Including ELL and Special Education Students in Science

Agenda White board introductions I see, I wonder, I think activity Dendritic Spines Activity Summary of ideas

White Board Strategies Intro What has worked for you to get ELL/special needs students to speak on topic at the appropriate time? What has worked for you to promote collaboration between ELL, special needs and students of all different backgrounds? What has worked for you to get students excited about problem solving? Do you have a lab, lab modification or activity that was a great inquiry experience for ELL/special needs students?

Strategies Formative assessments to help self-motivate (not to lose face) High expectations, no exceptions Take time to get students to “buy-in” Group summaries Partner review Primary goal: content Secondary goals: confidence or practice Extension for extra practice or catch-up at home Self Concept and Practitioner’s Corner Time for closure

I see…

I wonder… What? Why? How? Where?

I think… Use resources and evidence to support your “thinking”. Pairs Practice responses Show page # Other resources

I see, I wonder, I think… Dendritic Spines A B

Lessons Support student’s self-image as a scientific thinker. Support student’s self-image as a scientific thinker. Students need opportunities for higher level thinking and creativity Students need opportunities for higher level thinking and creativity Students may not have common experiences, so provide them by doing demos, labs, modeling or activities. Students may not have common experiences, so provide them by doing demos, labs, modeling or activities.

Some Ideas: Introduce new concepts in engaging ways. Webquest/animation, demonstration, mini-lab, model, exploration Use Stations Notes, vocabulary, modeling, lab Edit and shorten-up lab procedures Procedure steps should be a sentence at most, include illustrations, animations or video; give a data table or graph template

Ideas continued… Do inquiry activities Extend activities, give a list of questions to choose from, provide a materials list, make it relevant. When working in groups, assign group roles. Facilitator/Leader, Recorder, Speaker, questioner, rubric checker, materials manager, artist

Ideas continued… Use animations and film clips with notes. Provide fill-in-the-blank notes Have students present problem solutions using whiteboards. Do as many hands-on activities as possible

Testing Ideas… Use pictures and diagrams. Give three choices in multiple choice Shorten up matching (maximum of 8 terms) Give a word bank for fill-in-the-blank Provide sentence starters for short answer

Oral Testing Modeling Mitosis Work in groups of two or three Group members explain the process of cell division using the poster Grading using rubric

Ecology Take-Home Test Create-a-Creature 1. Draw and name 2. Habitat 3. Niche 4. Role in the Carbon Cycle 5. Food Chain and Trophic Levels 6. Role in the Nitrogen and Water Cycles.

Write a story, poem, song, rap or comic strip describing each type of chemical reaction. Classifying Chemical Reactions Test (Part One)….

Example: a haiku I started with Bob, But Sue took my place (that witch)! Now I am alone.

Example: a comic

Permission and Resources Self Concept and Practitioner’s Corner D.A.Sousa, How the Brain Learns This book presents a documented set of neuroscience concepts in a framework that will make sense to teachers. It includes pedagogical suggestions and classroom activities. The neuroscience is a little simplified, but not overstated or overinterpreted. Dendritic Spines Lab Copyright Permission is granted for material on this site to be linked to, reproduced, or adapted for noncommercial, educational purposes, provided that the statement below appears on reproduced or adapted materials: © , BrainU, University of Minnesota Department of Neuroscience and Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center For Research Resources and the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives of the National Institutes of Health, with additional funding from SEDAPA and ARRA. Its content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NCRR or NIH.