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. Yes, Mrs. Stewart will need to change her curriculum. Good teachers are always looking for new ways to engage students and help them understand concepts, so this should only make Mrs. Stewart a more effective teacher. She will need to include a lesson or unit about culture and diversity, and she will have to use resources (books, visual aids, etc.) that depict people of many cultures, not just the dominant one. In addition, Anna might need some accommodations, such as having directions in Spanish and getting extra help on assessments or possibly after school. 2. The language barrier and cultural differences will only prevent teaching and learning from happening if Mrs. Stewart allows it. By using materials that depict people of different cultures (particularly Anna's) and having lessons on and experiences with culture, Mrs. Stewart will make the students more aware and welcoming. To overcome language barriers, Mrs. Stewart should use labels on classroom items and write rules and essential questions in English and Spanish. Since Anna's biggest problem will be with simply not knowing English, Mrs. Stewart could pair her with a buddy in the class or school who also can speak Spanish. This will help Anna learn English more quickly. 3. Mrs. Stewart could bring Anna's parents in for conferences and have a translator, translate classroom newsletters to Spanish, and also create a classroom website that uses English and Spanish. This will help Anna's parents understand what is going on in the classroom and school. Seeing the newsletter and website in English and Spanish may even help Anna's parents pick up some English, as well.                 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 4:36 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 11:52 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: Great ideas Rated On: October 19, 2020 12:04 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 3:16 am Rated By: NyXaze                 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: . Rated On: November 6, 2023 4:56 am Rated By: TyXeDa