2.2.

i the candidate for certification: understands support and intervention for learning
differences

What: Pictures

Who: A student in my classroom

When: Throughout the year

Significant Details: We had a great group this year and fortunately, no students needed
special services or intervention. However, we did have one student who was a little
behind others in the class and I made several accommodations to meet his needs. Most of
these accommodations were for math and writing. During math, he was never consistent
in knowing how to do addition and subtraction. For several days, I would give him a
sheet of addition or subtraction problems (depending on what we were trying to
accomplish that day). I would give him manipulatives (counters or beads) and he would
have to sit at a desk and work until he was done. If he didnt, there would be no work
done and he would distract others. Once he could accomplish this consistently, we made
the adjustment back to Montessori materials and coming up with his own problems. He
moved on past addition and subtraction after this accommodation was made temporarily.
For writing, he could not focus on what he was supposed to be writing (it was across the
room on the board), I would sit down with him each morning and we would read the
journal or word problem for that day together. I would write the journal on a piece of
paper with blanks and I would then draw him a blank for each word on his paper so that
he could focus and see where to write each word. This work was also done at a desk.
Once he could accomplish the task of writing words in the blanks by coping the paper I
had written on, we made the adjustment of only drawing him blanks and him copying
from the board. After accomplishing this goal, he began writing on the lines of the paper
so that he did not become dependent on me drawing a line for each word. By the end of
my practicum, he was writing on his own.

Analysis: Accommodations have to be made every so often, but it is important to not
make the child to become dependent on what you are doing for them. I had to
continuously change what I was doing for this student in order to meet his needs for
different things.