Differentiating for Diverse Students

Differentiating for Diverse Students Chart
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Code and Name
Instructors Name
Date
Student:
Carmen, Kindergarten

English Language Learner:
No

Socioeconomic Status:
Mid SES

Ethnicity:
Native American/Pacific Islander

Gender:
Female

IEP/504:
No

Other:
None

Reading Performance Level:
At 1st grade level

Parental Involvement:
Med

Text Selection and Rationale
Selecting a reading text for a kindergarten student would require considering their English reading and speaking levels. In this case, Carmen's reading performance level is at her 1st grade. Therefore, the selected reading text would be a fiction storybook. Such would be a book rich in vocabulary, with sentences and paragraphs that are not too long. Kindergarten students are expected to read independently; therefore, a teacher must select the text carefully, considering the student's language competence. As such, I would select the Peter and Jane 1A text because it’s rich in vocabulary to enhance Carmen's language comprehension. The vocabulary is also complex enough to suit Carmen’s reading level.
ELA Strategy or Activity and Rationale
The ideal ELA strategy for teaching Carmen is to use a meaningful approach. Meaningful approaches are meant to teach the student with more meaningful and effective strategies (Akerson & Young, 2020).. Thus, the teacher should consider the context of Carmen's English reading level by sharing before and after learning activities. One way to ensure this, which is also practical in-class time, would be to have her actively participate in a shared reading activity. In this reading activity, she would choose a text from the storybook and read it together with the rest of the class.
References
Akerson, V. L., & Young, T. A. (2020). Why Research on Interdisciplinary Language Arts and Science Instruction?. In Interdisciplinary language arts and science instruction in elementary classrooms: Applying research to practice (pp. 3-13). Routledge.

Student:
Eduardo, 2nd grade

English Language Learner:
Yes

Socioeconomic Status:
Mid SES

Ethnicity:
Hispanic

Gender:
Male

IEP/504:
No

Other:
Tier 2 RTI for Reading

Reading Performance Level:
One year below student’s 2nd grade level

Parental Involvement:
Low

Text Selection and Rationale
Selecting a reading text for second-grade students requires the educator to go beyond the limitations of what's commonly taught in schools. There are plenty of books for children at this age, many of which are too simple for the child to comprehend. To find a book that would interest the child, I would be more mindful of what makes high-interest stories and books. Eduardo's reading performance is one year below his grade, and therefore, a simple storybook would be ideal for enhancing vocabulary comprehension. However, selecting a story that would further the child's growth in reading comprehension may be more advantageous. The book "The Water Spirit" was selected because it fulfills several conditions found in a good reading text s...