Lupita has not had the exposure that most of her classmates have had. I think Mrs. Potter needs to provide Lupita with as many opportunities as possible. This might include calling on her in class, making lots of contact with her, recommending books or puzzles to her, having other students interact with her.. Because she is so shy this might be adding to her lack of academic skills. I think Mrs. Potter needs to try different things to make her more outgoing in the classroom and with other students. Lupita's lack of self confidence may also be another factor. To help this Mrs. Potter could comment on her successes and post her work in the classroom somewhere. Lupita's grandmother also needs to be aware of the situation. After talking with her Mrs. Potter may be informed about ways she can approach Lupita. Because she doesnt have many resources with her at home Mrs. Potter could also let her borrow books, puzzles, crayons and give her simple tasks to do at home.
Jonathan definitely needs more help with reading. I would explain to Mrs. Potter that she needs to dedicate a lot more time in class towards reading and writing. Each day Jonathan needs to get a chance to read a book so maybe Mrs. Potter can have DEAR time or silent reading time. Also, whenever Mrs. Potter is reading in front of the class or directions on a piece of paper she should point to each word while she’s reading and also have the entire class do this with her. Although it’s directed mainly towards Jonathan the class would be able to participate. I would also ask Mrs. Potter if she’s had any sort of communication with his parents recently. Sending home a note or a quick call home would inform his parents of his reading ability and she could give them some recommendations of ways they can help. Mrs. Potter could even start a weekly reading log that the students would take home every week. Each day they would have to read for an hour (or half hour) with their parent and then the parent could sign it.
I think Mrs. Potter needs to talk to Eddie’s parents because he might have ADD or ADHD. He represents many common characteristics of attention deficit such as getting out of his seat often, moving his arms and legs all the time, and in general not being able to sit still. This case seems similar to Marcus’s case because they’re both bright, talented students who just cannot stay focused in school. Because Eddie is in second grade now I feel as if this disorder should have been identified at an earlier time. If he had all the same characteristics in preschool and first grade the teachers should have acted on it then. The Breitfelder article recommends using visual support for ADD students within the classroom. Mrs. Potter can use this for directions, schedules, rules, etc. and it can also be used to decrease behaviors. Mrs. Potter may be more observant than the previous teachers and because she notices this daily she needs to talk to his parents as soon as possible.
In Lupita's case I definitely agree that exposure is the biggest thing holding her back in school. Even though Mrs. Potter stated that Lupita hasn't had much experience with puzzles, Lupita was able to successfully complete a puzzle that some of her classmates were not even able to do. This leads me to believe that Lupita is very intelligent and is probably at or above her grade level, but becuase of the language barrier, Mrs. Potter isn't realizing this. Courtney, I really like your idea of sending Lapita home with those items that she has not had much exposure to, but I also think she could benefit with extra English language instruction at home. If this language instruction could be somehow intertwined with the other experiences I think Lupita would benefit greatly.
ReplyDeleteWith Jonathan, I really think he would benefit from one on one help. Courtney, I think your ideas of how to incorporate help for him into times when the whole class is participating, but I am afraid that since this is the area where he is struggling the most, he will just sit back and pretend to understand while all of his classmates answer and participate. In class we talked about different things a teacher can do during centers, one of these things being to use the time to work with select students. Since Jonathan isn't getting much help out of tasks that include reading, during this time she can have the class either work independently or in groups while she works one on one with Jonathan.
I agree that Eddie should probably get checked for ADD or ADHD. Besides doing this, I think Mrs. Potter needs to try to different ways of making sure that Eddie can stay focused. Some of these things could be to provide him with extra visual supports, like Courtney has stated. By having things written down that would normally just be said during class would give Eddie something he could always look back to if he gets off track.
I believe that Lupita's lack of self-confidence is getting the best of her in this class, which I believe is partially due to her lack of English language skills. I think the teacher needs to either personally tutor her in English or find an older student, perhaps someone from the high school, to tutor her. This will help with the language barrier and build her self-confidence when it comes to interacting with the other students. I really liked your idea about sending toys home with Lupita so that she can play with them there. This will help her get more acquainted with other items that her classmates are interested in, which in the long run will also bring her closer to them. I also really liked your idea about hanging up her work around the classroom. This will be a huge morale booster, something Lupita needs desperately.
ReplyDeleteReading is definitely something Jonathan struggles with. Although you give great ideas on how to get him to read more, which will help him practice, he first needs to learn how to read. Maybe he can't read his sight words yet or perhaps he doesn't know where to start when he opens a book or reads a test. The teacher needs to spend some quality one-on-one time with him and figure out just exactly what he needs help with when it comes to reading. From there the teacher can begin to teach him how to read, go over sight words with him, etc. I also believe that he will need a huge moral booster as well. Maybe start him off on easy to read books that he can actually read, showing him that he can in fact read. Then slowly increase his reading level. This will build his self-confidence when it comes to reading. I also think you are absolutely right; his parents or guardians need to be involved in this. Teachers can only do so much for a child and parents need to help their children succeed. Informing them that their child is having difficulties reading may be new news to them, and perhaps they will be willing to help out at him with as much as they can.
Although Eddie could in fact have ADD or ADHD, I don't think teachers should automatically run to identifying and labeling their students. Maybe Eddie needs more time to run outside and get energy out, maybe his parents don't let him play outside or have him involved in a sport to get some of that energy out. When I was in 2nd grade my teachers wanted me put on medication for ADD and my mom wouldn't let them diagnose me. She instead put me in soccer and I was fine. I just needed an outlet to get all of my energy out. Teachers need to recognize this and incorporate movement activities in their lessons to help students like Eddie excel in the classroom.
Courtney, I think you suggestions about how to get Lupita out of her shell are great and could really help her excel in the classroom. Hanging her work around the room will help raise her confidence and in turn may lead to her speaking out in class more, and allowing her to take toys/games home will allow her to relate easier with her peers. Like you touched on, I believe Lupita’s lack of exposure is the core reason for her having difficulties in the classroom and this exposure takes a toll on her self-confidence which can be linked to her insufficient English speaking skills. I believe it will be very helpful for Lupita to be tutored in English by either an outsider from the classroom or individual lessons from Mrs. Potter. Overall, I have noticed that even the littlest of gestures can mean the world to some students so giving comments and positive feedback might prove to be more beneficial than you think.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very important to always keep communication open between parents and teachers and to touch base once in a while to see how they are improving at home and also inform the parents of specific topics or areas they need to work on outside of the classroom. Courtney, I liked how you suggested that Mrs. Potter take action and reach out to Jonathon’s parents. As I was reading about Jonathon, I started to relate his tendencies to other cases I’ve read about in the past and it dawned on me that he might not be up to speed on his reading and writing skills as his peers are. If this was true, Jonathon would pull back from class discussions and disconnect himself when it came time to read/write. I believe Mrs. Potter needs to go over/review his site words and take little steps in getting him to where he needs to be; these little steps won’t make him feel overwhelmed which usually leads to shutting down, but instead give him confidence along the way.
I agree with Courtney that Mrs. Potter should provide different techniques/methods when it comes to teaching and this includes visual support for Eddie who may or may not have ADD or ADHD. Although I don’t want to jump to conclusions, and I don’t think medication should be administered until all other options have been ruled out, but Eddie does seem to be showing signs of either ADD or ADHD. Some easy alternatives Mrs. Potter can do to modify her lessons, is to get the students out of their seats and have them move around; getting the kids to move and even changing up their environment/scenery a little bit could really help Eddie and his apparent high energy and could even help the other students regroup and refocus.