Curriculum Modifications for Children in

ElementarySchool Who

Exhibit Learning Difficulties

Curriculum Modifications for Children in

ElementarySchool Who

Exhibit Learning Difficulties

Laura A. Riffel, Ph.D.Laura A. Riffel, Ph.D.

Reading and Subject Comprehension Interventions

Advanced Advanced Organizers:Organizers:

Concept mapsConcept mapsKWL chartsKWL charts

Venn DiagramsVenn DiagramsGatekeeperGatekeeper

KWL ChartsKWL Charts

Copying from the Copying from the boardboard

Writing on the plane is a pain…..

• Some children have difficulty transferring what they see on a vertical plane to a horizontal plane.– Some teachers assume the

students are being lazy.

• I used to type out whatever was on the board and I told the students to decide which worked best for them.– Within a few weeks, I knew how

many copies I needed to make each day.

Venn DiagramsVenn Diagrams

Animals with 4 legs and two legs

Gatekeeper Gatekeeper GameGame

AnimalsGot through gate• Cows• Horses• Chickens• Pigs• Sheep• Goats

Were told to turn back

• Elephant• Tiger• Shark• Crocodile• Whale• Lion• Bear

MnemonicsMnemonics

Spelling• Michenbaum’s 5-step Cognitive Learning Theory

– Step One: The teacher voices and demonstrates the concept

– Step Two: The teacher voices the concept while the students demonstrate on individual boards

– Step Three: The students voice and demonstrate the concept on individual boards

– Step Four: The students whisper and demonstrate the concept on individual boards

– Step Five: The students think and demonstrate the concept on paper or boards.

M-U-S-C-L-E-S• M-u-s-c-l-e-s, muscles make the very

best biceps (sung to the tune of Nestle’s Quick)

Spelling Spelling ManipulativesManipulatives

For spelling struggles try:

• Practicing with:

Writing in the sand

Use dye cut machine

Writing with glue

Word Searches

http://www.edhelper.com/puzzles.htm?gclid=CN3xus-1pJICFQGCxwodUk3xQgThis one has a price of $19.99

http://websearch.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=websearch&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.armoredpenguin.com%2Fwordsearch%2F

This one is free

a c o y r a d n o c e s n i n o

e h s t p m p n l s u p p o r t

a o c i t s o f u n c t i o n i

s r h l i i b d f o t t b e y p

s n o i t a t c e p x e m h o a

e e o b e g o e c l c e a s h b

s r l i r u r p r a c t i c e s

s o w s t s i i u r a t t h h i

m s i n i n t d o d i o a c i o

e u d o a e e f s v g v i h c u

n p e p r c n v e c i t c a r p

t p s s y i l a r o i v a h e b

a o i e e e c d r e s p e c t u

t r a r h p r o a c t i v e b r

t t r t n r w d i i b n a e p o

a r p a r c a r y r a m i r p a

Positive Behavior Support

Riffel

Spelling on a Ring• Give children index cards to write:

– Difficult spelling words– Favorite words– Word of the Day

Have a BallHave a Ball

Kinesthetic Activities

Connect visual and auditory

• Take an ordinary rubber ball and a permanent marking pen.

• Divide the ball into sections.• Write questions all over the

ball.• The students toss the ball and

where their right thumb lands- that is the question they must answer.

• The child can “phone” a friend if needed.

• The student then chooses to toss the ball to someone else.

MathMathInterventionsInterventions

Dot Math

10, 11, 12, 13, 14

15, 16, 17, 18

Music to Learn

Secrets about Math

Creative Writing Creative Writing and Report and Report

WritingWritingInterventionsInterventions

3 Stars and Wish3 Stars and Wish

1. The way you used

personification in this story really

helped me visualize the

setting.

2. The spacing of your cursive handwriting

really made it easy for me to

read.

3. The action words you chose made the climax of the

story very pivotal.

I wish you’d add some more detail describing the main

characters. Way to go, I can’t wait to

read it again.

3-2-8 ParagraphThe things I learned about Kansas included

mythical creatures, state symbols, and land facts. There is a mythical creature called a jayhawk. The jayhawk is the mascot of the University of Kansas. The state flower is the sunflower. The state bird is the meadowlark. The main crop grown in Kansas is wheat. The geographical center of the United States is in Kansas. I learned some interesting facts about Kansas.

Writing Tool page 43• PenAgain• www.penagain.com

– Also available at Wal-mart, Walgreens & Office Depot.

Elements PageElements Page