different groups. One of the stations was at a table that she was
teaching, where she would have the children read aloud, spell words on
white boards, and sound out words. In the other stations, the children
had different word cards and were spelling them out with play-dough or
fun markers. Each student had their own set of words on notecards,
which they had to spell out and practice. These words differed for each
student, and met their reading or spelling level so each student was
challenged and had words at their level. Another teaching strategy that
focused on learner differences was how she had all of the children sit in
a circle and picked a childs name out of a bucket of popsicle sticks,
then she had that child come up to the smart board and write the date,
do a math problem, or move circles to represent the date, time, or
days theyve been in school. When she chose a childs name, she
decided which task she would challenge them with. This is an excellent
way to challenge each student without making it obvious that she is
trying to change things up for each students ability level.
The various teaching strategies that the teacher incorporated
allowed each student to practice words and phrases that were at their
own skill level so they were not unchallenged or overly challenged.
Each student was able to work at his or her own pace and ask the
teacher if they needed help with reading a phrase or spelling a word.
There are a couple students who are at a fifth grade reading and
spelling level who need special attention in order to challenge them
and provide them with more difficult spelling words and books. There
are also some children who are struggling with spelling and reading
who need extra attention during their group time to help complete
their work. In my future teaching, I will be sure to incorporate stations
and opportunities to work with each child individually so I can
understand and work with their differences and incorporate their
cultural diversity into how I approach teaching them. I will ensure that I
am giving each student equal attention and providing them with
material that will always challenge them. I believe that this observation
has helped develop me as a teacher because I have seen and
experienced exactly how to go about tending to each students
differences and learning techniques. Although I already knew that each
student learns differently, uses their knowledge in different ways, and
incorporates their culture in unique ways, it has definitely helped me to
experience it first hand and see a teacher really work to structure a
lesson to each student that challenges them equally.