Choosing a topic for my course development assignment was simple for me. In the fall, I will be teaching fifth grade, which is a completely new grade for me. Although teaching a new grade and new topic is daunting, I am quite familiar with the students I will be teaching. I’ve had the privilege of teaching this group of students in grade three, part of grade four, and am now continuing to teach the same group of students for their full grade five year. Since I am familiar with this set of students, I chose to focus my course development assignment on a hybrid grade five English Language Arts module. As Bates indicated in chapter nine, knowing your learners well is essential for determining what is best for their learning needs. Considering my learners are still young and lack independent working capacity, blended learning meets their needs, allowing me to facilitate and supervise their work habits as their teacher.  

I’ll be concentrating on an Identity Unit for the comprehend and respond ELA strand. I chose CR5.1 from the Saskatchewan Curriculum as the learning outcome for this unit. According to the outcome, by the end of the unit, students will be able to comprehend and respond to a variety of grade-level texts (including modern and classic visual, oral, written, and multimedia materials) on the topic of identity and exploring heritage. I chose this topic for my course development project because I intend to use it in my fifth-grade classroom this fall. Since I am familiar with my group of students, I am aware of their strengths and limitations. 

For many of my grade five students reading and writing is a major strength, however in my target group of students several students achieve well below grade level in their reading and writing skills. In 2018, Prescott et al. suggested that a blended learning approach can be beneficial for students with diverse learning needs. A blended learning strategy will enable my students who are performing well above grade level to take control of their own learning and use the online module I have developed to learn independently in synchronous and asynchronous tasks. On the other hand, this will allow me, the teacher, to spend more one-on-one time with my students who are not performing at grade level. I can provide a variety of engaging tools to my students that suit their learning needs, allowing all students to be motivated to take control of their learning. For example, I can use technology to present every student with the same grade level content, but I can also provide students options for how they will receive the information. I may provide my above grade level readers a copy of the reading and have them read it to themselves, but I can give my below grade level readers an audio recorded version of the book. I can also offer options for sharing their reading comprehension and text expertise. Some students may simply type their responses, while others may use voice-to-text technology. 

As a result, using a blended learning style in grade five ELA provides numerous benefits and alternatives for differentiating for unique learners. A blended learning environment not only allows for differentiation for every student, but it is also a fun and engaging approach for children to learn. In 2020, Macaruso et al., took beginning steps in doing research regarding the use of blended learning to improve reading levels and suggested that blended learning is more engaging for students than traditional learning. I would agree that today’s youth are constantly engaged by technology and immersed in its contents. Many students get motivated by opportunities to use technology and incorporate the use of it into their everyday learning.