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Curriculum Barriers/Assistive Technology Strategies
Blank Template
Grade: Pre- K
Teacher:
Jessi
Subject: Social Studies (Me & My Family)
Goal: Explore and present about what makes your family unique and special.
Materials
and
Methods
Draw
Your
Home &
Your
Family
Math
GameWho’s in
your
family?
Student
Qualities
Potential Barriers/Missed Opportunities
Assistive Technology Options
Kalina- Poor
fine motor skills
Max-Poor fine
motor skills
Kayetan- No
interest in art.
Finds difficulty in holding writing utensils.
Kalina has very little confidence and upsets
easily when asked to draw and write but enjoys
painting.
Provide a variety of materials for all students to
choose from , such as:
-stamps
-paints
-stencils (with 1:1 guidance—hand-over-hand
may be necessary)
-Building materials (Example: If given Legos,
Kayetan could build a representation of his
home and can be documented with pictures and
dialogue)
Oliver- Colorblindness
MatthewDistraction
Max- Autism
diagnosis
Oliver will not be able to recognize/distinguish
the colors on the dice or the manipulatives used
to play this game
Kayetan has very specific interests
(Legos/building and books), and will refuse to
participate in any art-related projects.
Matthew is easily distracted when involved in
structured activities. He also tends to distract
other friends because he is rarely ever doing
what is expected.
Max has difficulty following multi-step tasks
and will often use play materials in a way that is
not purposeful. Hard time staying involved with
games when there are too many rules/steps
Step-by-Step Instructions (w/ visual icons and
simple language)
Matthew could benefit from reinforcements.
Max would benefit from an adult physically and
verbally prompting him through each step of the
game, and taking turns.
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All About
Me
Interview
Kalina-Limited
English
Sasha- Limited
English
Both Kalina and Sasha may have difficulty
understanding the questions being asked to them
in the interview, as well as not having the proper
language to respond to each question.
Boardmaker is a program used to make picture
icons. The language of the interview questions
can be simplified and Boardmaker pictures can
go along with the words to help students
understand meaning.
Present
about
family to
class
Kalina- Limited
English
Josie- VERY shy
Max- Limited
Language
When eyes are watching her, Josie tucks her
head down and turns her voice to a whisper that
nobody can hear.
Josie could be given a sound recorder to bring
home and have somebody help her record
herself talking about her family, and then play it
to the class.
The students in my classroom are all very different learners. Some students are able to engage purposefully in any of the activities
presented to them in the classroom, and others have difficulty doing so. Kayetan is an example of a student in my classroom who has
very limited interests and will only stay in one or two areas of the classroom (mainly block area or the Lego table). We have tried to
come up with strategies to move him to different areas, but have not yet found a successful solution. We have created a Choice Board
for another student in the classroom, named Max, who has an autism diagnosis and also has trouble transitioning to different areas on
his own. We made this board using Boardmaker, which is a great tech-program that is used often for making visuals using universal
picture icons. We use this program often in a variety of ways.
During this unit of “Me & My Family” that was done in the very beginning of the year, we came across a few problems. Some of the
children were not able to successfully meet all the learning goals that we expected they would. One of the major struggles we
encountered was the language barriers. Kalina is a student who knows and understands very little English. We also have another
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student, Sasha, who can understand a lot more than he speaks. Kalina is also an only child and is extremely dependent on teachers to
help her complete her work. She will become very upset when asked to draw a picture or write and cries out “I need help! I need
help!” until someone assists her. Of course, we wanted Kalina to gain the confidence to try things on her own, so we provided the least
amount of assistance possible.
If I were to do this unit over, I have new ways I would go about things and have included them in the table above. For an art activity,
we had made cutout houses and apartments. Each child would have the choice to choose which home was more like their own. They
would then color the home and draw their family inside, with the markers and crayons we provided. Drawing, for some children was a
struggle that we did not expect. Kayetan refused; Kalina cried for help; and Max needed hand-over-hand assistance, due to his poor
fine motor skills. I now realize that a larger variety of materials should be provided, so that each child can be successful. Stamps are a
material that Max and Kalina could both most likely do independently. The handle of the stamps is thick and does not require the
pincer grip that Max has such difficulty with. Kalina loves to paint. We could make painting an option of one way to decorate their
home. If given building materials, Kayetan would be able to construct a nearly accurate replica of his home. We could take a picture
of it and ask him to describe what he built and use this for documentation.
The most difficult aspect of this unit was having the children present to the class about their family. Josie is a student in our class who
is very independent and very bright, but completely shuts down when she is in the spotlight. When she went up to present, she tucked
her head down into her chest and used a whispering voice that nobody could hear. Encouraging her to use her “strong big girl voice”
did not help; nothing would. A teacher ended up presenting her material for her. There are many different assistive technology
programs that can give children a voice. Something as simple as a sound recorder could help Josie. She could take it home and record
herself talking about her family, then we could play the recording to the class.
As an educator, it is so important to realize the variety of learning differences in the classroom from the very first day of school.
Teachers must view every child as an individual and be determined to finding ways that can help each individual be successful and
reach the learning goals. Assistive technology is something that can help so many different children be successful and it is important
for educators to be aware of these options. When some people hear “technology”, they think “pricy” and stay away. The truth is, there
are many programs and simple AT tools that are extremely inexpensive, but just as effective. This Assistive Technology class has
taught me the benefits of creating a UDL (Universal Design for Learning) classroom and will find ways to do this in my future
teaching years.