Description of Students: Amy's 5Th 5Th-Grade Class

Amy's 5th Grade Class

Carl reads and writes at a middle school level. He is ahead of most of the other students in the class and gets bored and impatient with slower learners. He does not have strong social skills, so he sometime annoys his group members. He can often be found doing extra, enrichment work on his own. He comes from a middle class Caucasian home.

Mannie reads and writes at a 6th grade level. She is organized and outgoing and does well in individual or group work. She comes from an upper-middle class African American family.

Jeanette reads and writes at grade level, but just barely. She is very social and this appears to occupy more of her time than schoolwork. She works well in groups and contributes her share of the information, though not more than her share. She lives in a middle class African American home with her mother and sister.

Jill reads and writes at grade level. She is a average learner, but often takes leadership roles in the group or classroom. Her parents are very involved in the school and classroom. She comes from a middle class Caucasian home.

Jessica reads and writes somewhat below grade level. She is quiet and shows little confidence in academic or social situations. She lives in a lower-middle class Hispanic family and cares from her 2 younger siblings after school.

Jandala reads above grade level, but writes below grade level. She is impatient to finish things, so doesn't spend the time on her writing that she needs. She is also impatient in social situations and other students think of her as bossy. She comes from a middle class African American family and lives with her mother.

Aaron reads and writes above grade level. He is smart, but often acts silly or bored. He has a hard time staying focused, but tends to be off in his own world rather than disturbing others. Sometimes he appears to know everything and sometimes he appears to know nothing on the same subject. His contribution in groups is erratic, although again, he is not disruptive. H lives in an upper-middle class Caucasian home.

Herman reads and writes above grade level. He is organized and works hard. He is social and contributes to his group. He doesn't seek leadership roles, but does them willingly when assigned to him. He lives in an upper-middle class African American home with his mother.

Fredrick reads at grade level but writes above grade level. In fact, he is an extremely good writer and writing is one of his favorite things to do. In other subjects is rather lazy, but he is creative and focused in his writing. Socially, he tends to act silly, but he gets along OK with others. In groups, he is sometimes silly, but is focused when the task involves writing and will sometimes take a leadership role. He comes from a middle class Caucasian family with several siblings.

Dwayne reads and writes below grade level. He tries, but never catches up. He does not have learning disabilities, he is just a slow learner. He is often discouraged and increasingly gives up. His general discouragement permeates his social relationships as well. He comes from a lower-middle class African American family.

Marta reads and writes below grade level. She participates well in groups, but is not always able to perform to the standards of the group. This sometimes causes problems within a group, but her classmates are learning to be patient and acknowledge that she is doing what she can. She has a happy disposition, so others like her and she has several friends. She lives in a middle-class Hispanic family. Although she has grown up speaking English, her parents' first language is Spanish.

Kenny reads and writes above grade level. Even though he is competent, he is quiet and lacks confidence. He seems to believe he will not do well, and is surprised when he does. He is particularly quiet in social situations. He is of African American descent, but has grown up in foster homes.

Edward reads and writes at grade level. He tends to be overly confident, thinking he knows and can do more than he actually can. Because of this, he doesn't work as hard as he probably needs to. He gets disappointed when he doesn't do as well as he thought he could, but bounces back quickly. He is very social and the other students like him for his positive outlook. He comes from a lower class Hispanic family.

Jennifer reads and writes above grade level. She is a particularly good writer, although she doesn't particularly enjoy doing it. She is organized and has good social skills, so she is often selected as a leader. She comes from a middle class Caucasian home where she is the oldest of three girls.

Mandy reads and writes below grade level and has an identified learning disability. She was held back a year in 3rd grade, but is still behind by about a year. She spends much of her time organizing her desk, papers, and supplies; perhaps trying to order her mind. She is older and bigger than the other students which makes her feel self-conscious. Her social skills are not well developed. She is hesitant to contribute in a group. She comes from a middle class Caucasian family and lives with her father.

Steven reads and writes at grade level. He is painfully shy and seldom talks even with encouragement. He does his work as expected, particularly individual work. In groups he seems to listen, but often says nothing. His mother says he is the same at home; she is worried about him and talks regularly with the school counselor. His is African American and lives alone with his mother.

Jevon reads and writes a little below grade level. He is the youngest student in the class chronologically and this is reflected in his development. His intelligence is average, he just hasn't gotten to where the others are yet. Therefore, he comes across in class as inarticulate and not very social. The other students see him as "cute' and they like him even though he really doesn't interact on a 5th grade social level. He lives in an upper-middle class African American family and his parents insisted that he start Kindergarten early.

Jeffrey reads and writes below grade level. He is smart and is above grade level in math, but he has a learning disability that results in very poor reading. In addition, he has been identified as ADHD, so he has difficulty staying focused on a task and staying within a reasonable personal space. He has a big, warm smile, so students like him, but he can often disrupt their work without intending to. He comes from an upper-middle class Caucasian family and receives private tutoring.

Sally reads at grade level and writes a little below grade level. Her strength is her spatial and artistic ability. She is often unfocused during reading or writing activities, but is highly focused during activities that involve spatial manipulations or drawing. Asking her to draw what she knows is a more effective assessment than having her write or tell what she knows. She is often social, but when she is focused she can ignore everyone. She comes from an upper-class Asian home.

Helen reads and writes above grade level. She is generally organized and does her work well. However, she has mood swings in which she becomes extremely frustrated and angry with no apparent cause. She is social and has many friends, but they leave her alone when she has these extreme episodes. She comes from a middle class Caucasian family. The parents, teacher and counselor have worked together to develop an IEP that addresses her emotional challenges.