech feature provides
additional expose to the student to the English language.

Based on the data provided for the student with ADD, respond to the following prompts:
1. In what ways will he struggle in learning the covered concepts?
Since the students content knowledge is far below basic, the student has many learning gaps, which
make it difficult for the student to add the new concept of properly ordering adjectives.
2. In what ways will he struggle in meeting the academic language demands of the lesson?
The student will struggle with the reading of the definitions and the reading of the grade level passage
because his vocabulary and academic vocabulary is still developing.
The student will struggle to listen to the presentations of the other groups because he has a hard time
sitting still for longer periods of time.
3. In what ways will he struggle in meeting the content language demands of the lesson?
The student will struggle with content vocabulary and needs additional support to write the definitions
successfully.
4. In what parts of the learning plan will he achieve a degree of success?
The lesson offers many ways that are engaging to this student. His visual modalities are supported
through the thinking map, which helps the student visualize the concept.
The student will be successful in serving as the illustrator of the group when the students create their
definition posters.
Since the students have to come up with a gesture for the adjective the student will be able to move,
which supports his kinesthetic modality. The small group environment will also provide an opportunity
for the student to apply his verbal skills in a supportive environment if I find a way to group the student
effectively with supportive classmates.
5. In what parts of the learning plan will he struggle?
The student will struggle with the worksheet because it requires him to sit still for a long period of time.
6. Design an adaptation that uses his strengths to assist in overcoming his struggles.
I will provide sentence frames to support the student.
I will modify the word list for the student and have the student focus on high-frequency content words
that will be used across multiple domains.
I will preteach the essential vocabulary to the ELD group and provide an opportunity for the students to
get familiar with the words first before they create their posters.
I will provide a text at the students independent reading level and provide an opportunity for the
student to circle the adjectives in it.
I will allow the student to stand up while working on his worksheet.
To support the student I will cue the student to a signal if he gets off task.
I will break the worksheet down into smaller parts, which the student completes at different times and
pride extra time for the student to complete the worksheet. The student will self-monitor his work time
be using a timer on his Chromebook.
7. Describe the manner in which you used technology to design and implement the adaptation.

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I used technology as a self-monitoring tool; the student will use a timer to keep himself focused.
8. Why do you believe your adaptation will help the child make progress toward meeting the content
standard?
The adaptation will help the child make progress toward the content standard because it supports the
student in focusing on the task he needs to complete and reduces distractions. The goal is to get the
student to improve his work habits and to provide higher quality work.
Assigning the student to be the illustrator of the group, can serve as a way to recognize the students
visual modality and provide a way for the student to feel successful, which will help to motivate the
student.