Differentiation

ELL Student

            Name: Elena

Level: ELL – Level 2

Student Information: Elena is a 15 year-old 10th grader and an English learner. She is from Mexico and both of her parents are professionals. Her extended family includes aunts, uncles, and cousins. Her grandparents live in Mexico and she and her family visit them in the summer. She has been in the United States for one and a half years. She is literate in Spanish and often reads Spanish literature. Her report cards from her school in Mexico indicate above average grades. Elena is somewhat shy socially but is well liked and works well in small groups. She is seldom absent from school. The CELDT results indicate overall score in the Early Intermediate range, and she has been identified as an English learner.

What are the student’s individual ed. goals? Reading, writing & subject levels?

Elena is a hard working student who is still struggling with her English language ability. Her academic ability is above average but the transition into the American school system has been fairly smooth. One major concern is herself consciousness about her English ability. Her primary goal is to scaffold upon her Spanish language ability in order to promote her English language ability.

Differentiation Strategies (Based on each student’s developmental needs (readiness, interests and learning profile) what can you do to differentiate each student’s:

Content: Elena is an excellent student that follows directions well and enjoys her education. Instruction through visual and kinestetic methods would be optimum in order for her to practice seeing the language in print. A slow increase of auditory practice will follow so she can become more comfortable with English. (Learning Profile)

Process: Elena is very successful when working in small groups. Through group work she can practice both academic and conversational English. It would be a great benefit to pair her with other bilingual students so she can build on her home language as well. (Readiness)

Product: She enjoys representing herself and her culture in means other than spoken language. The use of art and dance can assist her focusing on the positive gains in her education. Giving her the choice of how much English is required would be a great start as long as there is a slowly increasing English inclusion standard. (Learning Profile)

Affect: The only major concern is her hesitation to practice her new language. Since she is a successful student in Spanish, the English transition is significantly frustrating. Supporting her practice in English and allowing for alternative (non-lingual) grading will overcome that frustration. (Readiness)

Learning Environment: She needs a positive and social learning environment. The key to Elena’s success is not being afraid to “fail”. While being more than capable, she is still worried about stumbling with the language in front of her peers.

Assessment Strategies: Visual based assessments would be beneficial in order to continually build upon her English knowledge in academic areas. The primary assessment strategy will also include significant number of small group projects and basic group work assignments throughout the unit.  

Next Steps: It is recommended to continue with the pace of the academics and to focus on the continuing practice with speaking and writing in English. The instructional strategy will be to involve English language practice while completing non writing assignments in order to alleviate the reluctance to practice language use.

ELL Student

            Name: Allie

Content / Learning Profile: Since Allie is a visual learner, she learns best if things are presented in an orderly manner with color. So if the teacher is giving a powerpoint presentation having pictures that go along with the content will be beneficial.  Demonstrations also work very well for her. 

Process / Interest and Learning Profile: Allie also works very well with others so pairing her up with partners will help her learn content better because she can talk with her peers and receive input on what they have to say.

Product / Readiness, Interest, and Learning Profile: If Allie can draw a picture instead of writing out anything, this will help her get her point across better. She really enjoys drawing and can really express herself through her artwork so providing opportunities for her to show her understanding through art whether it be a video or poster will be very beneficial. 

Affect / Learning Profile: Allie is somewhat sensitive so, corrective feedback has to follow a positive comment. Also giving her specific feedback will help her understand what she might have done wrong so she can improve. 

Learning Environment / Learning Profile: Having multiple charts, and pictures around the class will help the student, especially if she has to refer back to something she might have forgotten. Seating her around people she is comfortable talking with might help in group discussion so she can give input and see their views. 

IEP Student

            Name: Alex

Student Information: Alex is a 15-year-old boy in the 10th grade. He had difficulty with the development of his early literacy skills, including the acquisition of sound/symbol relationships and word identification, demonstrated in both his reading and writing. In the second grade, Alex was identified as a student with specific learning disabilities. Since then, Alex has received special education support primarily in a resource room for language arts, while he is included in the general education curriculum. He is able to independently read text at a 7th grade level and continues to struggle with decoding words. Alex also has asthma for which he takes daily medication and occasionally needs to use an inhaler. He is a self-isolating person who does not readily join into whole-class conversations or contribute to group learning situations. His tendency is to sit alone at lunch and to be by himself during transitional time. There is no in-class support for this student.

What are the student’s individual ed. goals? Reading, writing & subject levels?

Alex’s primary area of growth will be his reading capabilities and further improvement with his anti-social tendencies in and out of class. Due to the vital need for reading I believe that all academic areas could improve along with his improving reading skills. There should also be a focus on his social skills in order to improve his overall quality of education.  

Differentiation Strategies (Based on each student’s developmental needs (readiness, interests and learning profile) what can you do to differentiate each student’s:

Content: Reading will be the focus for improvement but there should be the ability to present information graphically and orally. Reading should be slowly built upon in order to push Alex but not to the point of quitting and or shutting down. (Learning Profile)

Process: Group work should be slowly introduced in order to overcome Alex’s antisocial tendencies. It is important to make these groupings with his sensitivity in mind so med to high preforming students that can allow Alex to contribute to the learning experience. (Readiness)

Product: An assortment of visual based products that promote further reading understanding will be very beneficial to Alex and allow him to practice while not being forced to dwell on his reading difficulties. (Learning Profile)

Affect: Positive reinforcement from both the instructor and the students will be of great value to Alex. Supporting Alex’s contributions to the class will promote further contributions and less over frustration with the assignments.(Readiness)

Learning Environment: Alex will need extensive visuals in order to appropriately build upon his reading and writing levels. Examples of student work can be posted around the classroom so there can be constant visual guidance. Supportive group working environment will also support the growth of Alex’s social skills.

Assessment Strategies: Since there is no in classroom special needs support for Alex, all major assessments will be shared with the special needs instructor so ample time and assistance that may be required will be available. Continuing collaboration with the Special needs instructor will allow for proper assessments and accommodations in order to positively support Alex’s academic growth. (Learning Profile) 

Next Steps: There needs to be a major focus on Alex’s reading and writing skills through accommodating practices in regards to his particular needs. In the classroom there will also be a frequent use of small group work assignments in order for Alex to get continual exposure to a social environment. There will be a way to work around his frustrations and the scaffolding upon his academic and social abilities will be the key to his education success.  

IEP Student

Name: Jacob

Level: IEP for frustration and anger problem as well as a 7th grade reading level
Student Information: Jacob is in the10th grade. He doesn't enjoy coming attending school but still attends regularly. He does not participate in many school activities, but does enjoys spending time with friends and listening to music. He comes from a lower middle class family where he lives with his father. He plans on joining the military or working construction upon graduation. 

What are the student’s individual ed. goals? Reading, writing & subject levels?

Jacob needs to improve his reading and language arts skills. He needs to pass the CAHSEE in order to graduate and has been caught cheating on that portion of the test on previous attempts. Since his reading level is so low, he needs the most practice in that area.

Differentiation Strategies (Based on each student’s developmental needs (readiness, interests and learning profile) what can you do to differentiate each student’s:

Content: Jacob is a visual and hands on learner. He needs material presented in a clear and logical order with explicit directions and expectations, and the lesson should be broken down into smaller mini lessons so he can avoid frustration with long tasks. Any time content can be presented in a way that he can build or arrange material or content he will grasp more information. (Learning profile/readiness)

Process: Jacob works best in partners or triads. Partners must be willing to work at a pace that is comfortable and for him or he will give up easily if he considered the work to be too difficult for him. Groups can help him with difficult reading assignments so he has equal access to the material. (Readiness)

Product: Oral examinations or group presentations are better assessment choices for this student. (Readiness)

Affect: Jacob needs to be encouraged to stay on task by quickly answering questions or by making sure the expectations are clear or he will become frustrated and quit. He will need motivation and rewards once goals are reached. (Learning profile)

Learning Environment: Small groups where Jacob can verbally discuss content with other students will help him understand new content and give him a chance to work with others to improve his language arts skills. (Learning profile)

Next Steps: Jacob needs to continue to work towards improving his reading skills. All assignments should include limited reading with more difficult content being approached in groups. His behavior should also be monitored to help Jacob relieve frustration and anger in health ways, this may include counseling or discussion his issues with the teacher.  

Gifted Student

 Name: Lily

Content: Since Lily is a kinesthetic learner, she learns best when there are hands-on student centered activities as well as constant student engagement. During the lessons, I will plan some activities that are hands-on, for example, building things, drawing things and partner and/or group work. This will keep her focused on the work that needs to be done as well as keep her engaged.

Process: Lily works well in small groups. She is able to keep her entire group focused and ensures that all her group members understand the lesson and help clarify any parts of the lesson that were confusing. Having small group work will allow her to communicate and help others, so she won't be bored during that time.

Product: Lily is very detail-oriented. She makes sure that all the work she turns in is complete and neat.

Affect: Lily sometimes likes to be in charge and sometimes it goes to her head. She will become bossy and try to tell everyone in her group what to do and how to do it. When I notice this, I will go over to her and quietly remind her that she needs to calm down and work with her group to get things done.

Learning Environment: Lily gets along well with everyone. She is very popular among her peers. The best way she learns is if there is a little bit of noise in the classroom. During group work and individual work, I will play music that will help her and the rest of the class to get their creativity flowing.