Curated Toolkit and Unit Design

Reflection
I am so excited to use these tools in the classroom as a place to compile
resources for my lessons on the Promethean board. I usually open each resource
individually and switch from page to page and now I can have all my resources
organized in one location! Also, each student in my classroom uses a laptop to help
the write using a word processor. Students with disabilities also benefit from using
many online digital tools.
The curated resource tool gives students guidance as they complete the
assignments. The content resources are used to guide student through learning and
understanding the content. The technology tools resources are used to guide
students through the writing process and allow them to use the tools available to
complete the writing activities.
There are specific appropriate accommodations for learners with Mild
Intellectual Disabilities. In the Intellectual Disabled program we are required to
teach an adapted curriculum. The adapted curriculum used is called Unique
Learning. This curriculum provides students with adapted instructional strategies
and materials. Writing activities are differentiated as well.
Students benefit from using graphic organizers to help them organize their
thoughts. We call this the Pre-writing stage. In Hall and Strangmans (2002)
research on the effectiveness of graphic organizers improving learning outcomes for
a variety of learners, they found that 10 of 12 studies reported some positive
learning outcomes using graphic organizers. Using graphic organizers are especially

beneficial for my students who have expressive and receptive language disorders,
and for those who are visual learners.
My students benefited greatly from the Curated Writing Toolkit that I
designed for them. The students worked individually at their pace and topics were
easily differentiated. Students were able to use headphones with their laptops to
listen to content resources within the toolkit. Through the curated toolkits students
were able to easily access the online graphic organizers that have proven to be a
vital tool for students with disabilities. The graphic organizer tools allowed
students to focus their thoughts on one thing at a time. Overall, I found this a very
effective way to present material and online tools to students with disabilities in a
very organized way.

Hall, T., & Strangman, N. (2002). Graphic organizers. Wakefield, MA: National Center
on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved from
http://aim.cast.org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/graphic_organi....