Reflection for InTASC 2 Learning Differences: The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and

communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards. I taught this lesson during my second student teaching placement. I was in a special education classroom with students from kindergarten to second grade. This lesson was taught with students specifically in first and second grade. In their general education classes they had been discussing fiction vs nonfiction texts therefore we were doing a re-teaching component. We used different books than the general education class, but still taught the same thing. This was good to pull together. These books were not given to us with a curriculum. We had to go into the school guided reading library and pull books based on the lesson. I will be a lifelong learner when it comes to understanding individual differences, diverse cultures, and communities to ensure an effective learning community. This is something that will change year-by-year depending on my students and I will grow and gain more knowledge the longer I teach. I will get to know my students and my environment and my teaching techniques will all reflect my students as learners. Every year my students will be presented with my expectations and my standards and that will set the guidelines for the year. They will then adjust around my students until we find a happy point. This is something that could adjust all year depending on the students growth and what they need based on their strengths and weaknesses. I love working with different students and figuring out what they all need and putting it together to come up with a lesson. That is a huge part of teaching, being able to adapt lessons and make sure that it is reaching a variety of learners. This lesson showed me how much I need to be thinking about students needs before, during, and after my lessons and constantly be improving,