English Language LearnerName: 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. |
Special Needs StudentName: 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. |
Gifted StudentName: Megan
Level: Gifted Student Information: Megan is a sophomore at Mount Carmel High School. She is on the soccer team and enjoys every minute of it. She is a straight A student. She is an active participant in MCHS's community service club. She enjoys reaching out to her school and local community. She is a kinesthetic learner so she must be constantly doing something in the class either taking notes, building things and/or participating in class discussions. She is very close with her family and has close ties to her intermediate family, who are also living in the United States. Her family is in the lower-middle class SES and so she does not need free reduced lunches. What are the student’s individual ed. goals? Reading, writing & subject levels? Megan wants to become valedictorian of her class. After she graduates from high school, she wants to go to a distinguished college and major in pre-med and eventually become a doctor. She knows that it is going to be a hard road because she is only a sophomore and she still has along way to go. She is at the top in all her classes, including reading and writing. She has made the honor roll and the national honors society. She is always willing to improve her academic ability in all her classes. Differentiation Strategies (Based on each student’s developmental needs (readiness, interests and learning profile) what can you do to differentiate each student’s: Content: Since Megan 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: Megan 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: Megan is very detail-oriented. She makes sure that all the work she turns in is complete and neat. Affect: Megan 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: Megan 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. Assessment Strategies: An assessment strategy I would use for Megan is a group rubric and have each member in the group evaluate each other in their work ethic. By collecting these evaluations, I can look at them and determine how I should group the class and where I should place Megan. Next Steps: I would try to encourage Megan to support others in her group. I would ask her to help another student in the class who is not doing well. By doing this, that student will listen better and learn more when it is coming from a peer, rather than an adult or teacher. |
General Population @MCHSMany of the students are in honors classes. The students seem to be very interested in real-world issues, and are excited about the environmental project at MCHS. They are not familiar with integrated formats and are used to having their different subjects separate. There is a wide variety of learning styles, including visual, auditory and kinesthetic. They are fairly technology literate and are excited to use technology to express their ideas and achievements on this project. |