Student adaptations

    In my class, there are four students who have an IEP, three who are TAG, and one ESOL student. I also have six students whose first language is Spanish. The six whose first language is Spanish are not labeled ESOL, but in their student records, they say that English is their second language, that Spanish is the primary language spoken at home and that their first language is Spanish. I also had an ESOL student from Korea who was switched to a class that was more appropriate to his level. Since there are a wide range of ESOL students in my class, I make print outs of directions and notes available and always have them on a PowerPoint slide or written on the board. To check understanding, I’ll have one to two students repeat the directions so they can hear it from a student as well. I have had a few of my ESOL students come in after school for individualized help, and they are doing great. I’ve also noticed that manupulatables help. Giving them cut outs of definitions to place next to words gets them involved and another learning tool.
    Two of my students with IEP’s have emotional disorders. The first thing I did with them was make sure they knew that I cared about them, wanted them to succeed, and knew their names. I did this by asking them how their days had gone, telling them specific things they are doing well, and being consistent with my directions and expectations. I’ve noticed that consistent and specific encouragement works really well with most students, but especially these two. When they knew I thought they could do something well, they tried harder. I also tried to involve them in the class. I would ask them if they would share their journal writes before I called on them in front of the whole class and I would use them as examples such as “for example, (so and so) could write about how he made the football team,” I also had to be careful not to embarrass them.
    Another one of my students has autism. As with the other two, I did the same things with making sure he knew I cared and wanted him to succeed. This student would get off task quickly, and once he began to wonder away from class in his thoughts, it was hard to get him back. To keep his attention, I would walk by his desk often and make eye contact. I would also go by and check on him during work times to keep him working. It’s remarkable how much he does when you’re right there next to him as apposed to when he is on his own. I also sat him next to a student who is also quieter but who is always paying attention and doing his work. They do great partner work together. The other thing I do, in regards to his autism, is approach him slowly, kneel down to his eye level, and slowly say his name and I don’t move on until I know I have his attention. It’s easy to worry about those students who do better with individualized attention and to forget about the rest of the class. I had to make it a point to make sure I was putting the entire class first before individual students. It helped to give myself check in points throughout the period and to make sure I gave whole class instructions before tending to the individual students.
    I wasn’t able to get an actual IEP for the last student I have with an IEP. I contacted her counselor, looked through her files—which she has but they do not give an actual IEP, and my cooperating teacher has tried as well. So, because I don’t have any information as to why she is on an IEP, I sat her in the front row, checked in with her often, and made sure she knew I was available if she needed extra help. So far, she does great work. She gets off track easily, but she has a great personality and is always willing to try even when she is confused.
    For my three TAG students, none of them are TAG for writing or reading. However, they do show advancement past the other students and seem to get bored quickly and then two of them proceed to disrupt the other students. To not single them out, I try to challenge the whole class to go further. For example, I gave them a sentence frame for a thesis statement and told them that if they needed a challenge, they should create their own. I would go around and if they or any student had finished quickly, I would remind them about the challenge. I also gave extra credit points for creative introductory and concluding paragraphs.
    
 

Impact on my Instruction

    The biggest affect on this classroom is the wide range of abilities. I have to give some students extra time without boring the students who move through things quickly. It’s much harder than I thought to make the right balance and instruction for high level students and low level students. You have to give each student the best opportunity to learn without interrupting the other student’s environment. I have tried to do a mix of individual work time for students to work at their pace and to give me a chance to help individuals; group and partner work for students who work better when collaborating, classroom work for students who like to solve things as a whole class with my guidance, and direct instruction for student who want to be told exactly what is expected of them. I like group work, but with this class, it’s difficult to have groups larger than two or three students. They get off task quickly; on the other hand, when I select the groups, most students get a lot out of the collaboration. I always offer help outside of class time and give later deadlines for those students who need it. For a challenge, I also encourage students to push themselves; for example, I have one student who always finishes much quicker than the other students so I encourage him to use the time to self edit and extend his details. This has raised his grade and kept him from being bored. The fact that my class does have a variety of culture, I have the great opportunity to connect them to the diversity in the literature we read. Honestly, I thought there would be a bigger connection than there was. I had to pull it out of them more than I had thought. I had them do personal free writes with prompts from themes and situations in the memoirs and poems we read and then showed them how their experiences connected to those in the pieces. For example, I had them write about a time when they had to persevere through a difficult time. This connected to Jesus Colon’s memoir “Kipling and I,” as well as “Sympathy,” by P.L. Dunbar. Overall, I learned that knowing the context of your class, and beyond, is a helpful and necessary thing to be aware of—not only so you can be sensitive to your students needs and abilities, but to create the best lessons and environment for your students to learn in.