Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: New Circumstances Mrs. Stewart is teaching a fifth grade class again this school year. This will be her fourteenth year to teach fifth grade in the school where she began her professional career. Mrs. Stewart has been very excited about teaching in this school for yet another year. After thirteen years, she knows many of the actively involved parent volunteers who faithfully commit their time working in the classrooms. However, this will not be a typical school year for Mrs. Stewart. This particular year did not have a familiar start compared to previous years. One week after school began, an ESL (English as a Second Language) student moved into the high income neighborhood surrounding the school. A young girl from South America became Mrs. Stewart's new student. The Spanish speaking girl, Anna, would be hearing the English language for the first time in Mrs. Stewart's fifth grade classroom. Mrs. Stewart was told by the office Secretary that Anna had been attending public school for five years before leaving South America. Additionally, Mrs. Stewart learned that Anna and her family only speak Spanish in their home. Mrs. Stewart fears that her collective experiences teaching fifth grade for all of those years would not compare in complexity to her new circumstances. Questions: 1. After being so familiar and comfortable with her fifth grade lesson plans, will Mrs. Stewart need to change her curriculum? 2. Will the language barrier and cultural differences prevent teaching and learning from happening in the classroom? 3. How will Mrs. Stewart involve Anna's parents in school activities? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) 1) Mrs. Stewart doesn't need to change her curriculum. However, she does need to make modifications to fit Anna's needs. Teachers should always make modifications to fit the diverse learning needs in the classroom. 2) No I do not think the language barrier and cultural differences will prevent teaching and learning in the classroom. I think if Mrs. Stewart makes the right modifications effective learning and teaching can still take place. 3) Mrs. Stewart will encourage her parents to attend all school activities just like she would encourage her other students parents. She may just want to send home reminders with Anna and discuss them with Anna to make her excited. If Anna is excited and feels welcome her parents will want to come to the school and they would also feel welcome.                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: Very informative. Nice Job! Rated On: October 17, 2014 6:15 pm Rated By: TuBuJy                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: If I were in this situation, I would exactly do this. Rated On: October 20, 2015 11:51 pm Rated By: RuTemu                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: I agree with you Rated On: October 19, 2020 12:09 am Rated By: usuBuQ                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: I would use this in my classroom Rated On: October 17, 2022 3:15 am Rated By: NyXaze