Every student brings to the classroom a unique set of background knowledge and experiences.

This creates an exciting learning environment because we are able to grow and learn from one another. Some students may require modification and adaptations to support their unique learning style. Modification and adaptations have two different purposes and should be used correctly to support students needs. Adaptations are adjustments that need to be made so the student can achieve the educational standards. While modifications are major adjustments to content or process, whereby the student may require different learning targets. Throughout my unit of study, I took into consideration the different development needs of the distinct students in my classroom. Special Educational Students: In this classroom of thirty-three students none of our students are on an IEP. If I did have students on an IEP it would acquire me to give them extra attention due to their specific learning needs. Some students require behavior plans, need to spend time in Learner Resource Center (LRC), or visit a speech pathologist. When any of these things occur it is the job of the teacher to work with the student, parent, and administrators to collect data and create a plan for learning that will help them succeed. For example if a student in our classroom was on an IEP because they were identified as having a learning disability in which they qualify for LRC support. I would be in constant communication with Mrs. Green (LRC coach) to support

Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014

Page 13

our efforts in helping the student develop to reach grade level requirements and beyond. English Language Learners: Students who are learning English as a second language can struggle in school if they are not provided with the right form of supports. When content is not relatable or is moving faster then they can keep up with they disengage or feel lost. In my classroom, there are six English language learners (ELL). Their leveled development of language acquisition is vast. We have two students in transition, two advanced students (level five), two students who were intermediate (level three), and two beginners (level one). The type of support the ELL students need in the classroom was through adaptations. These students required visuals, sentence frames, vocabulary front-loading, and scaffold instruction. For each lesson plan that was developed I prepared it using the Gradual Release Model. Which scaffolds learning through I do, we do, you do. I found this beneficial for all students, especially the ELL students who were unfamiliar with certain concepts and difficult or new words we were using during the geometry unit. To support the ELL students I front-loaded vocabulary before starting the unit during calendar each day (Figure 2.1). A new shape was introduced and I provided sentence frames to enhance their understanding of the shapes. I also utilized visuals throughout the unit. We created a classroom interactive board (Figure 2.2). After learning about our shape of the day, we worked as a class to find it on our board, label it, and label the number of sides and corners. When creating independent work activity sheets I always wrote the shape and paired it with a picture Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014 Page 14

of the shape. First grade students are still developing their communicative skills in their L1, this includes ELL and non-ELL students. I noticed that all students do not hear the name of shapes on a regular basis. I needed to support all of my students through visuals throughout the unit, for incorporating sentence frames, and creating opportunities for collaboration. By asking the students to turn and talk with the support of sentence frames students were able to hear their peers use the academic language of the geometric shapes. An important aspect of learning a new concept for ELL students is authentic and real application. I believe opportunities to collaborate about the shapes around our classroom in our books was one way I made the shapes real and authentic. One resource we specifically had in our classroom was a Bilingual IAInstructional Assistant, Mrs. G. She comes to our classroom every day for forty-five minutes and words with our ELL students on vocabulary, fluency, writing, and math concepts depending on what the students need. Twice throughout this unit Mrs. G worked with our ELL students on finding and labeling the sides and corners of shapes. Sometimes the students just need additional time to sort through concepts or need additional practice time to become familiar with the concept. Two of the ELL students are at the beginning stages of English language acquisition; they needed to be given additional support. They are both very shy and did not like to ask questions or communicate in front of the whole class. I supported these students by working with them more closely during independent work time. During this time I would check in with them and see if they had any additional questions as well as Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014 Page 15

check for understanding. Most independent work time that was given, students were allowed to work with a partner. When working with a partner they were able to communicate their thoughts and develop a deeper understanding by talking to someone they could relate to. Working in partners is less threatening then communicating in front of the whole class. Group work, visuals, and scaffolding are three forms of adaptations that I believe are beneficial to ELL students. However I think each student needs different levels of support. It is important to get to know each of my students and observe them working to determine what type of adaptations they need to be supported in their learning. Calendar/Sentence Frames Figure 2.1

Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014

Page 16

Classroom Interactive Bulletin Board Figure 2.2

Culturally Diverse: Everyone in a classroom is culturally diverse! We all come from a different culture because each family unit develops a culture of their own. When we all bring different experiences and opinions we are able to learn so much from one another. I believe each student brings a different cultural perspective based off of their family unit and where they are originally from. We had one student from Russia, two from Mexico, and one student from Iran. A student who comes from a different country has a very different culture then the students who are from The United States. These

Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014

Page 17

students brought with them a unique culture that we all could learn from in our classroom. I believe the best way to included the cultural diversity of students is to allow them to communicate and share their ideas. This is why I allowed students to work in partners and most of my instruction was built off of collaboration. Behavioral Challenged: There were two student who had behavioral issues that needed to be taken into consideration when planning and implementing lessons. These students need to be monitored and given direct instruction of expectations each day. These students struggled to work with others and had a hard time sitting on the carpet close to other students. While on the carpet they poked, talked, or made fun of other students. I took this into consideration when planning carpet instruction by intentionally calling certain groups down to the carpet and asking that as each group is called down they sit as close to me as they can. This would give me proximity and diminish behavior problems because I could intentionally place my behavior problem students close to me and away from other students who would antagonize them. It is very important to note that students with behavior problems still need to be exposed to the content and kept in the classroom as much as possible. In extreme cases a student may need to take a break out into the hallway, or may require an IEP behavior plan. Through communication with the student, their parents, and observation I believe we can learn so much and work with the student to create a system and environment where they can be successful.

Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014

Page 18

Talented and Gifted Students (TAG): In this third grade classroom we had zero TAG students during my unit plan. TAG students are students who are considered to be one of three things: intellectually gifted, academically talented in math, or academically talented in reading. Students who are talented and gifted need to be challenged and given opportunities to show their creativity. If not given these opportunities they can become disengaged or a disruption to the classroom. Throughout my ten-day unit three students were tested for TAG. One student was determined to be in the ninety-nine percentile of all first grade intelligences. His score was not determined until half way through my unit, and his mom did not sign and return the approved form to begin a TAG plan until a week after my unit. However, I still took into considerations the type of differentiated instruction I needed to consider so I could challenge him above his level of proximal development. The two other students were not labeled as TAG after testing. These boys are still very intelligent and I needed to plan on challenging them throughout my unit. One form of differentiated instruction I implemented in my lesson was creativity. The students were asked to take an ordinary shape a triangle and a square and create something magnificent out of them. This allowed for a lot of creativity and imagination. I also asked the students to write about what they created. The students who needed to be challenged more were asked what other shapes they used to change the triangle into a monster or a piece of pizza. Additionally I created math groups based off students pre-assessment scores. One group of students needed additional rigor added to the unit. To increase the rigor during Guided Group we began to discuss symmetry Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014 Page 19

and how to determine if a shape is symmetrical. This way throughout the unit, I could take each thing we were learning and place it above their zone of proximal development by asking them if it was symmetrical. I believe the best way to challenge and encourage TAG students is to create activities that allow for them to be creative. It is also important to get to know TAG students and observe them. If they always finish twenty minutes before the rest of the group they are not being challenged. This can be negative if they become a distraction to the rest of the class. Some TAG students may require modifications, which will change how you plan and implement lessons. Low Social Economic Students: Students who are considered to have low social economic status (SES) take special attention because they typically are not given as much at home support and are not able to provide extra materials for assigned projects. Students who have low SES are not labeled as having low SES, and teachers do not have access to this information at Battle Creek. The best way to identify students who may have lower SES is through observation or by looking at the overall schools free and reduced lunch statistics. Forty-four percent of students at Battle Creek are on either free or reduced lunch. This is about a third of each classroom. When planning and implementing this unit I decided from the beginning that I would not be requiring students to bring things from home to complete a project. This was due in part to the fact that I did not have extra material or resources that I could give to students who are not able to gain supplies for a project at home. In the future if I do ask students to

Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014

Page 20

create something from home I will always make sure to have extra supplies of my own that I could send home with students. In my classroom, it was apparent that a few students did not have much. We are in February, it is very chilly outside, and one student consistently came to school in a pair of shorts, while a few other students had torn up jackets with holes in them. Besides be cognizant of their situation I made sure to be aware if they were ever made fun of by their peers. We were fortunate enough to have a great community built in our classroom. Students were accepting of one anothers backgrounds and worked magnificently together.

Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014

Page 21