Name: Kelly Hughes

Date: Thursday, September 20, 2012

Observation #: 1st Observation
Time: 9:05-10:25
School: Smithland Elementary
Grade: 1st Grade, Mrs. Manzano
Theme: The Learner and Learning; Standard #2: Learning Differences
Word Count:
For this observation reflection, I chose to incorporate and focus
on the INTASC standard #2, learner differences. The learning
differences standard centers on the teacher understanding and
adapting his or her teaching to each individual students different
needs. Every student learns and grasps knowledge differently. It is the
teachers job to ensure that each students needs are being met and
are being kept at a steady pace along with the rest of the class.
Learning differences also incorporates the students diverse cultures
and communities and how it affects learning and the way in which
each student learns or takes in information. Teachers must warrant
wide-ranging learning environments for each student that allows them
to meet high standards.
Observing in the 1st grade classroom was quite a new experience
to me. I observed many different teaching strategies that seemed to
work extremely well at focusing in on the different skill levels of each
student in the classroom. The teaching strategy that stood out the
most to me to help students with lower skill levels and more unique
learning styles is the way that she split up the reading and spelling
groups. She had various stations and split the children up to four

different groups. One of the stations was at a table that she was
teaching, where she would have the children read aloud, spell words on
white boards, and sound out words. In the other stations, the children
had different word cards and were spelling them out with play-dough or
fun markers. Each student had their own set of words on notecards,
which they had to spell out and practice. These words differed for each
student, and met their reading or spelling level so each student was
challenged and had words at their level. Another teaching strategy that
focused on learner differences was how she had all of the children sit in
a circle and picked a childs name out of a bucket of popsicle sticks,
then she had that child come up to the smart board and write the date,
do a math problem, or move circles to represent the date, time, or
days theyve been in school. When she chose a childs name, she
decided which task she would challenge them with. This is an excellent
way to challenge each student without making it obvious that she is
trying to change things up for each students ability level.
The various teaching strategies that the teacher incorporated
allowed each student to practice words and phrases that were at their
own skill level so they were not unchallenged or overly challenged.
Each student was able to work at his or her own pace and ask the
teacher if they needed help with reading a phrase or spelling a word.
There are a couple students who are at a fifth grade reading and
spelling level who need special attention in order to challenge them

and provide them with more difficult spelling words and books. There
are also some children who are struggling with spelling and reading
who need extra attention during their group time to help complete
their work. In my future teaching, I will be sure to incorporate stations
and opportunities to work with each child individually so I can
understand and work with their differences and incorporate their
cultural diversity into how I approach teaching them. I will ensure that I
am giving each student equal attention and providing them with
material that will always challenge them. I believe that this observation
has helped develop me as a teacher because I have seen and
experienced exactly how to go about tending to each students
differences and learning techniques. Although I already knew that each
student learns differently, uses their knowledge in different ways, and
incorporates their culture in unique ways, it has definitely helped me to
experience it first hand and see a teacher really work to structure a
lesson to each student that challenges them equally.