STANDARD 1: TEACHING DIVERSE STUDENTS

Standard 1 - Teaching Diverse students- The competent teacher understands the diverse characteristics and abilities of each student and how individuals develop and learn within the context of their social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences. The teacher uses these experiences to create instructional opportunities that maximize student learning.

This artifact demonstrates Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 1 - Teaching Diverse Students.

I created this lesson for my newcomer kindergarten students. This is a differentiated writing strategy. By providing a sentence frame, new English speakers were able to succeed in sharing about their favorite season with their classmates. Standard 1 is about the teacher being able to understand the unique needs of students, and this includes new speakers of English. In a regular classroom, some students have a strong base in the English language and others are new. Sentence stems are a great way to scaffold learning.

Students in this lesson were asked to use the sentence stem to help them to write about their favorite season. Each student has their own journal that they use for writing and drawing. Students used the sentence frame to complete the sentence in their journals and drew a picture that matches their favorite season. This artifact above shows one of my students who chose that her favorite season is summer. The student used the sentence frame and wrote about her favorite season which is summer. The student drew a picture of summer when everybody is happy and the sun is out.

My EL students came from different backgrounds and different cultures. My students need a lot of support and the use of visuals and pictures to help them make the connection between what they know and the materials that they learn. As an EL teacher who teaches diverse students, I always make sure to provide the support that all my students need so that they are successful in their learning.

This artifact demonstrates Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 1 - Teaching Diverse Students.

I provide books in different languages to my EL students as I understand the spectrum of students' diversity and the assets that each student brings to learning across the curriculum. English language learners feel welcomed and involved when they are exposed to books in their native language. We also did an activity that goes with the reading and students got to retell the story in their native language using the activity and the book. Students get excited when they share orally in a small group about their background. It is a comfortable and safe environment for them to learn and grow.

As an EL teacher, I understand that teaching diverse students could be challenging sometimes. I try to plan my lesson in a way to meet all my students' needs. My ELL students have different levels of learning the English language and they have different cultures and backgrounds. I always make sure to get to know all my students really well so I can meet them where they are. We also like to celebrate diversity in my classroom. We read books in different languages. We talk about different holidays. I send home posters about students' favorite holidays and students complete the activity with their parents at home. Students share their posters with the whole group and I give students chance to ask questions and sometimes to bring items that represent their holiday.

Students from different cultures and different backgrounds should feel welcomed in the classroom. It is the teacher's job to create a welcoming environment for all her students and make them feel that they are part of the class. Students show a lot of academic growth when they feel welcomed in their class. My ELL students get so excited when they come to work with me because they know that I care about each of them and I respect their backgrounds.