1. Accommodations and Modifications
Student Support Services
Dr. Schequita Owens, Director of Support Services
Cheryl Flammer, Special Education Teacher
Kimberleyn Robinson, Math Specialist
Sarah Smarsch, Reading Specialist

2. Why is this important? Maximizes student achievement
Supports all learners
Creates a positive, safe learning environment
IDEA-It’s the law!

3. Accommodations and Modifications Defined
Accommodations change how a student learns the material. A modification changes what a student is taught or expected to learn.

4. For Example Accommodations Modifications Classroom Instruction
Accommodations can help kids learn the same material and meet the same expectations as their classmates. If a student has reading issues, for example, she might listen to an audio recording of a text. There are different types of classroom accommodations, including presentation (like listening to an audio recording of a text) and setting (like where a student sits).
Kids who are far behind their peers may need changes, or modifications, to the curriculum. For example, a student could be assigned shorter or easier reading assignments. Kids who receive modifications are not expected to learn the same material as their classmates.
Classroom Tests
Testing accommodations can be different from those used for instruction. For example, using a spell-checker might help a student with writing difficulties take notes during class but wouldn’t be appropriate during a weekly spelling test. However, this student might benefit from extra time to complete the spelling test or using typing technology if the physical act of writing is difficult.
Modifications in testing often involve requiring a student to cover less material or material that is less complex. For example, in the case of the spelling test, if the class was given 20 words to study, the student with modifications might only have to study 10 of them. Or she might have a completely different list of words.
Elective Classes
Accommodations for “special” classes like gym, music and art can be helpful. These are similar to accommodations for classroom instruction. Kids might get extra time to complete assignments or be allowed to complete them in a different format.
If the school believes that an assignment within a class like gym, music or art is unreasonable for a child, modifications to that assignment are made. The gym teacher might modify the number of laps a student needs to run; the music teacher might not require a child to participate in the final performance. In some cases, students are even excused from certain classes in order to make time for one-on-one time with a specialist.

5. General Modifications
Assignment modifications allow a student to:
Complete fewer or different homework problems than peers
Write shorter papers
Answer fewer or different test questions
Create alternate projects or assignments
Curriculum modifications allow a student to:
Learn different material (such as continuing to work on multiplication while classmates move on to fractions)
Get graded or assessed using a different standard than the one for classmates
Be excused from particular projects

6. General Accommodations
Setting accommodations allow a student to:
Work or take a test in a different setting, such as a quiet room with few distractions
Sit where he learns best (for example, near the teacher)
Use special lighting or acoustics
Take a test in small group setting
Use sensory tools such as an exercise band that can be looped around a chair’s legs (so fidgety kids can kick it and quietly get their energy out)
Timing accommodations allow a student to:
Take more time to complete a task or a test
Have extra time to process oral information and directions
Take frequent breaks, such as after completing a task

7. General Accommodations cont.
Scheduling accommodations allow a student to:
Take more time to complete a project
Take a test in several timed sessions or over several days
Take sections of a test in a different order
Take a test at a specific time of day
Organization skills accommodations allow a student to:
Use an alarm to help with time management
Mark texts with a highlighter
Have help coordinating assignments in a book or planner
Receive study skills instruction

8. ELA Accommodations Presentation accommodations allow a student to:
Listen to audio recordings instead of reading text
Learn content from audiobooks, movies, videos and digital media instead of reading print versions
Work with fewer items per page or line and/or materials in a larger print size
Have a designated reader
Hear instructions orally
Record a lesson, instead of taking notes
Have another student share class notes with him
Be given an outline of a lesson
Use visual presentations of verbal material, such as word webs and visual organizers
Be given a written list of instructions
Response accommodations allow a student to:
Give responses in a form (oral or written) that’s easier for him or her
Dictate answers to a scribe
Capture responses on an audio recorder
Use a spelling dictionary or electronic spell-checker
Use a electronics to type notes or give responses in class

9. Math Accommodations Use rhythm or music to help students memorize.
Avoid memory overload by assigning manageable amounts of practice work as skills are learned.
Build retention by providing review within a day or two of the initial learning of difficult skills.
Provide supervised practice to prevent students from practicing misconceptions and "misrules."
Reduce interference between concepts or applications of rules and strategies by separating practice opportunities until the discriminations between them are learned.
Make new learning meaningful by relating practice of subskills to the performance of the whole task, and by relating what the student has learned about mathematical relationships to what the student will learn next.
Reduce processing demands by preteaching component skills of algorithms and strategies.
Teach easier knowledge and skills before difficult ones.
Ensure that skills to be practiced can be completed independently with high levels of success.
Help students to visualize math problems by drawing.
Use uncluttered worksheets to avoid too much visual information.
Use rhythm or music to help students memorize.
Use distributive practice: plenty of practice in small doses.
Use interactive and intensive practice with age- appropriate games as motivational materials.
Have students track their progress; which facts they have mastered and which remain to be learned.
Challenge critical thinking about real problems with problem-solving.
Use manipulatives and technology such as tape recorders or calculators.
Give extra time for students to process any visual information in a picture, chart, or graph.
Use visual and auditory examples.
Use real-life situations that make problems functional and applicable to everyday life.
Do math problems on graph paper to keep the numbers in line.

10. Supports and Allowances for ALL students
Seating where he or she learns best.
Quick breaks after finishing tasks, i.e. a walk to the water fountain.
In-class tools to reduce fidgeting. Your child could hold a squeeze ball.
A quiet area for test taking and studying.
Frequent eye contact to keep him/her engaged.
A cue to quietly keep a child on task. This could be a touch on the shoulder or a sticky note placed on the desk.
A master notebook for all subjects, to help stay organized.
A homework notebook that teacher and parents can sign off on daily.
Key points from the day’s lessons listed on the board.
Use of his own laptop computer for taking notes during class.
Class notes shared by another student.
A routine of checking in with the teacher after class to briefly discuss the lesson.

11. Differentiation and CCSS alignment
Use data to determine students’ instructional reading level
Use Vertical Progression Charts
See attachments
Expose all students to complex texts
Predict struggles during planning
Scaffold lessons
Model your thinking
Ask for help, ideas, suggestions, etc.

12. Executive Functioning
Cheryl Flammer and Dr. Schequita Owens

13. Cheryl Flammer and Dr. Schequita Owens
Working Memory
Cheryl Flammer and Dr. Schequita Owens

14. Resources
accommodations-and-modifications
Reading CCSS vertical progressions
Math CCSS vertical progressions