Tools for Teachers
What is the difference between a modification and an accommodation?
Modifications: Refer to practices that change, lower, or reduce content.
Examples:
- decreasing the amount of assignments (per the Intervention Specialist’s approval)
- chunking of assignments
- eliminating answer choices
- providing a text at a lower reading level
- utilizing a modified grading scale
- The modified grading scale at Dohn is:
100 - 90 = A, 89 - 80 = B, 79 - 70 =C, 69 - 60 = D, below a 60 = F.
Accommodations: Practices and procedures that provide equitable access during instruction and assessment.
Examples:
- clarifying directions
- providing extended time
- cueing
- providing a calculator
- providing graphic organizers
- allowing for frequent breaks
- reading aloud (directions, questions, and answer choices),
- providing a computer for text-to-speech or speech-to-text
- sitting close to the teacher
- reducing noise/auditory distractions and reducing visual distractions
**While the resources found above assist teachers in providing accommodations for students with disabilities, it is expected that teachers are using these same strategies with general education students that are experiencing difficulty or failure in classes. This is a fundamental professional obligation in the teaching profession.
**Please keep in mind that accommodations and interventions are often very similar or the same in some instances. When you are in an environment with a large percentage of students that are deficient in academic skills and/or content knowledge, teachers often will provide accommodations for the class as a whole.
**In fact, it is often the case that accommodations are also research-based instructional practices. For instance, you may require all students to annotate text as they read, to use graphic organizers to compare concepts, or to utilize checklists to remember multi-step processes.