Teaching middle school students can present its own set of challenges and given that most of the classrooms these days are inclusive, this presents quite an undertaking for teachers who wish to reach out to all their students and take into consideration the diverse needs of the students, in terms of learning styles, communication styles, skills level etc. "Differentiated Instruction for the Middle School Language Arts Teacher" presents a host of practical activities and strategies that can be used in an inclusive classroom.
The book is divided into two parts. Part One: Being Successful in the Inclusive Classroom addresses issues such as collaboration (for intervention, with the Child Study Team, with the school team, and with parents/families); determining learning styles to differentiate instruction; and, effective teaching strategies in an inclusive classroom, including alternative assessment methods.
Part Two: Language Arts activities for the inclusive middle school classroom offers specific activities that can be carried out in an inclusive Language Arts classroom, and these activities are in alignment with national content standards. Every activity has a list of required materials listed, and instructions on how the activity is to be carried out. Each activity also has a worksheet included which is reproducible. At the end of each activity, there is a segment titled "How to Adapt this lesson for an Inclusive Classroom" which has strategies for learning disabled students, resistant learners and students with ADD/ADHD, for students with fine motor weaknesses, and also for gifted learners, and the rest of the class. There is also a link made between the home and school, titled the "Home/School Connection" which helps students link the lesson/activity with real life by engaging their families in the activity (through homework, research, etc). Evaluation strategies are also offered in this segment.
This is an invaluable resource for Language Arts teachers in inclusive classrooms and will enable teachers to address the needs of diverse learners in the classroom. Highly recommended!
