Diversity and Differentiated Learning

As mentioned earlier, Provost has a high percentage of ELL students. Many of them speak Spanish in the home so they might have gaps in their English vocabulary. The teacher will often ask for a good synonym or antonym for vocabulary words to help all students learn new words.


 Also one student in this 5th grade class moved to the US at the beginning of the school year and speaks very little English. I’ve heard the teacher speak Spanish to help the student understand that they are lining up to go to an assembly. Even though the student can tell everyone’s lining up, because it’s something that doesn’t happen all the time (like lining up for recess, lunch, or PE) she made sure he knew what was going on.



Also there are some students who don’t celebrate Halloween because of their religion. (I think Catholic and Jehovah’s Witnesses). She is sensitive to mentioning Halloween and has a few decorations out but doesn’t make a big deal about it. For an in class art project, students have the option of drawing a fall scene or they can choose to do a Haunted House. Again, she doesn’t draw a lot of attention to the options, she just offers them so no one feels singled out.





I’ve helped her with a small group (2-3 students)  fluency reading where the students choral read, we go over vocabulary, then go over the comprehension questions. Some of the students are not reading at grade level and they are ELL so going over the vocabulary is especially helpful for them. The choral reading also helps them hear what a fluent English speaker/reader sounds like.

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