The students in this kindergarten class are an extremely diverse mix, not just ethnically, but educationally. They all have individual needs outside of the needs of a whole class. This class has one student was just classified with multiple disabilities, two ESL students, and a mix of students who need support in different fields throughout the day.
The student with multiple disabilities was classified in the middle of the year. Instead of changing his classroom, he was assigned a paraprofessional to help him throughout the day and remains in normal instruction. This student requires extra attention to stay on task no matter what the class is working on. The teacher and para provide reminders to redirect his attention. The para also pulls him aside for one-on-one lessons where she reinforces concepts taught in class, or spends extra time working on sight words. He is also prone to emotional extremes: when he is upset, he is inconsolable, and when he is excited he jumps around and dances. This students educational and emotional needs are met by all teachers and paras in the room.
There are two English language learners, one whose first language is Chinese, the other Spanish. These two students receive speech therapy twice a day and are out of the classroom for thirty minutes at a time. When the students return, the teacher always makes sure they catch up on any work they may have missed while they were out. When group work is assigned, these two students tend to flock to each other. However, the teacher does try to split them up so they are able to interact with other students and practice language use with their peers. She also provides additional support for directions, such as modeling and picture ques.
Some students require extra help with math or writing. The teacher and class para make sure they take extra time with these students during the appropriate times. One student in particular requires a lot of educational support; she has a hard time remaining focused on a task. For example, when doing addition, she understands the concept, but would prefer to continue counting instead of completing the task correctly. The teacher always makes sure she reminds the student to focus on the task at hand and then allows her to write her numbers as high as possible on the back, so she is still able to count.
Another boy has a speech impediment and is very emotional. He tends to be very quiet, shy, and reserved. If another student upsets him, or if he gets in trouble for something, he immediately breaks down into tears and cannot express how he feels. The teacher has noticed that it has become a technique he uses to get out of trouble or get his way. She has had to learn to identify when the student needs support and when he is using crying to his advantage.
This is absolutely a mix of students I can expect in a future classroom. I need to learn how to balance my time with each student as my cooperating teacher has.
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