FEAP 2d (Respects students’ cultural linguistic and family background).
During the creative arts rotation, students were given an activity that asked the students to think of their plans for the future. While the younger children drew pictures of their future professions, older students acknowledged their dreams for the future. They were given three cut-out clouds where they wrote their dreams for themselves, their community and the world. "Effective strategies for learning about students lives outside school include conducting home visits, creating opportunities in the classroom for students to discuss their aspirations for the future, posing problems for students to solve and noting how each student goes about solving them, and talking with parents and other community members." (Lucas & Villegas, 2007, p.31). I believe this activity correlates with the quote stated above because we were able to learn about the student's perspective of the world that they live in, their priorities and what truly matters to them. We allowed them to express themselves freely without giving our opinions or any type of influence. Their aspirations for the future differed and our reading helped us realized that this is an result of a student's upbringing, their culture and what they are exposed to.
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FEAP 3h (Differentiate instruction based on an assessment of student learning needs and recognition of individual differences in students) During the read aloud rotation, we read three different books based on the grade level. We were well aware that pieces of literature that first graders may find pleasurable would not be suitable for fourth and fifth graders based on their age and interests. To create equity, we incorporated what Gorski describes as one of the classroom strategies for educational equity: promote literacy enjoyment. Rather than reading the story aloud and having students answer multiple choice questions, we engaged in a reading response in which they did not even have to pick up a pencil if they didn't want. We read Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar and did not show them the picture of the butterfly at the end. Instead we asked them to draw us a picture of what they thought the butterfly would look like by using pieces of construction paper and crayons. Often time students are not motivated to read, inside the classroom as well as outside. It is imperative that we as teachers show them that how important reading is by providing a wide variety of texts from them to choose from and approaching the subject in other ways other than traditional. An activity that was implemented to get to know the students a bit more during the second week of the interning was entitled, "Figure Me Out". Students expressed details about themselves by writing mathematical expressions rather than typical numbers. For example, rather than writing 6 for their age, they could write 3 x 2. The activity was a bit of a challenge for the younger students but with the help of Mrs.Dykes and I along with the Host instructors, it went well. It required them to think independently rather than being give the equations. We modified the activity for the kindergarten students by allowing them to represent the numbers by drawing pictures of items. They drew rainbows, hearts, circles and other things! Gorski mentions that we should express high expectations for all students. So although they were not expected to write equations, they were expected to draw the correct amount of pictures to represent numbers. FEAP 2h (Adapts the learning environment to accommodate the differing needs and diversity of students) We implemented equity during out outside activity when choosing teams for the relay race. The goal was for students to not feel as though all of the "athletic" or "favorite" students were being selected to be on the same team so my partner and I decided to divide the students by counting off in intervals of two while they were standing in line. All of the students who were counted as one followed Mrs.Dykes while students who were counted as two followed me. According to the Gorski article, "The lack of recreational facilities and green space in poor communities, costs associated with recreational sports, and work and family obligations, often means that recess or P.E. is the only opportunity for low-income youth to exercise. " We found it necessary for all of the students to get the chance to participate in the activity at least one time. |