Staton 45
Reader Case Study
Educ 301
Kristi Staton
December 2, 2011
Reader Case Study – Phase I
Background Information
During the first phase, the researcher obtained an Education Evaluation, Case Conference Committee Report and ISTEP scores of a fourth grade male. He attends a local public elementary school. His teachers reported that he is a well-behaved student and wants to learn. He demonstrates good verbal expression and socially has many friends and is well-liked by his peers. His personality is pleasant and he is a joy to be with. The student’s social economic status is unknown at this time. The student comes from a one-parent home. His mother and father are divorced but have joint custody. He lives with his mother and older brother. It is reported that the student, although premature, has had a healthy childhood with no serious illnesses or injuries. The student, however, does have an allergy to bee stings.
The student has chores to do at home such as cleaning his room but enjoys swimming and riding horses in his free time. His mother commented that he hates to read and becomes easily frustrated. She also reported that his relationships with others were fine but it was noted that the father had a specific learning disability. His mother has requested that the student be evaluated for SLD and ADHD.
The student has passed the school screening tests for both vision and hearing. The student’s strengths are in visual and kinesthetic modalities. His weaknesses included language arts skills, phonics and processing speed. He has a difficulty understanding some new concepts and retaining what he has learned. His reading scores remain below average. After being evaluated it was concluded that the student is eligible for a Specific Learning Disability and not a cognitive impairment under Article 7.
Assessment
After talking with the student’s teacher and looking over the educational evaluation, the researcher decided that her main focus would be on the student’s phonics and processing speed. Because of the low ISTEP scores, the researcher will focus on other areas while in conjunction with phonics and processing, where the student was below average. The student confuses his Bs and Ds often and the researcher plans on addressing and introducing new ideas to help student differentiate between the two. Phonics and processing speed will still be the main focus of the reader case study. The researcher has noted that the student be given appropriate breaks throughout assessments.
Assessments will be a very important part to this case study and two specific ones will be administered at 3 different times. After looking at available benchmarks, the researcher will choose an appropriate level book to assess the student with. The research will use a benchmark to assess the student and will record words that are mispronounced or skipped. The time to complete the book will also be recorded. The researcher has noted that the student gets overwhelmed and frustrated when too much information is on a page. This assessment will show the student’s improvement of accuracy throughout the time spent with the researcher.
Using the three stages of assessment, the researcher will be able to record the student’s improvement during the time spent between the researcher and the student. Before any instruction is provided to the student from the researcher, the research will administer the initial screening. The researcher will use a Wilson assessment to assess the student’s phonics and a benchmark to record how many words the student was able to read correctly and note about the student’s fluency. Depending on the amount of mispronounced words the researcher will develop her instruction’s difficulty. After the third lesson has been taught the researcher will administer the benchmark and Wilson Assessment for the second time and be used to check the student’s progress. The researcher will compare the results from these assessments with those administered before lessons were taught to see if any improvements need to be made. If improvement is obvious, the researcher will continue with appropriate instruction, however, if improvement has not been made the researcher will use different techniques to instruct the student. The third and final time that this benchmark and Wilson Assessment will be administered to the student will be used as outcome based assessments. The researcher will compare both the initial assessment and the final assessment. These two assessments will accurately show how much improvement has been made and if the researcher was effective in instructing. Using an excel spread sheet, all three scores will be recorded. The researcher will use a bar graph to visually show the improvement of the student. The researcher will also use homework, anecdotal notes, and graphic organizers as forms of assessments.
Assessment Database
Name / Grade / How to use it / When to use it / Information provided / Reference informationReading Comprehension Tests / 4th / Administer like any test. / Throughout year to test for improvement / Several versions of reading comprehension tests to record improvement / http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skill_builders/reading_comprehension_language_arts_fourth_4th_grade.htm
Running Records / K-12 / Record accuracy / Once a week / Use to show improvement in fluency and sight words / http://www.readinga-z.com/guided/runrecord.html
Unaided Writing Assessment / K-4 / Administer using the 6th phases / 4 times a year / Use to find child’s strengths and weaknesses / http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/Assessment.htm
Oral Fluency Assessment Calculator / 3-5 / Passage and timed to find out WPM / monthly / Use for improvement comparison with student and peers / http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4446
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) reading assessments / K-6 / On computer / 3 times a year / Phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension / http://theteacherscafe.com/Teachers-Resource/Reading/DIBELS-Reading-Assessment.htm
Reader Case Study – Phase II
Administration of Screening Assessment
The researcher will work to improve the phonics of a fourth grade male. The researcher administered a Wilson Assessment and a benchmark. Both assessments took place in the resource room with no other children around during the tests. For the Wilson Assessment the student was shown all consonant letters and asked to say each consonant sound aloud. He was then shown digraphs and trigraphs (sh, ck, ch, ect) and asked to say each sound aloud. Next the student was shown vowels and asked to repeat all possible sounds each vowel can make. The student was asked to say the sounds of additional letter combinations such as am, an, all ect. Lastly the student was given a list of words and asked to say each word aloud. If the student mispronounced 5 words in a row he did not move on to the rest of the lists. During this time the researcher tracked the sounds that were said correctly and marked which sounds he produced with difficulty. Those that were left blank the student did not attempt to say. The researcher also used a benchmark for a Level K book. The researcher noted the student’s average WPM and marked words that the student mispronounced or skipped over. A fluency score was then given at the end of the assessment.
Interpretations of Assessment
Following the assessments, the researcher reflected on the scores. The student was able to state at least one sound of each vowel and only mixed up the consonant sounds of b and d. After looking at the assessments the researcher concluded that the problem was not based solely on phonics but on putting words together. She was able to conclude this from the list of words the student verbally said at the end of the Wilson Assessment. The researcher feels that the student needs one-on-one help to increase his phonics skills and fluency. This will be done through a series of five lessons, which the researcher will conduct during the morning from 9:05-9:30 in the resource room.
Plan of Action
Based on the background knowledge of the student the researcher was able to pick out mystery books to incorporate in the lessons. The student seemed to get excited about chapter books so the research was able to choose books at his reading level that had small chapters. This seemed to motivate the student to continue to read. It is noted in student’s IEP that he often got frustrated when reading and it was the researcher’s intention to be able to use books to keep student engaged and motivated throughout the lesson. The books were borrowed from a cooperating teacher that is the school’s resource teacher. The researcher will chose a graphic organizer, review games, and appropriate worksheets to use during the lessons. The researcher also plans on using the mystery books to motivate that student to get through the lessons quickly and efficiently. The researcher will develop lessons on phonics and have a slight focus on fluency. The lessons will include strategies to differentiate between b and d, the silent E rule, and beginning, middle, and ending sounds. Increasing speed is not a goal in the researcher’s instruction but the researcher will incorporate the importance of accuracy and help guide the student into re-reading until the words or sentences make sense.
Lesson Plans
Lesson 1
· Teacher will allow student to read for 15 min in the book, The Silver Buckle.
· Teacher will record how the student did and any problems that the student faced while reading the book.
· Next a worksheet will be introduced that worked on the silent E rule.
· Teacher will show student the rule and use the worksheet to practice making the long vowel sound with the silent E at the end.
· Student will then look at the worksheet and read the different vowel sounds and teacher will track if student is able to remember the silent E rule.
Lesson 2
· Give student a cube that has either a B or a D on each side.
· Have student roll cube and place the B or D on a word that starts with the appropriate letter.
· Teach student the “hand” strategy. (Make a B with the left hand and a d with the right. Tell student that the B is the left hand because it comes before in the alphabet.)
· Teach reviews silent E rule and ask if he remembers the rule.
· Show the student the worksheet with the difficult words on the bottom and introduce chunking.
· Have student read the first row and use chunking to figure out the word that is written.
· Ready The Silver Buckle- throughout reading if B and D are reversed have student use hand strategy to figure out the appropriate letter.
Lesson 3
· Show student silent E flashcards and separate into piles. Which words did student say incorrectly and which words did student say correctly.
· Go over worksheet that was introduced in previous lesson and go over at least one question in each section. Tell student to complete homework and bring it back next week.
· Introduce game- tell student that we are now going to work on beginning, middle and ending sounds. Using chunking we can figure out the beginning middle and ending sound. Go over multiple cards from game and have student say each word and then the beginning middle and ending of each word. Tell student next lesson we will play a matching game with these cards.
· Ready The Silver Buckle- throughout reading if B and D are reversed have student use hand strategy to figure out the appropriate letter.
· Assess student using Benchmark for Level K and Wilson Assessment
Lesson 4
· Collect student’s homework
· Go over homework and ask student to say what he did for at least one question in each section
· Go over silent E flashcards and separate into piles of which words student was able to say correctly and which ones he said incorrectly.
· Ready The Silver Buckle- throughout reading if B and D are reversed have student use hand strategy to figure out the appropriate letter.
· Play the game that matches beginning, middle or ending sounds with student
· Note if student has grasped the silent e and sounds that were previously introduced.
Lesson 5
· Pull out silent E cards and have student run through the flashcards.
· Next play the game that has to do with the beginning, middle and ending sides along with the silent e rule.
· Introduce the graphic organizer and have student complete as much as he can do
· Ready The Silver Buckle- throughout reading if B and D are reversed have student use hand strategy to figure out the appropriate letter.
· At the end of lesson do final assessment. Have student complete Wilson assessment. Student has been working on sound recognition and using literature to accurately read words. See what improvement student has been able to make through the lessons that you have instructed. Administer Benchmark for Level K book.
Dear Parents/Teachers,
Hello, I have been working with your child to determine what areas in reading he needs additional help. After assessing your child, we have determined that he would benefit from one-on-one instruction. The instruction will concentrate on fluency and sound recognition. During our lessons we will focus on review of sounds, and reading to increase fluency.
Within the 5 one-on-one intervention lessons, I will use different teaching strategies to focus on the previously listed areas. If there is a book from home that the child would like to read, please feel free to send it along with him. During our lessons your child will be introduced to new strategies that will aid him in becoming a proficient reader. I ask however, that at home when reading with the child you ask him to continue demonstrating the skills that he is being taught. I will not additional reading for the child, and ask that he complete the appropriate papers that are to be sent home with him throughout our lessons.