!

Entry 2!
Contextual Information and Student Learning Adaptations Template
Total Number of Students in the School: ______________
School Socio-Economic Make-Up (i.e., % free and reduced lunches): ______________

! Class Class Class

1! 2! 3!
Grade Level/Subject Taught! 9/music! 1/music! !
Number of Students in Classroom! 30! 15! !

Contextual Information: Class Class Class Student Learning Adaptations:

(List the number of students identified 1! 2! 3! (Describe at least one example of a strategy
in each class you teach and identify the to provide equitable opportunities,
class in which you are teaching your accommodations, or modifications you
unit)! attempted for any student identified within
each contextual characteristic) !
! ! ! I!did!have!a!transgender!student!who!is!in!
Gender ! ! the!process!of!transitioning,!so!instead!of!
Number of Females: 30! 7! splitting!them!in!groups!by!gender,!I!used!
Number of Males:! 0! 8! numbers!or!a!name!randomizer.!!
! ! ! The!content!of!the!class!should!be!crossE
Ethnic/Cultural Make-Up ! ! cultural!and!contain!musical!concepts!and!
Caucasian/White: 20! 10! experiences!from!many!different!parts!of!
African American/ Black: 5! 3! the!world.!Students!should!be!allowed!to!
Hispanic/Latino: 3! 1! contribute!openly!about!their!culture!and!
Asian/Pacific Islander: 1! 1! what!the!music!means!to!them.!!
American Indian/Alaskan Native:! 1! 0!
N/A! N/A! ! !
Language Proficiency
Number of English Language
Learners (ELL):!
! ! ! All!of!the!students!were!on!par!with!the!
Academic Performance ! ! musical!concepts!needed!for!
Students Performing ! ! kindergarten.!!
Below Grade Level: ! 15!
Student Performing
Above Grade Level:!
! ! ! There!was!only!one!student!who!had!a!
Students with Special Needs disability!in!the!classes!I!taught,!and!the!
Learning Disability: para!would!typically!take!him!out!about!
Emotional/Behavioral Impairment: five!minutes!into!each!class!period.!!!
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD):
Developmental Disability:
Intellectual Disability:
Speech/Language Impairment:
Autism Spectrum:
Gifted:
Blind/Visual Impairment (VI):
Deaf /Hearing Impairment (HI):
Physical Disability:
Other Health Impairment:
!
!
Military Connected Students N/A! N/A! ! !
 Contextual Information and Student Learning Adaptations Template
(Continued)

Student Characteristics:
Describe the developmental characteristics of students in your classroom.
(Cognitive, Physical, Emotional, Social). In Class 1, I taught and observed freshman girls. None identified
has having any special needs, and the majority of the students were in physically healthy conditions.
There were some that struggled more cognitively than others, and all had unique emotional and social
characteristics. In class 2, I was with kindergartners. All of the students I worked with in this setting were
basically on the same cognitive and physical level and on par with development of fine and gross motor
skills.

Highlight the prior knowledge and interests of students in your classroom.

In Class 1, the majority of the students were proficient in ear training exercises and using solfege for their
music. This made it easy for me, because I could speak in more musical terms and they would understand
what I was asking from them. They were very interested in learning history behind songs, so we spent one
portion of a class period talking about the cultural context of the song I was teaching them. For Class 2,
students showed great spatial awareness of themselves with the room and their peers, which told me that it
must have been something engrained in them, since that is not typical for kindergartners. These students
were very interested in books. They like to learn about the author and illustrator of books as well.

Describe the implications these characteristics have on planning and instruction. (e.g. What instructional
strategies will you use to meet the unique learning needs of all your students?)
In Class 1, I had the students write in solfege in their new song, since I knew they would be able to complete
the task on their own, outside of class. I also started off every lesson with a new bit of information about the
song or the composer. For Class 2, I liked to start off class or end class with some kind of book or story,
since they loved listening to the teacher read. They like to guess what is coming up in the book/story, so I
would always make it a point to ask what they think might happen next.

Environmental Factors:
Describe district, school, and classroom environmental factors impacting the quality of education for all
of your students. In Class 1, the district and school system is fairly diverse. The school is an all-freshmen
campus, and after they finish that year, they move to the main campus in a different part of town. While
the school district is very diverse, they have a very consistent and supportive atmosphere that is conducive
to student learning. In Class 2, the school is not as diverse as the district is. The quality of education is
high, and the majority of the students learn at a proportionate rate to one another.

Describe community and family environmental factors impacting the quality of education for all of your
students. In both Class 1 and 2, there were students with great family life, high SES, etc. However, there
were also many students that did not have this situation. Both the school and the teachers themselves
strived to create an equal learning opportunity for all of the students, regardless of their community and
environmental factors. There was a large effort made to make sure individual students was being taught to
their highest potential.

Describe the implications these factors have on planning and instruction.

(What instructional strategies will you use to address the unique environmental factors impacting each
student?) The first step is to really know your students. It is more than just knowing where they fall on the
scale, if they are on free and reduced lunches, etc. Getting to know your students creates an atmosphere
 of trust and respect, and helps your students to feel comfortable in your classroom. When students feel
comfortable, more learning occurs. Apart from that, it is important that regardless of class, SES and
home life, you give each student the same goal: to be the best they can be. This may mean that you
differentiate and individualize the learning for each student, but always remember that equal is not
equitable.

Contextual Information and Student Learning Adaptations Template

(Continued)

Focus Students Information

Provide information about the two focus students you selected from the class in which you will be teaching your unit
that you feel would benefit from modified instruction. You MUST choose one student with exceptionalities or
an English Language Learner as one of your focus students. Complete the chart below referring to these
students only as Student A and Student B. Do not use proper names.

Describe this student
using information from
the Contextual
Information and Student
Learning Adaptations
Student This thstudent is a female in
A the 9 grade beginning
womens choir. She is not
classified as having any
learning disabilities, but
comes from a lower SES
household. Her grades and
willingness to learn in the
class are on par with the
majority of the students.
Why did you select this What did you find out
student? about this student?
Address characteristics
from the Contextual
Information and Student
Learning Adaptations
I chose this student Cognitive
because while she is very The student is very bright
bright, she doesnt apply and understands musical
herself to her greatest concepts easily.
potential. She is very
excited about music, loves Emotional
to sing and perform. The student has days when
However, when class they are happy and talkative,
starts, she disengages and days where they want to
fairly quickly. be left alone.
Physical
The student is physically
healthy.
Social
While the student was social
the majority of the time,
there were days where she
entered the room completely
shut down, and did not
participate in class.
Based on this
information what are
the implications for
this students
instruction?
As I described, the
student was very
bright and understood
musical concepts.
However, she would
disengage with the
content quickly each
class period. As her
teacher, I would try
and find out more
about her, see what
kind of music she
likes, or find out how
she learns best, and
incorporate those into
my teaching strategies
and repertoire.
 Describe this student
using information from
the Contextual
Information and Student
Learning Adaptations
Student This student was a boy in
B one of my kindergarten
classes. He was classified
as having a learning
disability. He came to each
class period with a
paraprofessional, and never
stayed for the duration of
the class.
Why did you select this What did you find out
student? about this student?
Address characteristics
from the Contextual
Information and Student
Learning Adaptations
I selected this student Cognitive
because of his unique This student could
situation. He was understand basic
expected to do what the instructions, and did a good
rest of his classmates job following his peers
were doing, but about 10 actions.
minutes into the class, he
was not able to keep up Emotional
with the rest of the class Student B was generally
and had to leave. I could happy, and did not throw any
tell he was working on sort of tantrums. However,
being mainstreamed into he always seemed to be
the classroom, because his dazing, always looking
para had a board that she around at the room.
would put a penny on
every five minutes that Physical
the student was able to While he could walk, he
remain in the classroom. could not run, and dragged
his feet along the ground. He
is very tall for a
kindergartner, and skinny.
Social
While he did not really
communicate or say many
words, his classmates were
very caring for him, and
whenever he was instructed
to do something, one of the
classmates would come and
take his hand and lead him in
the right direction.
Based on this
information what are
the implications for
this students
instruction?
While of course I dont
know all of the details,
I would say the
environment this
student was in was
most likely conducive
to his learning abilities
at the moment. He is
functioning at a fairly
high level, but cannot
stay in the class for
longer than 10 or 15
minutes, before being
to disengaged to
continue. It might be
beneficial to start the
class off with
something engaging,
that way the student
can be involved as
much as possible
before he leaves.

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!