Blog Entry #6

The areas of diversity that I see in the classroom where I am doing my service learning are linguistic diversity and special needs diversity. 

I see Mrs. Porritt deal with many students that speak Spanish exclusively at home. She has her classroom library grouped into English and Spanish books. This creates the ability for her students to read their books at home with their parents. After the instruction is given to the class she will put the students to work and then meet with her Spanish-speaking students in a small group. She then gives them very simplified instructions in English and answers any questions that they have before they proceed with the assignment or activity.  

The students with special needs also receive differentiating instruction. She has created a daily schedule that runs as much the same as possible. She told me that this helps her students with anxiety and emotional issues to feel secure. She has printed signage all over the classroom explaining the fundamentals of English and Math to help remind students if they are frustrated. I have seen her provide choices many times to all the students. They have three or four options for ways the assignment can be completed. This helps the students that learn in different ways to choose the way they feel most comfortable and confident doing. The more advanced students are given a chance to complete additional learning tasks to keep them occupied while the students that need extra time complete their assignments. 

I have watched her use ongoing assessment with every activity. She guides those that need help and those that have mastered the concept as she does this. 

Mrs. Porritt uses flexible grouping in every subject she teaches. I have noticed this works well for students that feel very confident in one subject but may struggle in another.