LessonPix to Support Students in Underrepresented Groups

Effective teachers use evidence-based interventions to ensure all students are taught to high academic standards. These interventions respond to students' social, emotional, and academic needs and advance equity within underrepresented student subgroups (each major racial and ethnic group, children from low-income families, children with disabilities, English learners, etc.).

The 2020 Global Pandemic forced families and schools to adapt instruction and rely on remote learning strategies. Many inspiring stories emerged of teachers going above and beyond, finding innovative ways to connect and instruct. While some students adapted well, many struggled and now present with learning loss. New programs are being implemented with funding opportunities to address learning recovery. (Learn More about Learning Recovery Here).

LessonPix can address learning loss and help improve learning outcomes, in particular for learners from low-income families, culturally and racially diverse learners, children with disabilities, and emergent bilinguals/English language learners. 

Providing Mirrors and Windows

Students need to see themselves reflected in the curriculum materials that educators use. When they see individuals centered in their learning materials that look like them, act like them, talk like them and represent their family units it provides a mirror to their identity and allows for connections to be built. As importantly, students who are most frequently represented in books and curriculum resources need to see those that do not look or talk like them in learning materials in order to overcome bias, celebrate differences, and create acceptance. 

LessonPix’s clip art provides educators the ability to find and use images, including individuals of different races, religions, genders, abilities, and body types in learning and curriculum resources. 

https://lessonpix.com/articles/3/322/Meet+the+LessonPix+Characters

Use the Re-color and Customize tool to further customize and individualize LessonPix clip art. 

Linguistic Diversity

Students and families who speak languages other than English at home are supported by the Translation Tool feature in LessonPix, that allows resources to be translated with the click of a button into any language supported by Google Translate. 

https://lessonpix.com/materials/13723876/Tab+and+Flap+Cards

This helps build relationships with students and their families, by making it easy to quickly provide resources in their preferred language. 

Build Background Knowledge and Vocabulary 

Students come to school with varied home learning experiences and opportunities. What is commonplace knowledge for one student may be not yet experienced and not yet understood by another student. LessonPix can be used to build background knowledge, develop vocabulary supports and help connect learning to a student’s own experiences and life with the use of visuals. 

Use a KWL chart as an anchor activity to help learners chart what they already know about a topic, decide what they want to know more about, and as a wrap around summation to a learning experience, document what they have learned. Use the PowerPoint add-in to make a KWL chart an interactive, digital learning experience either for distance learning or for use on an interactive whiteboard. 

Introduce new vocabulary from books with visual supports

Written by Beth Poss, M.Ed., SLP, CCC