Standard #2: Learning Differences. The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.
2(a) The teacher designs, adapts, and delivers instruction to address each student’s diverse learning strengths and needs and creates opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning in different ways. (Performances)
2(j) The teacher understands that learners bring assets for learning based on their individual experiences, abilities, talents, prior learning, and peer and social group interactions, as well as language, culture, family, and community values. (Essential Knowledge)
2(l) The teacher believes that all learners can achieve at high levels and persists in helping each learner reach his/her full potential. (Critical Dispositions)
In my words: I understand that students are different and come from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. I will accommodate for all students by using differentiated learning styles and adapting my classroom for learning challenges and a wide range student abilities.
Gallery of Artifacts:
Differentiation – Having a student with hearing loss in the classroom.
ELL Students: the challenges of teaching students who do not speak English as their primary language. Having to adapt assignments, do read-alouds, give extended reading time, or recorded reading.
Student who is hard of hearing, accommodations
504 vs. IEP: IEP’s are for students with an IDEA disability that need special education services. 504 Plan is for accommodations due to mental/physical impairment.
How to accommodate for 504 Plans in the classroom? Adapting lesson plans, due dates, assignment criteria. Communicating with parents, student, and special education teachers about what is needed in classroom.
I created a second version of this quiz to help a student who needed a printed copy because of her vision loss.
The first page of one of my student’s 504 Plan for writing and spelling.
Learning about my students’ cultures and differences and applying that to House on Mango Street.
List of Artifacts:
Text-to-World Connections-As my Book Club students grasped text-to-self connections, it was time to move to text-to-world. To help them understand this, I created a PowerPoint/Google Presentation and walked through it with them.
“Piano Lessons” – Close Reading & Question Set-Ahhh...close reading passages, a necessary evil. Students aren't big fans of close reading, but these mini-readings are important for their skill building, especially if there is a set of questions that are relevant to the skills they are practicing.
Monster in the Barn-For Book Club, I'm always looking for good resources to help my students make connections to their reading. I came across this great source from ReadWorks, and I created two sets of questions to correspond and help with text-to-self and text-to-world connections!
A House, A Home-After reading "House on Mango Street," the first section in the book, this is a great way to help students visualize the Mango Street house and compare/contrast it to their own.
Poverty Training-Today our Professional Development was held in the high school auditorium, bringing both middle and high school together for a presentation and mini-training on poverty.
Integrating Hunger Games Movie Clips-My eighth graders finished the Hunger Games today. Boy, did I forget how heart-wrenching the ending of the first book was! In addition to the Character Symbol activity I had them working on, I also wanted to integrate the movie in some way, so I used YouTube clips and a discussion post on Google Classroom to enhance and deepen student understanding of the end of the book.
Peer Reading-Okay, I thought. We'll see how this goes. I stood at the front of the class. "Today we're going to finish the book. I'd like you to find a partner of your choice and read this final section, 'Afterward' aloud."
Seeing Through My Students’ Eyes-In my sophomore Honors English class, I assigned a pop quiz over chapters 3 and 4 in To Kill a Mockingbird. As I went to grade the quizzes, I saw that one of my students didn't hand in a quiz--and she was in class! I chalked it up to the fact that she probably hadn't read, and when I saw her next, I told her I didn't get a quiz from her. "I couldn't see the board," she said simply.
My 504 Writing Student-From the beginning of my student teaching placement, I've had experience with and learned about 504 plans. It wasn't until my final week, however, that I received the official documentation of one of my student's 504 Plans. This document really helped me to see and understand how 504 accommodations worked in a classroom.
504’s and IEP’s — What Are Those?-Have you seen the latest internet trend, 'What Are Those?' It started with a silly vine of someone making a comment on someone else's shoes. Now it's viral on the internet! A silly internet trend, yes. But I have to say, when I first got an email about my students in 504 Plans, that exact question, in that exact inflection, ran through my head: 504 Plans? What are thoseeeee?
Diversity, Differentiation, & Accommodation-My student teaching experience thus far has been incredible! The amount of diversity I've worked with, the differentiation that I've applied to my lessons, and the accommodations I've made have taught me so much about learners and learner differences. It's been such an awesome learning/growing experience!
My ELL Student-Having a student that struggles with English is difficult, even frustrating at times. But so incredibly rewarding to see him/her succeed!
504 Plans in My Classroom-What is a 504 Plan? A 504 Plan is for individuals that do not qualify for special education or specialized instruction, but still need accommodations for a disability that hinders their learning.
Task List/Work Day-What's the solution to disruptive, easily-distracted students while not taking anything away from productive, doing-what-they're-supposed-to students? For me, and for my English 10 classes, the solution was a Task List/Work Day.
Who Is Morrie Schwartz?-To introduce my students to the book, Tuesday with Morrie, and the main characters, I had my students close their eyes and listen as I read aloud.
Dealing with Diverse Learners – A Student with Hearing Loss-I attended a meeting yesterday for a student in one of my Honors classes. This student (named Student A for confidentiality purposes) is in the moderate range for hearing loss.
