Planning for English Langauage Learners in the Classroom

I will be teaching a language arts lesson in my 3th grade class on parts of speech. The lesson will focus on identifying whether words in a sentence are nouns, verbs, or adjectives. 

Maria: This student is at the early-production stage of language acquisition. She has learned some words in English, but she is very quiet in the classroom. She is always observant and a very good listener. She understands some of what is said, but struggles to respond. Most of Maria's speech is short and stunted, and she doesn't use proper grammar at this point. She recognizes some short words when reading, but can't read a full sentence. 

In order to modify this lesson for Maria, I will use visuals as I teach the lesson. During the whole group carpet time, I will have pictures to describe the words I am saying. For example, I will write the sentence, "John runs on the green grass." I will then slowly repeat the sentence, showing a picture of a boy and emphasizing that he is running as I say the words. Then I will point out the green grass that he is on. I will reference the color green on the color wheel. These visual clues will help Maria to understand the vocabulary. At this point in her language acquisition, I am more concerned about her developing vocabulary than I am about her understanding parts of speech, but I will still provide Maria with another resource to aid her. I will give her a worksheet that has the words: Verb, Noun, and Adjective at the top of three columns. Under each word there will be several visual examples, along with words. This will help Maria to see and understand what each part of speech means. 

Alex: He is in the speech emergent stage of language acquisition. Alex has been exposed to English for about 8 months now. He isn't afraid to speak in class, but his questions and answers are often difficult to understand. He does a very good job when participating in regular classroom lessons, such as calendar time in the morning. He knows how to say the days of the week, how to count to 50, and how to ask me many simple questions. He is making quick progress and everyday I see him acquiring a greater English vocabulary.

To help Alex understand the lesson, I will check in with him and provide him with the same worksheet that I provided Maria with. I will also pair him with an English-speaking buddy who can talk with him and help him to understand the difference between each part of speech.

Monica: She is in the intermediate fluency stage of language acquisition. Monica speaks fluently and converses easily with her peers. She understands academic language most of the time, but sometimes must ask clarifying questions to fully understand something. She is a good reader, and is almost on grade level in English. Monica writes well, and can express her feelings in her writing. She is continuing to work on expanding her vocabulary, and at times needs clarification for certain words or phrases. 

Monica won’t need much help with this assignment because of her intermediate fluency level. She has enough vocabulary knowledge to read the sentences and understand them. She may have some trouble classifying certain words, but no more than an English-speaking student would. I will check in with her during independent work to ensure she is on target.

Isaiah: Isaiah is at the pre-production stage of language acquisition. He has only been in my class for two weeks. He rarely speaks, and when he does he uses simple words like "yes," "no," and "please." Though Isaiah hardly talks, he is always listening. When asked a question in his Native language, Spanish, it is apparent that he is absorbing information and starting to have a basic level of comprehension. He likes to work with his buddy, Mary, who speaks English and Spanish.

Because Isaiah is so new to the English language, I will focus on teaching him the vocabulary in the sentences. Rather than having him work on parts of speech, I will provide flashcards with pictures and corresponding English words, so that Isaiah can build his vocabulary during this time. 

The Special Education Referral Process

All children are entitled to a quality education, regardless of special needs, learning differences, or disabilities. Special education gives children an opportunity to be successful in school in a personalized environment. In the United States, we have many laws and systems in place to ensure that students have access to the education that they deserve. 

The referral process for special education can seem tedious and drawn out, but each step is there to ensure that the child is having his or her needs met. The first step in the process is recognition. According to Mrs. F, a middle school general education teacher who I had the opportunity to interview, a teacher must look for discrepancies between the perceived ability of the student and their academic performance. A teacher must also look for signs such as inattentiveness, impulsiveness, hyper-focus, and difficulty understanding directions. These are first signs that a student may need to be evaluated for special education. The next step is pre-refferal. This is the point where educators begin to try different teaching strategies and ways to meet the student's needs before jumping to a conclusion that the child must need special services to be successful. The pre-referral process is a formal process that includes input from a team of school personnel. Many schools use a process called RTI, or response to intervention. RTI provides three levels of intervention. The first tier is general, whole group, high quality teaching. About 80% of students will respond and be successful in this environment. The 2nd tier of RTI provides group instruction, and about 15% of students will improve their performance at this level. Finally, the 3rd tier consists of intensive, individual interventions. A child is only moved to this tier when they have failed to be successful in tier one and two. If the RTI process is not successful at this point, the process continues onto a formal referral for special education services. I had a chance to interview a special education teacher who provided the following information on the referral process: 

"A referral happens when a student is extremely low in one or more academic or social areas. For a referral, there have to have been many interventions that have been tried (at risk, Tier 2 type interventions, extra help etc.) Parents can request an evaluation, but that does not immediately result in a special ed. referral. When all other typical interventions have been implemented and the student continues to have a lack of progress, a special education referral is recommended, usually by the students teacher or the parents."

Once the referral has taken place, the evaluation begins. The evaluation is multi-faceted, and includes evaluations from doctors, teachers, psychologists, parents, and other personnel who may have knowledge about the student's capabilities. Once the evaluation is through, the team must decide is the student is eligible for services. If the team decides the student is eligible, an IEP meeting will be held, and the student will begin to receive services in school. Each year, the IEP team must meet and look at the students progress. This meeting is key to making sure that the student is receiving all they need. 

Throughout my interviews with Mrs. M and Mrs. F, I gained the sense that our system works quite well in the United States, but there is more that can be done. In my previous reflection on personalized learning, I drew the conclusion that other countries, such as Finland, are doing a much better job meeting the needs of their students with special needs. Finland is extremely proactive, and from personal experience, I believed that our system in the US is quite the opposite. After conducting interviews, though, I have reconsidered my thoughts. Rather than generalizing and saying that the US needs to work to be more like Finland and personalize education for our students, I can say that I do believe the US has a good system in place. We have many laws that protect and guarantee a quality education for students with special needs. The question is, are we as educators being proactive to identify when a student has an individual or unique need? Are we following through? In many cases, the answer is yes. When I asked Mrs. M if she thought the system was working, her response was, "Yes I do! I think that making teachers do interventions before a student is referred allows for the student to be able to find success in the least restrictive environment for them. If those interventions don't work and a special education class is the best placement, we can then be more confident in that decision knowing we tried all other possible measures beforehand. Then from there we can make the appropriate goals and accommodations necessary for each individual.  It's not perfect, but I think it works. "

My conclusion is that if a school is being proactive and following the appropriate procedures, students can and will receive the services that they deserve. There is a good, solid system in place. It does have flaws, for example, there is an IEP Review meeting only once per year, but I think this should take place more often. I do also believe that we should continue to strive for more personalized learning. This can only benefit our students in the future.

I am including the full interviews here: 

Interview with Mrs. F: 7th Grade Science Teacher at Pacific Ridge School in California

-How do you identify a student for special education?  
As a teacher, my job is to bring to attention any behaviors that may be affecting a student’s ability to learn. My first action would be to communicate with parent to get feedback on the student’s history, their study habits at home and overall experience at school up to this point.  It is important to rule out any situations going on outside the classroom that may be having an effect on the student’s performance at school.  The next step would be to bring the student to the attention of the school counselor or special education director to have the student observed.  Often there is a Student Study Team in place to evaluate the student.  If a need is determined, then a formal special education evaluation would follow.

-What are the signs of a struggling student?

            I look for a discrepancy between the perceived ability of the student and their academic performance.  Some common behaviors might be inattentiveness, hyper-focus, impulsivity, difficulty understanding directions or staying on task, etc. The student may also lack confidence or try to distract from their deficiencies by being disruptive or defiant. 

-Are there alternate methods of instruction tried out before referring the student for special education? If yes, what are they?
Absolutely.  There are many accommodations that can be tried before a special ed referral.  They include changing the student’s seat, modifying assignments, offering opportunities for alternative assessments or offering small group instruction. 

Interview with Mrs. M: Special Education teacher at a public elementary school in Utah 

-How is a student identified for special education referral?
A referral happens when a student is extremely low in one or more academic or social areas. For a referral, there have to have been many interventions that have been tried (at risk, Tier 2 type interventions, extra help etc.) Parents can request an evaluation, but that does not immediately result in a special ed. referral. When all other typical interventions have been implemented and the student continues to have a lack of progress, a special education referral is recommended. Usually by the students teacher or the parents. 

-Who takes responsibility for the progress of the child before and after the referral?
Before and after the referral it should still be the child's teacher who is responsible. After the referral there are more team players (whoever is evaluating....SLP, OT, school psych) who will report results. The teacher should remain the student’s case manager. 

-What is the school administration's directive for special education?
For the administrative aspect, it should be inclusive. Special Education should be just one component of the spectrum of services the student receives at the school. The administrator’s job is to take care of the student as well as the needs of the teacher. They should be in charge of looking at the big picture and how these students needs will affect other students and teachers in the whole school setting. 

- What provisions are made for students identified for special education?
For students in special education, provisions are made depending on the individual. The team commits to implementing and carrying out everything on the IEP, (individuated education plan) but that would be different for every kiddo. Specialized instruction and time with typical peers would be included, as well as all related services such as motor services and speech. Each kid’s IEP will have accommodations and goals for each kid’s needs. 

-What is the level of parent involvement in referral process and special education?
Parents should be involved every step of the way. They should be informed and aware of the referral process, and once the results are reported they are a part of the IEP team. Parents should have just as much say in the goals and accommodations their child will be receiving. In order for any IEP or referral to be started, parent permission is needed. 

- As a special ed teacher, do you think that the system works? Are students actually receiving everything they need to be successful? 

            Yes I do! I think that making teachers do interventions before a student is referred allows for the student to be able to find success in the least restrictive environment for them. If those interventions don't work and a special Ed class is the best placement, we can then be more confident in that decision knowing we tried all other possible measures beforehand. Then from there we can make the appropriate goals and accommodations necessary for each individual.  It's not perfect, but I think it works.