Each one of us has areas that we excel at and areas that we find challenging.  Meeting the needs of a classroom filled with over 20 diverse learners is a daunting task for a teacher. Yeshivat Noam teachers have been differentiating instruction since the inception of the school. We use small group instruction, two classroom teachers, support teachers and the curriculum to meet the needs of a variety of levels of learning within one classroom.

With the advances in technology over the last several years, the ability to meet the needs of more students has soared. Through iPads, computers, online programs and apps, students are able to do course work that enriches and supports curriculum.

We have fifth grade students who have been invited by Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth and take Independent Math course instead of Everyday Math class. Students log in, both in school and from home, and work with an instructor from Hopkins.  Much of the time students are working independently and are expected to put in several hours a week before completing a weekly exam. Several Middle School students are participating in Math, Science and Language Arts programs that work basically in that way.

Lexia is a web-based program that all our first graders are using to enhance their reading instruction. Lexia provides explicit, systematic, personalized learning in the following five core basic areas of reading: Phonemic Awareness, Structural Analysis, Fluency, Vocabulary and Comprehension. Teachers get immediate data from the program and direct specific lessons to specific students to build their skills. This program is also used throughout the grades to assist students whose reading skills need to be strengthened. This program was made available to us through a generous donation by an anonymous donor.

Achieve 3000 is a reading comprehension program that is used in the upper elementary grades to enrich and support students.  Achieve is a web-based program that uses non-fiction text differentiated by students’ reading levels to build comprehension of informational text.

Mathletics is web-based and an iPad app. Students can access it from home and school.  We use it in grades three through five, as well as in Middle School, to support and enrich the math curriculum for all students.  Students log on several times a week at school as well as from home.

Mathletics covers all content areas; however, the teacher directs specific lessons she wants covered to the students. Mathletics responds to the child’s individual strengths and weaknesses and students find out instantly if they are correct. With step-by-step animated support, students feel confident and enjoy working through the program. As a bonus, students love going on Mathletics Live, a worldwide math competition.  Last year, our fourth grade girls placed first in the U.S.A. and 11th in the world!

As we continue into the 21st century and already enjoy the benefits of how technology helps teachers reach each student, we look forward to new developments.

By Linda Stock, Assistant Principal Yeshivat Noam Elementary School