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Diversity within a classroom
How to implement diversity in the school curriculum
How to implement diversity in the school curriculum
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I am currently student teaching in a first grade classroom in a public school. The public school is located in an urban neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. The school is located near the up-and-coming Atlantic Ave/Barclay’s Center area in the Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill neighborhood in Downtown Brooklyn. It is a neighborhood school with grades ranging from Pre-K through 5th grade. The school is spacious light blue building, surrounded by trees and townhouses. There is large playground with climbing equipment, which allows for outdoor recess and gym activities. Preschoolers also take walks to local parks for special recesses with their teachers, support staff ad school security in tow. The school is a testing location for the citywide test for the gifted program, and consequently offers scholar classes for students in who meet the criteria for the Gifted & Talented Program (G&T). These classes are kept small, and usually averages around 16 students per class or less. This year, the classes are larger than normal. My student teaching class has 19 students. These students are sometimes grouped together for special events, and the school even divides these students up for book clubs to encourage the development of literacy skills. The school also offers a wide range of clubs, after school activities and …show more content…
unique prep classes. The school offers ballroom dancing lessons to their fifth graders, yoga classes and music classes for guitar and drum lessons. The building has a block room for students to practice their fine motor schools, and express their creativity, as well as a Lego room for students to explore math concepts. The building also has a science room, which is use during Science Prep, as well as an art studio used during Art Prep. Students create beautiful work with their full-time art teacher, and their work is often hung around the school building and/or stairwells. Most parents try to get their children in this school due to the wide variety of enrichment programs. From 2:30-4:30PM students can attend art, violin, cooking, percussions and/or Spanish classes. The school also offers music and movement activities, playground activities, and a Lego activity called “Legomaniacs”. The school also hosts day and overnight trips, such as their trip last spring to the Natural Museum of History, Disney World &, and camping/rock climbing. The school has started offering snowboarding as part of its enrichment program, which the students are excited about. Overall, I think the school does a great job providing a well-rounded variety of activities and programs for students. The school has a diverse school population. According to insideschools.org there are 504 students currently enrolled with an average daily attendance of 91%. The school is located in a diverse area, economically and culturally, and the student’s body reflects this. The student population consists of 13% Asian, 37% Black, 31% Hispanic, and 13% White students. 60% of the students qualify for free lunch; 17% of the students are diagnosed with special needs and 9% are English Language Le P.S. 38 offers self-contained classes for students with disabilities. In regards to state exams, according to Insideschools 0% of self-contained students scored a 3 or 4 on the state Math or ELA exam. The school offers SETSS classes (Special Education Teacher Support Services), and has just integrated it’s first team-teaching class 2 years ago. According to a parent survey done by Insideschools 99% of parents say that the school offers a wide variety of services and activities for students with disabilities; 99% say they students with disabilities are included in school activities; and 86% say their children are placed in the least restrictive environments. In regards to academics, according to the Insideschools website 89% of teachers say that the school does a good job of teaching social, organizational and study skills to students. The site also states that 92%of teachers say that the school does a good job of keeping students engaged through activities, programs and classes. In regards to state exams 40% of 3rd, 4th and 5th the graders scored 3 or 4 on the state math exam; 29% of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders scored a 3 or 4 on the ELA exam (Insideschools.org); and 87% of students scored a 3 or 4 on the Science State exam. According to Insideschools the students at P.S. 38 is performing near the citywide average. In regards to ELL’s, the school does not offer transitional bilingual education or bilingual classes.
According to Insideschools, 89% of teachers say ELL’s receive adequate support while studying the same curriculum as non-ELL’s. As stated on the school website, the school took in an overflow from schools in Sunset Park and the District, which brought in a large Mandarin-speaking population. Prior to this there was always a large Spanish & Arabic speaking population who live in the school zone. Therefore, the school has incorporated an ESL room where ESL students get instructed for a part of the day. For students’ learning English, part of their day is spent in the ESL
room. The school offers self-contained classes for students with disabilities. In regards to state exams, according to Insideschools 0% of self-contained students scored a 3 or 4 on the state Math or ELA exam. The school offers SETSS classes (Special Education Teacher Support Services), and has just integrated its first team-teaching class 2 years ago. According to a parent survey done by Insideschools 99% of parents say that the school offers a wide variety of services and activities for students with disabilities; 99% say they students with disabilities are included in school activities; and 86% say their children are placed in the least restrictive environments. The school uses the ReadyGEN literacy program developed by Pearson Education (2015) as their curriculum to teach grades K-6. The program uses a combination of authentic texts, vocabulary building activities, and different reading experiences to get students engaged and increase their reading stamina. ReadyGEN requires students to read closely, think deeply, and show what they know. The curriculum also comes with assessments for teachers to use to assess students work, as well as a “Scaffolding Handbook” to help students develop necessary literacy skills. The text is broken up by Unit themes with 12 accompanying short, nonfiction texts (Informational & Literary text). Overall, the ReadyGEN program provides students with the skills and tools needed to keep up with the amplified literacy expectations. The program also comes with a leveled text library for the classroom. The school day is broken up into 9 periods; 2 of these periods are usually designated for a “Writing” and/or “Reading” Workshop for uses to work on literacy development. During these workshops, there are read alouds, turn and talks, writing assignments, group discussions, focused independent reading, and close reading activities. Teachers assess students using running records and level text, in order to group students for literacy activities. This means these students will sit and read, and collaborate with these students during Reading Workshops. The school uses the GO Math! Curriculum school wide to teach math skills. This curriculum was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2015. The Go Math! Curriculum is an engaging and interactive program offered both digitally and in print; and teachers and students have access to both. Students are able to watch online videos, use virtual manipulatives, and have access to other digital tools & even a Personal Math Trainer. There is an accompanying Osmo Gaming System for iPads, which builds fluency in counting, addition, subtraction, and multiplication. In addition, there is a HMH Player app students can download, in order to access math content, assignments and then sync that work with the eStudent Edition. Through this app, students can also collaborate with their classmates, chat, and earn badges and rewards. In regards to additional, resources in the classroom I am conducting my fieldwork, there are whiteboards, computers, iPads and internet access for teachers and students to utilize. The teacher also uses math manipulatives, such as wood blocks and pattern blocks, to teach math concepts and/or have students demonstrate their understanding of new knowledge and skills. The class I am working with is a first grade gifted & talented class, with students ranging between 7 and 8 years old. There are 19 students in the class, 6 boys and 13 girls. There are no students in the class with IEPs or 504 plans, but there are struggling readers, reading well-below grade level. There are no students with special language needs.
Many school districts have problems placing ELL’s. As a result these students end up in special education whether they have a learning disability or language impairment. Teachers are also indecisive when dealing with ELL’s. Most teachers recommend that ELL’s be placed in special education from day one. It is not because the child has a learning disability, it’s because most teachers are not properly trained to interact with ELL’s.
There are several key ideas that are crucial to understanding the best way to teach young, ELL students. The first idea is the importance of recognizing ELL’s feelings of isolation and alienation. When a teacher recognizes this, they are more capable of helping the student feel a part of the class. The student will struggle to participate if they do not feel like they belong with the other students. There is not only a language barrier, but also sociocultural differences that prohibit them from feeling accepted. Tiffany emphasizes the importance of acknowledging this problem and being aware during classroom activities. She suggests that you get a deep understanding of their cultural background, not just a “touristy” one.
There are a lot of students being placed whose primary language is not English. Students walk into a mainstream classroom not being able to speak English. Students in this situation are call English Language Learners(ELLs). These students are not receiving appropriate language support to succeed in their language development which is causing them to not have the ability to acquire language.
I found it interesting that of the three ELL teachers interviewed, only one had a personal ELL experience. This teacher teaches at my middle school. She moved here from Poland when she was nine years old. She didn’t know any English besides basic words like colors and days of the week. This personal experience can help her immensely, because she understands the experience of her students and the students can relate to her. This teacher is the only one who is bilingual of the three I interviewed. Interestingly, it is also two of the three teachers first year teaching ELL. These two educators were aides in the program before this teaching job, and they both received their endorsements from the IRC. The other elementary teacher has been teaching ELL for twenty years, and has lots of experience.
Every year, the number of immigrants in the U.S. has grown “significantly.” Chen predicts that by the year of 2020, public schools will have at least 50 percent of students that are non-English speakers (¶5). This shows that it is important that public schools have a successful ESL program. The purpose of ESL programs is “to enhance” ESL students learning, to help students’ “emotional well-being”, and to accelerate students’ ability to learn the new language. According to Chen, some district schools have failed to support ESL students’ learning. For example, Chen stated that “...[some] school districts [have been] accused of not meeting t...
Despite the high number of ELL students, it is difficult to know, because of lack of data to see what type of educational programs they participate in. According to Prospects, a 1995 national survey, reading and math were taught in programs using bilingual education in less than half of first and third grade classrooms serving limited English proficient students. Offered more frequently were programs where instruction was offered only in English, or where instructional aides, not teachers, were the vehicles for native language instruction.
For this field assignment, I chose to observe a seventh grade self-contained math class at William A Morris I.S 61 on Staten Island. I am currently a substitute teacher at the school and has worked at this school for approximately two years. For the purpose of this observations, I worked with Mr. Karl Knutsen, a 6th and 7th grade math, special education and technology supervisor at the school. Mr. Knutsen has been a teacher for seven years and has worked in I.S 61 for five. He currently teaches all self-contained math classes and is the "tech guy" for the building, meaning he is the go-to guy for all SmartBoard or computer based questions and emergencies. I am currently observing and working with Mr. Knutsens first and second period 7th grade class, 717. This class has 12 students, 11 boys and 1 girl, ranging in ages 13-14. Each student has an IEP for varying
Originally, I had learned about the mentor position offered by Americoprs through one of my Education classes at Marshall University. I was intrigued by Americoprs’ purpose to serve as a program to meet community needs since I have found compassion through serving others myself. As both a member of a community in West Virginia and a secondary science education major, I am aware of what my community lacks in through both living in a low income county and clinical based observation as well as tutoring in the public schools within Cabell County. Students at these schools are often in need of resources, access to better education, and nutritional assistance more so than their peers due to social and economic status.
[The school where I teach is the only high school within a city school district that is located within the confines of a larger metropolitan area. The school receives Title 1 funding, with 56 % of the students being eligible for free or reduced lunches. This high school offers a variety of degree programs and coursework, such as, advanced placement coursework and exams, international baccalaureate and culinary arts certification, technical and college prep diplomas, one of the largest Air Force ROTC programs in the area, and alternative programs through which students have the ability to earn credit for the courses that they had previously failed. This school is very diverse, of the 2,291 students 46.0% are African American, 30.0% are Hispanic, 18.0% are White, 3.0% are Multiracial, and 2.0% are Asian. The area surrounding the school is just as diverse as the students that attend the school. A majority of the homes within this school district are single-family homes and can range from small-scale mansions to unmaintained older homes. There are also a large number of apartment complexes and condos in the area as well. A portion of the student population comes from outside of the district in order to participate in the high school’s international baccal...
For the lead teacher interview assignment, I had the opportunity to sit down with and interview my son’s EC teacher from last year, Mrs. Hamm. Since my son started at the school last year, Mrs. Hamm has helped him in so many different ways. Mrs. Hamm has been teaching for over 20 years from her home state of Pennsylvania and more currently at Mount Energy Elementary School in Creedmoor, NC. Mrs. Hamm has been teaching at Mount Energy Elementary School in Creedmoor, NC for the last 12 years and recently awarded “Teacher of the Year”. Mrs. Hamm, up until this school year, was the main EC teacher for all grades Kindergarten through fifth grade at Mount Energy Elementary School. As of the present school year, the school district made the determination that she was over the acceptable number of students. As a result, they decided to hire an additional EC teacher and assistant to teach grades 3-5th and Mrs. Hamm would teach grades K-2. Mrs. Hamm was the teacher of 18 students until this decision was made, now with grades K-2, she has 9 students in her class.
The school that I visited was new. It was the first year of the school opening. The school board had combined two schools into one, so the students had to adjust to their new environments and new individuals. They seemed to be getting along well with each other. Since the school is new the teacher has to adjust to new problems that araise. Times for the subjects and times for using the computer labs change. So the teacher must always be fixable for anything. In this observation of this classroom I learned about the enjoyment of teaching. How you have to adapt to each of the students.
I attended a second grade class at Smallville Elementary on February 22, 2014; the class began promptly at 0855. There are 26 children in this second grade class. There are 15 male students and 11 female students. The student diversity is 2 Hispanics, 1 African-American, 1 East Indian, and 1 New Zealander (White but with an extreme accent). Three children were left-handed.
The students that I observed in the classroom were of middle to high school. I went to see 8th, freshman, 10th , and seniors classes, they seemed excited and very curious to why I was there. The middle school was more alive and rambunctious while I observed them. The High school kids were more relaxed, more comical. Some were paying attention while others seemed tuned out to the lecture or involved in socialization with friends within the class. By the end of the class Mr. Hasgil had restored the attention of everyone by using tactics such as history jeopardy with candy as the prize with the high school kids. In both he middle school and high school the kids were mostly Caucasian with a mixture of black, Asian , and Hispanic in the classes.
Through classroom observation I was exposed to the different methods of teaching a lesson. The methods of teaching depends on how will the teacher execute the lesson well. I learned that modern learners today needs both modern and traditional way of teaching as for them to fully learned the lesson in a meaningful way.
For my observation experience I went to Southern High School in Harwood, MD. Southern High School has a special education department for the students with disabilities. The teacher that I met with for this classroom observation was Ms. West. In the classroom there were at least four assistant teachers that helped Ms. West throughout the school day. The assistant teachers helped Ms. West co- teach the class and were there to help the students if they needed extra help. The school also has a couple of student aides that come in to help the teachers and the students in the classroom. There were at least twelve students in the classroom. The students in the class had many different exceptionalities such as learning disabilities, Down syndrome,