Supporting Children’s Diverse
Learning Needs
Session 2
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Session Objective
By the end of this session, you will be able to:
identify specific best practices and
instructional strategies to support children’s
diverse learning needs.
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Preschool Classrooms
Children enter
preschool with diverse
levels of expertise and
experiences.
• Abilities
• Background
Knowledge
• Language Skills
• Learning Needs
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How to Support Children’s
Diverse Needs?
Supporting children’s diverse
learning needs begins with the
child.
1. Identify the child’s diverse
learning need(s).
2. Use best practices and
instructional strategies to
support learning.
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Activity: Identify the Child’s
Diverse Learning Needs
Directions:
1. Pick a child from your class/school.
2. Identify the child’s learning needs.
3. Label and describe the child's needs
using the Child Introduction handout
(H: p.1)
a) Academic Abilities/Inabilities
b) Language Skills
c) Social Interactions
d) Background Knowledge
e) Support from Home
H: p. 1
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Debrief
• No two children are
alike.
• No two children learn in
the identical way.
• An enriched
environment for one
child is not necessarily
enriched for another.
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Identifying Needs: Preschool Scenario
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Child Profile #1: Meet Taylor
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Child Profile #2: Meet Khalil
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Best Practice #1: Be in the Know
Supporting children with diverse
learning needs requires teachers
to understand and know:
• the learning needs of the
children in the class
• what needs to be taught within
the curriculum
• how to use assessment data
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Best Practice #2:
Create a Supportive Environment
Have a wide range of
materials to accommodate
each student’s unique:
• readiness
• Interests
• learning needs
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Best Practice #3:
Optimize Learning Opportunities
Use small group
instruction for teaching
and supporting a wide
range of ability levels
within a single classroom
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You Try:
Create a Supportive Environment
Part 1: Create a Classroom
Create a mini classrooms using the “Child
Introduction” handout from Recognizing Diverse
Learner Activity
Part 2: Describe Your Classroom
Environment
• Independently read the summary of the Sonia
Sotomayor (PW: p.1)
• As a table, discuss what items would be
included in your environment during this
domain and how the items would support the
learning needs of all the children at your table?
• Record ideas on chart paper
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Create a Supportive Environment
Debrief
How did you create an environment that
supports the needs of all the children at your
table?
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Use Instructional Strategies
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Instructional strategies
can be adapted to fit
instruction throughout
the three parts of the
CKLA preschool day.
• Starting the Day
• Skills
• Listening & Learning
Visual Cues
Make
Connections
Gestures
Peer
Support
Props
Adjust Task
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Instructional Strategies
• Strategy 1: Visual Cues
• Strategy 2: Gestures
• Strategy 3: Props
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Question: Instructional Strategies
What Visual Cues could
have been used to
support Khalil’s diverse
learning needs?
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Instructional Strategies
Strategy 4: Adjust Task
Strategy 5: Peer Support
Strategy 6: Making Connections
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Question: Instructional Strategies
How could Peer Support
have helped support
Taylor’s diverse learning
needs?
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Summary
Identify specific best practices and instructional strategies to
support children’s diverse learning needs.
Best Practices
1. Be in the know
2. Create a supportive environment
3. Continuously monitor progress
4. Optimize learning opportunities and experiences
Instructional Strategies
• Visual Cues
• Gestures
• Props
• Adapt Task
• Peer Support
• Make Connections
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