DRTA
Required Elements to Include in Lesson Plan
•Goal and Objectives
•Teaching Procedures
•Accommodations
•Assessment
•Theory Connections
General Notes
 The goal for the DRTA is related to the major purpose of
this method of teaching—to reinforce strategies for
monitoring comprehension.
 The objectives should be specific and measureable and
correlated to GLEs:
 Objective for making and revising predictions
 Objective for vocabulary
 Objective for writing response activity
 Other reminders—
 Break the text into at least 4 sections
 Include at least three questions per segment as well as a
question for revising previous prediction
 Label each question using Bloom’s Taxonomy
 Label in the margins where vocabulary and comprehension is
addressed
Accommodations Versus Modifications
Accommodations—
 Accommodations indicate changes to how the content is:
 1) taught,
 2) made accessible; and/or
 3) assessed.
 Accommodations do not change what the student is expected
to master.
 The objectives of the course remain intact.
Modifications- Indicates the what (content) being taught is modified.
 The student is expected to learn something different than the
general education standard (e.g., GLE).
Accommodations—General Examples
 Ex. - The use of Braille, books on tape, screen readers, interpreter, word
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processor, etc. for visually impaired students
Ex. – For struggling readers - Color-key vowels and provide a vowel chart to
reference to the correct sound for the letter
Ex. - Provide a space for the student to work that decreases distractions
Ex. Oral testing, untimed testing, extended time to complete assignments,
shortened tests, draw a diagram, develop a model, perform the answer, etc.
Explain how you will address the varied needs of the students in your
classroom. How will you meet the needs of students that require
remediation or enrichment.
Ex. – How will you address the needs of struggling readers?
Ex. - How will you address the needs of ESL students?
Ex. – Will you integrate “study skills” into your teaching practices?
Ex. – Will you use Learning Centers, Tiered Instruction, Varied Pacing,
Problem-Based Learning, Compacting, Chunking, varied forms of
collaborative activities, peer-teaching, etc.?
Accommodations—Hearing Impaired
 Hearing Impaired
 Visual accommodations include sign language interpreters, lip reading,
and captioning.
 Aural accommodations include amplification devices such as FM systems.
 Other
 When speaking, make sure the student can see your face and avoid
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unnecessary pacing and moving.
When speaking, avoid obscuring your lips or face with hands, books, or
other materials.
Repeat discussion questions and statements made by other students.
Write discussion questions/answers on a whiteboard or overhead
projector.
Speak clearly and at a normal rate.
Use visual aids with few words and large images and fonts.
Provide written lecture outlines, class assignments, lab instructions, and
demonstration summaries and distribute them before class when
possible.
 From http://www.washington.edu/doit/Stem/hearing.html
Accommodations—Visually Impaired
Blindness refers to the disability of students who cannot read printed text, even when
enlarged. Typical accommodations include:
 Audiotaped, Brailled or electronic-formatted lecture notes, handouts, and texts.
 Verbal descriptions of visual aids.
 Raised-line drawings and tactile models of graphic materials.
 Braille lab signs and equipment labels.
 Auditory lab warning signals.
 Adaptive lab equipment (e.g., talking thermometers and calculators, light probes, and tactile
timers).
 Computer with optical character reader, speech output, Braille screen display and/or Braille
embosser.
Low Vision refers to students who have some usable vision, but cannot read standardsize text, have field deficits (for example, cannot see peripherally or centrally but can
see well in other ranges), or other visual impairments. Typical accommodations include:
 Seating near front of class.
 Large print handouts, lab signs, and equipment labels.
 TV monitor connected to microscope to enlarge images.
 Class assignments made available in electronic format.
 Computer equipped to enlarge screen characters and images.
From http://www.washington.edu/doit/Stem/disability_type.html
Accommodations—Learning Disability
 Learning Disabilities are documented disabilities that may affect reading,
processing information, remembering, calculating, and spatial abilities.
 Examples of accommodations for students who have specific learning
disabilities include:
Notetakers and/or audiotaped class sessions.
Captioned videos and films.
Extra exam time, alternative testing arrangements.
Visual, aural, and tactile instructional demonstrations.
Reinforcing directions verbally.
Breaking large amounts of information or instructions into smaller segments.
Detailed printed or audiotaped project descriptions or instructions.
Books on tape.
Computers equipped with speech output, which highlights and reads (via
screen reading software and a speech synthesizer) text on the computer
screen.
 Word processing software that includes electronic spelling and grammar
checkers, software with highlighting capabilities, and word prediction
features.
 Software to enlarge screen images.
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Accommodations—Gifted
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Encourage students to explore concepts in depth and encourage independent studies or
investigations.
Use thematic instruction to connect learning across the curriculum.
Encourage creative expression and thinking by allowing students to choose how to approach a
problem or assignment.
Expand students’ time for free reading.
Invite students to explore different points of view on a topic of study and compare the two.
Provide learning centers where students are in charge of their learning.
Brainstorm with gifted children on what types of projects they would like to explore to extend
what they’re learning in the classroom.
Determine where students’ interests lie and capitalize on their inquisitiveness.
Refrain from having them complete more work in the same manner.
Employ differentiated curriculum to keep interest high.
Avoid drill and practice activities.
Ask students’ higher level questions that require students to look into causes, experiences, and
facts to draw a conclusion or make connections to other areas of learning.
If possible, compact curriculum to allow gifted students to move more quickly through the
material.
Encourage students to make transformations- use a common task or item in a different way.
From http://www.bsu.edu/web/lshasky/Forms/Interventions/Gifted.pdf
Modifications--General Examples
 Modify the amount of work required
 Alter format of materials on page (font, spacing)
 Allow for alternate modes of responding
 Use alternate grading system
 Different test items
 Noted different objective for specific students
Assessment
Formal Summative- Grade related, not necessary to have in every daily lesson plan.
Summative assessments come at the end of a process or activity such as: unit tests
 projects
 term papers
 final exams.
 NOTE: A Formal/Summative assessment must be included as part of a unit plan.
OR Informal Formative- How will you know lesson objectives have been met? These
are used continuously throughout a lesson to check for student understanding. They
are interactive and are used primarily to “form” or alter an ongoing process or activity.
 Guided discussions
 Teacher observation(s) of specific tasks, criterion, attributes, etc
 Think-Pair-Share
NOTE: Be certain that your assessment(s) effectively demonstrate how you will
measure and evaluate the performance/achievement of your students as stated in
your learning/behavioral objectives.
Theory Connections—General Overview
 Emergent Literacy
 Children are in the process of becoming literate from birth;
reading and writing are interrelated and develop concurrently; and
children do not learn the same way at the same time.
 Constructivism
 Knowledge is constructed through experiences; teacher is a
facilitator providing an interactive environment; students are
thinkers with emerging views about the world.
 Reading Readiness
 Readers must master basic skills before learning to read; includes a
scope and sequence arranged and sequenced according to
difficulty level.
 Traditional
 Adherence to fixed curriculum, teacher is disseminator of
information, student is viewed as “blank slate”.
Emergent Literacy
Reading Readiness
Theoretical
Perspective
Children are in the process of becoming
literate from birth and are capable of
learning what it means to be a user of
written language before entering
school.
Children must master a set of basic skills
before they can learn to read. Learning
to read is an out- come of school-based
instruction.
Acquisition of
Literacy Skills
and Strategies
Children learn to use written language
and develop as readers and writers
through active engagement with their
world. Literacy develops in real-life
settings in purposeful ways.
Children learn to read by mastering skills
arranged and sequenced in a hierarchy
according to their level of difficulty.
Relationship of
Reading to
Writing
Children progress as readers and
writers. Reading and writing (as well as
speaking and listening) are interrelated
and develop concurrently.
Children learn to read first. The skills of
reading must be developed before
introducing written composition.
FunctionalFormal
Learning
Children learn informally through
interactions with and modeling from
literate significant others and
explorations with written language.
Children learn through formal teaching
and monitoring (i.e., periodic
assessment) of skills.
Individual
Development
Children learn to be literate in different
ways and at different rates of
development.
Children progress as readers by moving
through a “scope and sequence” of skills.
Vacca, J.; Vacca, R. & Gove, M. (1991). Reading and Learning to Read, 2 ed., Glenview, IL: HarperCollins Publishers.
Traditional
Constructivist
Curriculum
-Curriculum is presented part to whole,
with emphasis on basic skills.
-Strict adherence to fixed curriculum is
highly valued.
-Curriculum is presented whole to part with
emphasis on big concepts.
-Pursuit of student questions is highly
valued.
Curricular
Activities
Rely heavily on textbooks and
workbooks.
Rely heavily on primary sources of data and
manipulative materials.
How Ss are
Viewed
Ss are viewed as blank slates onto
which information is etched by the
teacher.
Ss are viewed as thinkers with emerging
theories about the world.
Teacher
-Generally behave in a didactic manner,
disseminating information to students.
-Teachers seek the correct answer to
validate student learning.
-Ts generally behave in an interactive
manner, mediating the environment for Ss .
-Ts seek the students' point of view in
order to understand students' present
conceptions for use in subsequent lessons.
Assessment Assessment of student learning is
viewed as separate from teaching and
occurs almost entirely through testing.
How Ss
Work
Students primarily work alone.
Assessment of student learning is
interwoven with teaching and occurs
through teacher observation of Ss at work
and through student exhibitions and
portfolios.
Students primarily work in groups.
Brooks, J.G., and Brooks, M.G. (1993). In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classrooms. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Theory Connections
 Identify 3 theory connections using this format:
 ______________ (describe example from your lesson plan) is an
example of _____________(insert theory-ex. Constructivism), because
it ______________ (insert specific reason why-ex. reflects that students
are thinkers with emerging theories about the world).
 Your examples should be for completed using your DRTA lesson.
 The examples are listed below are to illustrate what the theory
connection should look like.
 Example #1—using Literature Circles
Students talk about their books in small groups, which is an example of
Constructivism, because (a) students work primarily in groups and (b) the
teacher acts as a facilitator by mediating the environment for children, and (c)
students are viewed as thinkers with emerging theories about the world.
 Example #2—using phonics lesson
 The teacher works with students using explicit and systematic phonics
instruction to teach them letter/sound relationships. This is an example of
Reading Readiness, since it reflects the idea that students learn through formal
teaching and monitoring of schools.
 Students practice their phonics skills by reading a predictable book containing
words with that phonic element (/ă). This is an example of emergent literacy,
since it reflects the idea that children learn informally through interactions
with and modeling from literate significant others and explorations with
written language.
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Assessment
 Create a rubric to evaluate objectives.
 Two parts
 Evaluation of actual process of DRTA
 Evaluation of writing response activity
 Identify key skill areas for each part
 Determine point value per skill area
VERY IMPORTANT!
It is your responsibility to
rubric
check the
to be sure you have covered
required elements!!!
all