Vignette #1.
          C. is one of the most successful studenets in the classroom and it shows with his academic status which is second in the room.  C.'s social status is also very high which allows him to work with with various members of the classroom.  In observing this student, it is clear that he gets along will with his classmates and as a result has a strong support group of friends from whom he draws confidence.  Many times I have seen other students come to C. for assistance with some of their work, and this above all shows the correspondence of both his social and acadmic status.  He has a high chance for success in this classroom.  To take it further, C.'s family seems to be of high ses.  NS, gr.4.

Vignette #2.
          Z. is the lowest student in the room on our status order.  He did not get chosen for either having many friends or academic partners.  (This might explain) his misbehavior and defiance in the classroom in his attempt to get some much needed attention, and develop a nitch in the classroom.  He has one close friend who is also on the lower end of the status order.  They primarily stick together socially and academically and could be described as outcasts of the classroom.  THeir misbehavior is not looked upon well by any of the other students in the classroom.  When Z. is having a bad day most interactdions in front of the class do not go well.  If he is to succeed in this classroom, he will need a lot of individual attention and praise from the teachers.  He will also need to find a source of confidence in his classwork.  THis student has a high learning potential, if driven in the right way and not distracted by interactdions in the classroom.  When he is seeking attention, or is socially uncomfortable, that is when his academic troubles begin.
          One-on-one he is as easy to get along with as any of the other students.  He also has a n impressive way of interacting with younger students.  With his first grade book buddy he shows kindness and patience and clearly enjoys the relationship.  This could be a possible source of confidence that could head him in the right direction and give him some positive social and academic status.  It will be crucial for Z. to find some academic and social status apart from his one friend.  NS, gr. 4.

Vignette #1.
          Z.  This student was identified as being of the lowest academic and social status in the classroom.  He would be considered a visual learner who had been identified earlier in the year by his classmates for his drawing ability.  He also shows some string interpersonal skills, and was very successful in working with his group members to successfully accomplish all of their tasks.  He really excelled at the Fashion a Fish activity where his fish drawing was very well done.  He also did well on the creature collage where two of his group members were out sick.  Z. and his partner were able to complete all the criteria for the activity!  They were identified from going above and beyond what was expected of them for this activity.  Z.'s social and academic status appears to be rising with the completion of this complex instruction rotation.  [Z.'s  pre/post improvement went from 45 to 90 points, well above the class average gain of 27 points.]   NS, gr.4.

Vignette #.
          A.V. was able to emphasize his strengths in activities that required steady hands for manipulating small objects.  He was most successful in examining tissues under the microscope and building a model of the cell.  When building the cell, he was able to construct several tiny blue pairs of chromosomes and place them inside a nucleus that measured about one and a half inches in diameter.  While examining tissues under the microscopes in the cell lab, A.V. was the first in his group to line the sample up under the light and adjust the focus so that the sample could be almost clearly seen.  I helped A.V. get a sharper image, and then told his group, "A.V. is really good adjusting the focus know just right so that the image is clear enough to see.  That's going to help your group get a good look at each sample."  Even after saying this, I still had to encourage other children in the group to seek A. V.'s help.  However, I did notice that this was the activity that A. seemed the most confident with and enjoyed the most.
          A.V.'s test score rose from 0 to a 20.  A 20-point increase is less than the class mean or median average increase, but as with W., I don't believe that a written test was the best way to assess A.V.'s knowledge of this material.  A.V. struggles with reading comprehension.  With problems in his home-life increasing, he has become more moody and easily frustrated with challenging tasks at school.  When he becomes frustrated, he takes on a "this is stupid and I don't care about it" attitude that hinders his academic performance.  Though he is not on an I.E.P., my mentor teacher and I have been collaborating with his parents and the school counselor to set up a modified program for him.  I don't know if this test reflects A.V.'s true improvement or if he found the written test too frustrating to give his full effort.   EC, gr.5.

Vignette #3.

          JP normally has difficulty in social situations with peers.  A lot of the trouble stems from her ESL (position in the class).  Sometimes the other students do have a hard time understanding her thoughts.  This has lead to a low confidence level when working with others, especially boys.  She has trouble getting them to listen to her and gets frustrated in the process.  Academically she is pretty high in status.  Because her group mates considered her "smart," JP did very well during the rotation.  I grouped her with two girls and two boys so she would not be overwhelmed in dealing with boys.  Throughout all of the days, JP was very consistent in fulfilling her roles correctly and participating. 
          On the second day I made her the reporter.  I could tell she was nervous about standing in front of the group to say what her group did, but by this point (after she practiced) she had a bit more confidence in herself.  A few times I noticed her take a chance and say an idea that I could see she was not confident about.  She was plesantly surprised when her peers understood her and accepted the ideas.  This gave her a huge boost and she gained a lot more confidence in herself.  When her group was writing the letter during the switch experiment, she suggested that they start a new paragraph because they were writing about a new idea.  I noticed this and assigned competence for JP's thought.idea ("I noticed that J. just suggested that you should start a new paragraph because you were talking about a new idea.  That will help your group make your letter clear and organized.  Editors and writers do that samething to make ideas clearer for the reader.")  Yes, it showed her academic ability, but I think what it really highlighted was her improving communication with peers.  Her abilities were composing a song to a tune, following the format to write a letter and brainstorming.  JP's gain score was 75 points!  She learned a lot not only about how humans control electricity, but probably more importantly, about how she can work well with others.  AC, gr. 4.

Vignette #4.
          S. is an Asian, low status student.  She was the recorder in her group.  When I observed their group doing the "Cheerios Activity," they each had two cards to glue their cheerios.  However, there were two children in the group that were using too much glue.  Then, I saw S. look at the questions for the recorder, then she looked at the group and put them away.  It was as if she was aftaid to use her voice and answer the questions with the group.  I went over and said, "I noticed that S. is using her ability to glue and use the right amount so it won't look like too many gobs of glue when you put the index cards together."  Afterwards, I asked S. to finish anwering questions about place value with her group.  That's when everyone heard me and helped read it together and came up with the answers.  J., the child with the second highest status in the class status (order) was helping S. read the questions.  I was pleased to see this interaction because I have never seen them near each other or even converse with each other.  [On the pre/post assessment, S. went from 60 to 100.]     SL, kg.