Accommodations vs. Modifications: Pourquoi?

My students are in the process of publishing and reviewing the final drafts of their most recent Writer's Workshop project: pourquoi tales.  These folk tales, which mimic traditional myths and legends, usually explain a natural phenomenon, animal appearance, or behavior.  While I was looking at the various products my students turned in, I started thinking about the different ways I differentiated the assignment.  In reflecting, I realized that I used both modifications and accommodations to make this writing project accessible to all of my students.  The idea of modification vs. accommodation is complex, confusing, and very relevant to special education today, so I thought I'd share some ideas on each.  At the end of this post, I will share my class's favorite pourquoi tales and a short description of each with you.

Accommodations
According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, "Accommodations are alterations in the way tasks are presented that allow children with learning disabilities to complete the same assignments as other students. Accommodations do not alter the content of assignments, give students an unfair advantage or in the case of assessments, change what a test measures. They do make it possible for students with LD to show what they know without being impeded by their disability." (http://www.ncld.org/content/view/306/377/) 

While this answer is specific to testing, and particularly No Child Left Behind-mandated testing, we accommodate to students' disabilities or special needs all the time in the classroom.  Here are some examples of accommodations that are used in classrooms on a regular basis:

• Preferentially seating a child near the front of the room or near you to reduce distractions or behavior problems
• Giving a student additional time to complete an assignment
• Reading questions on a content (non-reading) test out loud so the skill that is being measured
• Let students answer questions out loud or dictate to a scribe instead of hand-writing their answers
• Give students additional preparation before the work is assigned or the test is administered
• Present the information to students in a different way (visually, orally, etc.)

On the pourquoi tale assignment, I accommodated to one student with a learning disability severely affecting his spelling by allowing him to write his draft, then read it out loud to me.  I then wrote what he dictated to me and allowed him to re-copy it for his final draft. This was an example of an accommodation because it changed the process by which the student presented his work, but not the requirement for the work or the way I will evaluate it (using a rubric).

Modifications
Modifications are changes teachers or evaluators make either to an assigned task or to the way a task is evaluated.  Modifications actually alter what a student is expected to do or give them an alternative assignment to the one completed by the majority of students.  I've found that most of the modifications I make in my classroom are for my lowest students.

I try to use accommodations as opposed to modifications as often as possible to give my inclusion class students with disabilities as much access to the general education curriculum as possible and provide them with the least restrictive service.  Sometimes, however, the demands of a task are completely out of bounds for a student.  To ensure that they get something out of it, I need to modify the task to a child's benefit or provide an alternative to build a different skill.  Here are some examples of modifications that are regularly used in classrooms:

• Reduced amount of work (do only the odd-numbered problems)
• Alternative information (completely different skill or content)
• Alternative product (student presents his/her knowledge in a completely different way)

On the pourquoi tale assignment, I modified the task for a small group of my more seriously disabled students by having them create storyboards instead of writing a story.  They were given a prompt similar to the rest of the students, but sketched or drew scenes and captioned them to tell their tale.

For more information on accommodations for students with learning disabilities, the National Center for Learning Disabilities has a very comprehensive collection of articles on accommodations for special needs and how to get them.

Pourquoi?
Now, as promised, here are some pourquoi tales your students might enjoy!

Before you get started with pourquoi tales, consider reading Instructor's article, "Teaching with Pourquoi Tales" from April, 2001.  It has good background information to set up your class's investigation of this topic.

My class enjoyed Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema.  It's a story about a chain reaction causing the disappearance of the sun and how a mosquito is eventually found guilty. 

They also liked Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky by Elphinstone Dayrell, a fun story about how a sun's visit to the water's house ended in the sun and moon deciding to live far away.

I enjoy sharing Native American stories with my students, and Tomie de Paola (the author of Strega Nona) has written several:

The Legend of the Bluebonnet

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

The Legend of the Poinsettia (especially nice as the holidays approach)

All of those tales are aimed at younger readers.  For your students who need a challenge, consider Rudyard Kipling's Just-So Stories.  I also came across a really and unique interesting collection of North American Indian stories about animals, some of which are pourqouis and some of which are other folk tales, Nihancan's Feast of Beaver: Animal Tales of the North American Indians by Edward Lavitt.  This book in particular has fascinating background information about specific regional Native American groups that could be turned into a great independent project. 

I really enjoyed my students' products for their pourquoi tales, whether I modified, accommodated, or assigned them the original unaltered task.  While muddling through accommodations and modifications is a confusing and sometimes time-intensive process, it doesn't mean your students will turn in work that is any less fabulous or worth celebrating!  I am excited to continue to share their successes with you.  Please post any suggestions or comments on how you accommodate or modify for special-needs students in your classroom!

Comments

[Lisbon Accommodations]

Nice post!

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