Context: This unit was created for CI 3000, Learner Diversity, Spring 2007. It was created under the advisement of Dr. Nancy Mamlin. I observed a student for this assignment during my internship at Moravian Falls Elementary.

Impact: This assignment was to do a case study on a student in the classroom, that I was interning in for Block 1. When doing the case study, I observed the student in a math lesson, reading group, and on the playground. I also talked to their teacher about them. The student that I choose, related to several of the cultural reports my Block 417 did research on.

Alignment:
This unit met the following North Carolina Standards for Elementary School Teachers:

Standard 7: Elementary teachers use developmentally appropriate strategies to design and deliver instruction in all areas of the elementary curriculum.

Indicator 3: Teachers promote new learning by using students’ prior knowledge, misconceptions, and interests when designing lessons.When making my science lesson for my student, I made sure to think of something that included her interest and something that she had not learned.

Indicator 4: Teachers implement a variety of teaching and communication strategies for instruction. The teacher that I observed used many teaching strategies when having reading groups in the classroom. Some of the groups were hands on, writing, and used visual activities. I helped with one of these groups. Also, in the lesson plan I used a varitey of strategies, such as visual, hands-on, and writing so that all of my students would get something out of the lesson being taught.

Indicator 5: Teachers assist students in developing multiple learning strategies to address discipline specific content, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. In my lesson plan for the student, one of the assignments was to write about what they did in the experiement as a story. This would use some critical thinking.

Indicator 6: Teacher modify instruction and assessments to meet the needs of individual students. The student that I have been studying, does not talk. I made sure that the lesson did not have anything in it, where this student would not feel comfortable participating.

Standard 14: Elementary teachers develop strategies to address topics and are controversial to diverse groups.

Indicator 1: Teachers understand and respect that families and communities may have diverse attitudes about the educational process. To help meet this indicator, I talked to my students teacher about the background and family life my student.

Indicator 4: Teachers explore multiple view points and respect values consistent with a democratic community by recognizing and valuing the family roles in educating children of diversity. I met this goal by learning about my child's family and how they feel about her education, and asked her teacher about some views she had on this specific child.

Indicator 5: Teachers discourage prejudice, derogatory comments and stereotypical perspectives by modeling and selecting bias free instructional material. In the lesson for the student, I made sure that it was bias free. Also, there were some books stated in the culture report on African Americans that would be good to read, that were bias free.

Indicator 6: Teachers search for more effective means of educating all students in creating effective instructional goals, methods, materials, and skills that match the diversity of students. The books that were stated in the culture report for African American children, would be wondeful to read to help African Americans feel at home in the classroom.

Standard 16: Elementary teachers develop as leaders in their schools and communities by staying informed about educational policy issues and supporting professional development. Elementary teachers participate in co-curricular activities, provide leadership in student and curriculum involvement, and connect these activities to the development of citizenship ideals in their students.

Indicator 8: Teachers research and learn to apply best practices in elementary education and participate in the dissemination of those ideas. I met this goal by, finding some good practices to use with my African American child from the cultural report.

Indicator 9: Teachers understand the importance of collaborating with colleagues to strengthen content, research, and pedagogy as well as with the community to provide quality instruction that meets state competencies. While interning, I asked my teacher that I was working under about things that would help my child in the classroom.

Indicator 10: Teachers advocate for the rights and welfare of their students by involving appropriate school and community human resources in meeting the individual needs of each students. The child that I was observing did not talk at all, so I made her lesson where she would not have to talk to any of her classmates.