Blog Entry #5

     In my classroom there wasn't really that much need for differentiation to help cultural or racial differences. I talked with quite a few students over my time and found out that some didn't have English as their first language or the language that is spoke at home, but they were 6th graders so most of them were proficient or were here from a very young age. There was differentiation for learning styles and disabilities though.

    I've mentioned before in my past blogs that there is one student with autism. The teacher has separate assignments for him or only has him do certain parts of the assignments given to everyone. He is also given his relax time where he gets to color in order to get him focused for the next subject. Mrs. Hill really tries so hard to give him the time and material needed but from my perspective it looks very difficult; she has the other 20ish students to spend time on too. So I applaud her a lot for taking time out of her day to make sure the student has what he needs.

    I'm not sure if this is exactly what you are talking about for differentiation but my teacher also made sure to give directions in multiple ways and also gave options for assignments. She makes sure to have written instruction, verbal instruction, and visual instruction to insure that every student can understand in whatever way is best for them. She also gives them options to share in front of the class or to just talk to a partner. The students have to be able to vocalize their understanding, but Mrs. Hill understands that it can be very stressful for students to have to do that for a room of people. 

    From what I observed, Mrs. Hill does an amazing job at trying to make sure every students' needs are met and that they are all learning in whatever way she knows works for them.