Observations

=Observations= I have observed these students over the course of four weeks. The following are some specific things I have noticed about each student.

__Student A__ Strengths: Hard worker, pleasant disposition, gets along with classmates Weaknesses: Misses a lot school, seems to lack social skills

During gen.ed. classes student A is focused about 70% of the time, she often loses focus when the large group lessons have gone on for a longer period of time. She has difficulty participating in partner/ small group activities; when asked to share or talk with a neighbor she often sits silent. Doing work independently can also be difficult. During math, the assignments are generally above her level and she does not understand how to complete them. During writing she often gets stuck and sits for long periods without doing any work. She rarely raises her hand to ask for help. However, on more structured, shorter, reading and writing assignments she can often do some of the work, and fill in some of the answers independently. During whole group she will raise her hand to answer open-ended questions and will participate by giving a thumbs up or number on her finger. During PE and recess she runs around and plays with her classmates. She follows instructions well. During Art she is also very attentive to the teacher and participates in the class activities. In ELD class she offers to demonstrate what she did with a partner (introductions) in front of the entire class. She participates well and seems enthusiastic about the interactions in this class. In general, student A is shy, but usually willing to speak in front of her classmates; she has more difficulty speaking directly to them. She accepts help, however has a difficult time asking for it, and worries about her classmates noticing if she receives any additional help. She recognizes that she is below the level of the expectation of the class, and wants to improve, however doesn't seem to know how to. When she does understand, it still takes her longer than her classmates to complete a task.

__Student B__ Strengths: Good at making connections, advanced level of thinking when speaking, asks good questions Weaknesses: Unable to spell/ write, low level of reading fluency, difficulty adjusting to class protocol

During gen.ed. student B seems focused 80% of the time; he loses focus during group reading lessons (choral or teacher read/ student track.) During instruction he is often very engaged and will shout out as a result. He knows to raise his hand and can do this at times too, however, it seems that he becomes too excited at times and will shout out questions or answers. This often leads to behavior consequences (in this class he will have to move his clip down a level, resulting in the loss of 5 minutes of recess.) He can often answer more complex questions than his classmates and asks a lot of questions as well. During writing assignments he often understands the assignment and gets to work immediately, however, will stop a few minutes into it as though he has lost momentum. Most everything he writes is illegible, you can see some places where Spanish and English words have been mixed and where he has tried to spell phonetically, but still it is difficult to make sense of what he has written. If you ask him to read it back to you, he can, but with difficulty and mostly he is telling from memory, not from what he has written. Student B enjoys playing soccer with his classmates during PE and recess. He is good tempered and generally gets along with his classmates, with a few small arguments on occasion, which he is able to work out without teacher intervention. In Art class he adjusts well to the new environment and respects the teacher. In ELD class he often sits with his head on the desk, eyes facing the teacher. He seems bored and disengaged. He can finish the tasks quickly and easily. In general Student B enjoys school and learning. He has little trouble speaking English, and in fact shows higher abilities than many of his classmates. During written assignments, he seems to be confident in his performance, despite the fact that he performs below the level of his peers.

Student C: During gen.ed. classes students C makes a great effort to remain focused on the teacher and to listen quietly. She seems to understand very little spoken English, however, is very good at taking cues from the teacher and classmates, based mostly on body language. When the class breaks out to do individual assignments, the teacher will often go to her and expalin a word or two in Spanish. If not, her classmates will translate for her, they always seem very eager to help her. Often she will copy work from their paper or the SmartBoard, unless the teacher is giving her direct attention. During recess she plays with her classmates and communicates in Spanish.