Field Reponse Journal

Question #5:

Look for examples of inclusion in the classroom. Are there children with special needs that the teacher is accommodation? If so, what special needs do these children have and how are they being addressed? Do you believe the accommodations are appropriate and adequate? Explain.

The majority of the students in the class had IEP and 504s. Most of the students had ADD and other learning disabilities. Because of this there was a lot that the teacher had to do to accommodate these students. He would talk slower and spend more time on topics. He would also make sure that the students all understood the vocabulary. The tests that he would make up would be shorter then the tests for other classes. He would also spend time with the students going over what they missed on the tests and why they missed what they did. Then he would allow the students to fix the mistakes that they made and then turn the test back in and get some extra points. For the learning disabilities that were present. I think that the accommodations were appropriate and adequate because the teacher, in a way forced the students to take responsibility for what they know and what they simply aren't trying to fix.



Question #6:

Look for cultural differences in the classroom. Describe the areas of diversity and explain what is being done to help these students feel accepted and be successful in school. Make connections to suggestions in the textbook.

There were definite cultural differences in the classroom. There were a group of Hispanic children that would typically sit together on the right side of the classroom. They would often speak Spanish to each other. The teacher was both the History teacher and the Spanish teacher so that is my why many of the Spanish speakers were put in his classroom that why if there was something that the students don't understand the teacher could explain it in Spanish. The good thing about having so many with similar cultures in the same classroom is that there was a sense of comfort for the students. I think that if there was only one or two Spanish speaker the students may be less likely to participate so to not having that necessary comfort level. They would often chose to be in the same groups when asked to get into small groups for activities.