Individual Barriers Analyses
Model Three: Kamla & Seventh Grade English

This model reveals hidden barriers for a student named Kamla in a Seventh Grade English unit. Click on the links to read a description of the stucdent and the curriculum.

Student: Kamla

Kamla as a student who relates well to her peers, respects her teachers, and adores sports. But her long-term struggle with academics has dampened her enthusiasm and energy for schoolwork. By the fourth grade, decoding deficits led to Kamla's identification as a "slow reader," though no specific disability was identified. Kamla continues to struggle with fluency in both reading and writing. When asked to write an essay she squirms in her chair, awkwardly holding her pen and moving her paper all over the desk. She enjoys reading sports articles and books, in part because they feed her interest and in part because she is not under pressure to complete them within a time limit. Her discomfort extends to most classroom assignments; overall, Kamla appears disengaged from learning.

Kamla's focus on the basketball court contrasts with her lack of engagement in the classroom. She practices her sport diligently and enthusiastically, showing an ability to persist and to understand the need for hard work in the service of something she loves to do.

Curriculum: ENGLISH: Writing Research Papers

This curriculum unit addresses the McREL English/Language Arts Standard #4: "Gathers and uses information for research purposes." The benchmark for the class is that students will "write research papers (e.g., separate information into major components based on a set of criteria, examine critical relationships between and among elements of a research topic, address different perspectives on a topic, achieve balance between research information and original ideas, integrate a variety of information into a whole, draw conclusions)."

The theme of "heroes" has been chosen by the teacher (to complement the social studies curriculum), and students have been given a list of American political heroes from which to choose as their individual research topic (e.g. George Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln). Students must locate their own materials, including Internet sources, library books, primary documents, and magazine articles.

Teaching methods include whole class lessons (lecture-style, with some modeling) with handouts on research strategies. Time is given for Internet searching during class, but students must carry out their library research outside of class time. Rough drafts may be typed or handwritten during class, but students are expected to type their final copies at home if they don't have extra time during class.
Assessment includes grading (mechanics, content, & organization) of students' final research papers and presentation of their research findings to the class. All final projects are due within four weeks.