1. Benefits of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

2. Student 1: 3 rd Grade student

3. Student Information Female student She is 8 years old turning 9 in April. She lives with her mom, dad, and two little brothers. They all speak Spanish at home. Mom does not speak and English and dad speaks some.

4. Socioeconomic Status She is on free and reduced lunch

5. Academic Challenges She does not have many academic challenges that can not be addressed through extra explanation. Her biggest struggle is the vocabulary however, she is very good at asking when she does not understand something. She gets support from an ELL teacher for 30 minutes a day because the vocabulary struggle.

6. Academic Challenges Continued Writing: She writes a lot with great deal of information. It is in order and makes sense. Her spelling, punctuation, and grammar is excelent. There are times when she struggles to get her thinking down because she is trying to figure out the English way to say it. Reading: She currently is reading at a middle 5 th grade level. She has great expression and fluency. She does struggle with comprehension at times due to the language and partially due to the fact that it’s a grade and a half above where she should be.

7. Academic Challenges Continued Math: She understands numbers and many different ways to work with them. Again she sometimes struggles with the academic vocabulary that goes along with math. Other subjects: Overall she does very well in all other subjects including specialist. Her biggest challenge is the language and it normally is the academic vocabulary that will stump her.

8. Funds of Knowledge Linguistic- She speaks Spanish and English very well and can translate between the two easily. She loves to share Spanish with the class and is willing to teach others. Cultural-She has a good understanding of the Mexican culture and shares it when it relates to what we are learning

9. Funds of Knowledge Continued Family-Her family is very focused on their beliefs and culture and she follows it carefully. When it is different than the rest of the class she will share or respectfully accept others. Experiences-She travels to Mexico about once a year. When her experiences relate to something we are doing in class she shares her knowledge.

10. Funds of Knowledge Continued Practical-She shares her knowledge when it relates or it can help her explain her thinking. She does sometimes have a hard time explaining exactly what she means when it relates to her culture and language because of the vocabulary/language.

11. Strengths and Challenges The common core can be a challenge for culturally and linguistically diverse learners. They are trying to understand the concepts that go with each subject but also the language. (Goldenberg, 2012) Teachers should build on students background and culture and directly teach them the academic vocabulary needed. (TESOL, 2013)

12. References Goldenberg, R. C. (2012). The Common Core Challenge for ELLs. NASSP, 6. TESOL. (2013). Overview of the Common Core State Standards initiatives for ELLs. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.eduOverview of the Common Core State Standards initiatives for ELLs