Task #4

Sudo Name: Jack

Grade 4

Age 9

Academic

            -Jack can communicate well and does communicate often. In fact his need for communication is so often that it often disrupts the class. He understands directions but chooses not to follow them. Assignments won't be completed unless he is fully interested. His attention span is very short and is not interested in most topics taught in the classroom besides reading. Jack does not have any disabilities or learning difficulties. He is a smart and intelligent boy when he wants to be. In the past he has been in a resource room but I do not believe it is because he is slow but because he is not interested in learning most material. Jack's desk is unorganized and the teacher needs to sign his homework pad in order for him to remember what to bring home. On the other hand, he still leaves books school and returns the next day saying he forgot.

Socialization

-Jack is very social, there is no problem there. You could call him the class clown, but the class clown who never breathes. He is a clown in class, in specials, during lunch and after school. This causes students to focus on him rather than the teacher. The teacher does not want to separate him from other students but sometimes she believes that there is no other way. The teacher tries to stay on top of him with his work. She encourages him and pushes him, but he doesn't seem to care. Everything to him is a joke and not serious.

Motivation

-Jack does not have any motivation and is not engaged in anything accept reading. He does just enough work to keep him out of the classroom during lunch. At times the teacher asked Jack to sit next to me. She said that I had the "Magic" to make him work. When he sat with me, he did work. All that I did was keep him on task when he started to day dream.

Behavior

            -Jack does not have any behavior problems, but I™≠ve noticed that he is very anxious and bored during class. He keeps moving around, walking around or sitting in his chair a student usually wouldn™≠t. Any chance he can get, in between subjects, he gets up and walks around talking to people. When asked to take out a book or assignment he does this very slowly and at his own pace. It seems as if the teacher has to constantly nudge him to move faster. On the other hand, Jack is disciplined. In the morning he arrives to class on time, unpacks his books and takes his seat.

Personal Characteristics

-Jack's appearance is of that of any student- jeans, t-shirt and sneakers. He is always dressed appropriately and clean. He is of medium weight and tall. He has excellent motor skills and if very athletic. Outside of school he likes to be outside playing sports with his friends. He is also an avid reading. He enjoys reading story books as well as educational books of his interest.

My impressions:

            -My impression of the student is that he is a kinesthetic learner. He is most attentive and most interested when he is up and moving. During a spelling bee, students had to stand up in front of the classroom and spell out the word as a team. After a person left the groups merged to make other teams. He enjoyed doing this and it showed because he was performing very well. Also in his gym class he is one of the best students in just about any sport. This is good to realize but hard to consider he needs in a classroom. While there can be activities during the day, there is still a lot of time spent sitting at the desk. The teacher tries to keep him motivated and focused by asking him questions and having him participate in handing out papers. I do believe, however, there is still an opportunity to do some activities where students are able to get up and move around.

            While during my field experience I noticed that Jack really enjoys reading. At any time possible he takes out a book and reads. Of course these are books only of his interest. I spoke with the teacher and we tried to figure out a way to get him more motivated in class. She told me that if I wanted to try a technique that would be fine. I took the challenge and spoke to Jack after school. I wanted to learn more about him to figure out how to better work with him. I asked Jack to bring in a book that he was reading at home or a book he wanted to read. I made a deal with him that if he participated in class and completed all of his homework, he could use his free time for reading that book as opposed to completed other work for the class. Of course all work would be completed, but I had hoped that this would motivate him to complete it in order to do what he wanted- read. Unfortunately, he never came to school with a book to read. I was frustrated that this technique didn't work, but I could have done something else if I was there for a longer time.

            It is unfortunate that his parents took him out of the resource room because he was performing well. They did not want to keep him behind if he could go farther. It is obvious that he is struggling now that he is out. I believe that the attention to keep him on task was really beneficial. It is so hard to give him the attention he needs in a class of 25-28 students. He really is a smart boy but he is distracted from boredom.