Dazzle & Differentiate

This is a reading assessment that I designed after reading the book published by Scholoastic First-Start Biography Young Thurgood Marshall. I wrote it for my eighth grade ELA resource class, but it may be adapted to other grades depending upon a student's reading level. I let them take it open-book.

This is an assignment that is great for independent work. It uses words from the book The Principal from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler. I taught student to use their ABC line at the top for visual support and cross off each letter. Often, I would highlight, or have the student highlight, the first letter in each word to help them also. Alphabetical order is a life skill.

For interactive student writing journals. Cut out, glue in, highlight and fill in as we discuss. Then, do guided practice on the next blank page in the journals.

Use this test with your resource students after reading the book I Just Forgot by Mercer Mayer. I would suggest letting them use the book while they take the test to prove their answer (an important skill). I would also suggest reading the test to them if that is in their accomodations.

Use these pages with your resource students when first beginning your study of the book I Just Forgot by Mercer Mayer. It is a great way to practice text features and to familiarize the student with the text.

Topic: Articles and nouns. When teaching parts of speech and grammar in resource, you need LOTS of repetition! I wrote this to tell a funny story on about a 2nd grade reading level. I used it after we practiced grammar card manipulatives that I created. Then we started this page together as guided practice, then they finished it as independent practice.

Whether we were reading fiction or non-fiction, this page was useful for independent work. Students would use whichever book you like, to find words of each letter of the alphabet. Often, we had to skip Q, X, and Z, but you can edit that back in if appropriate to your text. It familiarizes the student with the text and is a great way to review the pages and what you have read that day.

This alphabetical order page uses words from the book "Just Me and My Dad" by Mercer Mayer.

Very easy, little prep. First, I had the students use their ELA journals and make a T-chart with markers. Then, I modeled how to highlight the word sort page. Then, I had them independently continue to highlight homophone pairs, cut them out, and then glue them into their journals. Great independent activity or with a partner.

I wrote this brief cloze passage fill-in to be used with the Scholastic book From the Heart (non-fiction text). It requires the student to use the text and find "right there" word-for-word answers. Most of my resource kids were happy to do these kinds of independent work assignments and could do them with ease. Great for when you get called out to an ARD meeting or there is a sub.

When teaching resource, this was a modified spelling test that I used. It is editable.

Positive incentive note to go home to parents for when you have a "toy day" whether one day every week, right before a holiday, last week of school, etc.

This is useful for organization. Make sure to get a parent signature if your administration requires it.