Differentiated Instruction for the Middle School Language Arts Teacher: Activities and Strategies for an Inclusive Classroom

About This Book vii

About the Authors ix

Acknowledgments xi

Foreword xiii

Part One: Being Successful in the Inclusive Classroom

Chapter 1: Collaborating Effectively 3

Collaborating for Intervention 3

Collaborating with the Child Study Team 4

Collaborating with Parents and Families 13

Tips for Talking with Parents 16

Chapter 2: Preparing for Differentiated Learning 17

Working with Core Curriculum Standards 17

Assessing Learning Styles 18

Multiple Intelligences and Learning Strengths 20

Planning for Students with Special Needs 21

Chapter 3: Effective Teaching Strategies for Differentiating Instruction 25

The Effective Inclusive Classroom 26

Measuring Success 28

Part Two: Language Arts Activities for the Inclusive Middle School Classroom

Chapter 4: Written Language Conventions 33

Activity 1: Identifying Nouns 34

Activity 2: Identifying Action Verbs 39

Activity 3: Auxiliary and Being Verbs 42

Activity 4: Identifying and Using Modifiers 47

Activity 5: Sentence Mechanics 52

Chapter 5: Writing as a Process 57

Activity 1: Steps to Effective Writing 58

Activity 2: Writing a Personal Narrative 63

Activity 3: Writing Clear Instructions 68

Activity 4: Writing an Essay Comparing and Contrasting Events 74

Activity 5: Writing a Descriptive Essay 80

Activity 6: Writing an Argumentative Essay 84

Activity 7: Writing in the First, Second, and Third Person 89

Activity 8: Writing a Research Paper 94

Chapter 6: Reading Skills 101

Activity 1: Vocabulary Building 102

Activity 2: Spelling 106

Activity 3: Oral Reading Fluency 111

Chapter 7: Reading Comprehension 117

Activity 1: Interpreting Textbooks 118

Activity 2: Interpreting Context Clues 123

Activity 3: Sequencing and Finding the Main Idea 128

Activity 4: Comparing and Contrasting 132

Activity 5: Predicting Outcomes 136

Activity 6: Cause-and-Effect Relationships 140

Activity 7: Reading and Writing Poetry 145

Activity 8: Literary Elements 149

Activity 9: Reading for Meaning 155

Chapter 8: Oral Language 161

Activity 1: Listening Skills 162

Activity 2: Oral Presentations 165

How This Book Maps to Education Standards 171

Glossary 177

Bibliography 179

Index 181