-Environmental Risks
-Parental Substance Abuse

-Family Instability

-Poverty

-Homelessness

-Violence in Home

-Teen Pregnancy

-Child Abuse/Neglect

There are several factors that contribute to classifying Margaret as "at risk". Margaret was a newborn who was dealing with conditions of biological/medical risk. Margaret required physical therapy soon after birth to help with her developmental delays. As Margaret continued physical therapy she was just slightly developmentally behind her twin. At the age of 2 1/2 both children were on point developmentally.

Components that help Margaret in an Early Intervention program would include the physical therapy she is receiving to help her continue to develop.

A positive instructional environemtnet for margaret might include one with technology. This would allow her to work on the computer with another student and together progress on their work. Each student would push one another to their full potential.

A teaching strategy I might incorporate for Margaret would be a social skills instruction. This might include working in groups. This would allow margaret the opportunity to work along side her classmates who will push her to do her best and also help promote her social skills within the classroom.

Ricky is "at risk" because of the background and home life that he has. His mother is a teen mother who lives with a same-age cousin. She works part time and is still trying to party like a child. His parents are divorced creating an instability within the family. Often times he is left alone and neglected.

Ricky would benefit from an early intervention program, one that would provide social and behavioral skills.

Ricky has seen a lot of instability in his life. Giving him structured assignments whether that be drawing shapes of writing letters will help guide him and teach him the idea of having a goal and working towards it.

I think one teaching strategy that would benefit Ricky would be to assign him a role in the classroom. This could include cleaning the white board after class or straightening up different centers.

The things that are contributing to Cody's "at risk" classification include the inconsistency at home. His parents are divorced which can make it difficult on Cody especially spending time in two different home settings. While living with mom, the computer is not allowed. Living with dad, it is encouraged. Because of this instability it helps create an at risk environment at home for Cody.

I would encourage Cody to use the computer and try different games to help promote his literacy and basic readiness skills. When Cody is at home and being told two different things it could be difficult for him to show his true potential. Encouraging him to use familiar technology will allow his mind to flourish and hopefully develop more rapidly.

Having Cody use match cards on the computer would be a great way to help him memorize his alphabet and basic demographic information. Associating objects with meaning is important at this age and if technology is something that a student knows, we should encourage it.