Case Study

In the case of Lupita, she may be classified as an ESL student with limited formal schooling (Freeman & Freeman article), meaning she is behind her other classmates in their academic ability because she did not have the same amount of formal schooling. From the case study, it seems like Lupita does not have confidence speaking English, which results in her being shy or not comfortable speaking with others. If the school has an ESL program, I think it would be helpful to recommend her for that program to get one on one instruction in learning English. If the school does not have an ESL program, I would try to do some more group work where the students have to talk and work together to figure out a particular task. This might help Lupita feel more comfortable talking because she will be in a smaller group rather than the whole class. Also, the other students might be able to help her with her English just from the interactions. Because she felt comfortable helping the other students with the puzzle, it seems like she wants to interact with students but does not have the confidence. She is obviously smart because she finished the puzzle before anyone else, she just might need some more quality interaction time with the other students. Group work could definitely solve this problem, and help the other students in the class as well.

Jonathon is a student who is well below reading level, and he might be embarrassed about it because he refuses to ask for help. It might be helpful to construct some reading groups and work with them one on one. In my placement, the teacher put students at similar reading levels together and calls the groups up to his table one at a time during independent work time. There might be some other students in the class who are close to Jonathon's reading level, so if they read together they might be able to help each other. I would start off in these reading groups with really simple texts and have them read the stories more than once in a row. This repetition will help with their fluency and they will begin to recognize certain words. My mentor teacher told me that this really helps his students who are below reading level.

It seems almost obvious that Eddie has a form of ADD or ADHD because he is unable to focus or sit still at times. I do not think he fidgets and does not pay attention because he is bored, because even if he is interested in something he still can not pay attention, like with the frog/tadpole lesson. It might be worth getting him checked out medically for those disorders because the doctor might be able to put him on medication that will help him focus. If the parents or teacher do not want to take him to a doctor, I think the most appropriate thing for the teacher to do would be to do more engaging activities that get the kids up and moving around. The teacher could do this by singing songs and dancing, or even something simpler like doing centers where the kids are required to switch stations every 5 minutes. This will not only help Eddie but also get the other kids up so they are not bored as well.

Learning Through Literature

In the past couple of weeks in TE 402, we have been learning about how to use literature for learning purposes. I actually got to observe a lesson (involving the whole class!!) where literature was used to teach the students about animal habitats. Learning about habitats would be considered a science lesson, but my mentor teacher did a GREAT job with incorporating literature.

First the MSU volunteer read the students a book in which they were exposed to many different animals and where they live.

Then, after the story was finished, my mentor teacher asked the students about what they knew about habitats. And then he asked them what they wanted to know!

I was amazed by how much they learned just from listening to the book being read. By the end of the lesson, both sides of the chart were filled up completely! Everybody had really interesting ideas to add. These kids surprise me everyday! I wish I would have gotten a picture of the end result!