Mini Case Study

                During the first meeting with my student we completed benchmarking using the Fountas and Pinnelle benchmarking program. The student ended up completing level “R” with 96% accuracy. This became his instructional level for the beginning of this term. During reading, I noticed that he needed to work on reading more fluently. He spoke in phrases of 2-3 words. He also had difficulties answering questions that were asked to him to respond to. I attributed the difficulties of answering questions to his lack of reading fluency.  At the second meeting, we completed the Elementary Spelling Inventory. Through this assessment it became clear that the student needed to work on inflected endings. Reading fluency and word work with inflected endings became the focus of our time together based off of the information these assessments provided for me.

            Because I will no longer be working with this student, I feel that it is important to suggest ideas to continue to build fluency as well as furthering the inflected endings instruction that I began. I would recommend that the teacher continue to work with the child on inflected ending word sorts. There are many rules to the English language that are difficult for children to comprehend and many of us do not learn them in school as children. It will immensely help our children to build their knowledge of how our language works therefore I believe this is an area that the student would benefit from teacher instruction. I would also recommend that the teacher continue to discuss how punctuation affects how we read and continue to reinforce pausing at periods and using expression while reading. For parents, I would suggest that they work on reading aloud together on a regular basis. Children that need to build fluency need to read and reread. Therefore, repeated readings would be beneficial for the student. Another activity I would have the parent do with their child is echo reading. He responded to this activity well one on one with me and took what he learned into our next meetings.

            In completing this case study, I became more comfortable with the benchmarking process. Prior to this experience, I was extremely nervous to benchmark children and was not confident in doing this. Benchmarking and running records is truly a task that you need to simply jump into in order to build the skill. Over the time we spent together, I noticed that the student had a difficult time paying attention in class or individually with me. The only time I could get him to pay attention was when we were doing running records. Because I could not get his attention, I choose a book that was a couple levels above his instructional level. I found that choosing a book that was challenging for him helped him to be more engaged. He was also extremely excited to read a book about soccer. He loved the book “Tangerine” by Edward Bloor and the book independently. He had always made progress in the book when I had returned to work with him again. I learned that at times, it is more important to allow children the ability to work with content that is interesting to them so that they may become invested in their learning. In the end, the student jumped two reading levels in the short time we spent together and that this was a great success for the both of us.

Benchmarking



Benchmarking Running Record



The final time I met with this student I benchmarked him to monitor for progress made over the time we worked together. I had anticipated that he had gone up at least one level, therefore we began with a Non Fiction level “S”. He completed this with 99% accuracy and had carried over concepts of fluency that we had worked on, helping him to comprehend what he had read. We decided to try a level T because he had done so well. He completed the level “T”, fiction, with 97% accuracy. This will be his new instructional level. The student climbed two levels over the time I have spent with him. Clearly we made great strides in progress!

Fifth Meeting

GV Daily Lesson Plan

Student Name: Jessica Dow                         Course Title; Semester: EDUC 325; Spring 2013

Title of Lesson: Building Fluency Though Echo Reading   Total Lesson Time: 30 Minutes  

Grade(s): 3rd                                                                      Subject Area: Literacy                 

This lesson is part of a unit over Building Reading Fluency

Curriculum Standard(s):

Iowa Core/District/National Fluency RF.3.4. Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. ·         Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding. ·         Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression. ·         Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Learning Objectives and How Assessed:

Learning Objective(s)	Assessment Plan
Student will be able to: 1.      Identify when to break, pause, and use expression during reading. 2.      Evaluate themselves on their reading fluency using a rubric provided.	1.      Student will read passage provided for them allowing breaks at punctuation and reading with appropriate expression. 2.      Student will fill out a rubric provided by the teacher, rating their ability to read fluently, thus identifying strengths and weaknesses of student reading fluency.

Content Outline of the Lesson:                                   Materials Needed:

Student will participate in Echo Reading in order to build reading fluency using the passage “A Popular Song”, chosen for him at his instructional level. Student will continue to work on the work sort of adding –ing to a word and stating the rule used in each word as he sorts them.

·         A-Z Reading Fluency Passage “A Popular Song” Level R ·         Reading Fluency Rubric ·         Word Sort

Lesson Procedures:	Time	Differentiation (Adaptations for Diverse Learners, ELL, Gifted)
1.  Before Reading: **Activate Student Schema *Review what it means to read fluently. Discuss with the student reading speed, accuracy, expression, and reading comprehension and how these components influence reading fluently. *Review the importance of fluent reading and how it helps us to better understand what we are reading. 2.  During Reading *Read sentences to student and have the student repeat what you read and how you read it. This will help them to recognize when to pause and how to add expression. They will also notice their ability to comprehend the text as well as that the reading sounds conversational. *While you are reading, model fluency and expression with your voice. *As you read, ask the student what you do when you come to a comma, period, question mark, and exclamation point. (Pause, breaks, and expression) 3.  After Reading *Have the student fill out the rubric provided on how he feels his reading fluency is in the various categories of reading fluency. *Use this information to discuss what the child would like to continue to work on. *Identify strengths and weaknesses to the student. Make suggestions to on what you feel the student should continue to focus on. *Set a goal together, deciding what aspect you both feel the student should continue to focus on. 4.  Word Work *Complete the –ing word sort. *Have the child arrange the words using the headings. *Allow the child to complete the word sort with as much time as needed. *Have the student explain why each word belongs in each column and how that word follows the rule he places it under. *Review drop e add –ing, doubling final consonant and add –ing, and adding –ing to the base word. 5.  Closure *Quickly review what to do when you come to a period, comma, question mark, or exclamation mark in your reading. *Review the meaning of reading fluency and how it helps us to better understand what we read. *Restate the area and goal that you and the student set to continue to build reading fluency.	5 Min 10 Min 7 Min 5 Min 3 Min	*This lesson is specifically created to fit the individual needs of this child. Therefore, there is no need for further differentiation.

References:

Reading A-Z

Reflection on Student Learning:

            Through the teaching of this lesson, I have learned that it is important for children to critique their own work so that the teacher can see what the student feels they are producing. Through the fluency rubric, my student was able to recognize that he lacks expression in his reading and that his reading does not sound like he is talking to a friend. I also learned that many students can benefit from echo reading techniques in regards to fluency. After reading a phrase, my student repeated the phrase back to me exactly as I had read it. This was the first time that my student read loud enough for me to clearly understand him and also the first time that he read with any fluctuation in his voice.

            My student was quick to recognize how to incorporate reading fluently into anything we were reading. Suddenly, when reading other texts he was reading with expression and correct phrasing. This student is becoming more competent with the word sort we have been working on. He is now able to explain the rules to adding –ing to a word as well as why we follow these rules.

            We completed this session by setting a goal. Goals are important for students so that they know what they should be working on. Setting goals should be measurable and include short term and long term goals. Because this is one of our last meetings, we decided to simply pick an area to focus on when reading aloud on his own in the future as I will no longer be a key support system for this student. We decided that expression would be the best area for him to continue to work on. He will continue to be aware of his expression while reading and strive to  make his reading sound conversational.

Fourth Meeting



Word Sort

 Today I met with my student. The first thing I asked him is if he had been reading his book. He had read a few pages on his own sense we have last met. He said he was enjoying the book and smiled. Before we began our reading for the day I reminded him of the word sort we completed the last time we met. We discussed the rules of dropping the e to add –ing, doubling the last consonant and adding –ing, and adding –ing to a base word. My student asked me what a base word was. I reminded him of the discovery he made with base words in the previous meeting. We then practiced identifying base words as I saw a need for further instruction on the matter. After our review, I allowed the student to complete the word sort as I timed him. He completed the sort in 3 minutes and 20 seconds. We will do this again at our next meeting to see if he can improve upon his accuracy and his time. I have noticed that this student needs motivation to

stay on task and focused and timing him allows him to stay on task without being frustrated. Finally, we resumed out reading in the book Tangerine. I allowed him time to read and enjoy the book and then we discussed how we can make our reading better. We took turns reading sentences from the text with prosody and expression. I noticed while we read that the student does not always read the words in the text but attempts to insert words that may make sense in the context he is given. When I ask him to return to a word and reread, he has a difficult time chunking words to decode them. I believe that this may be a potential mini lesson in our next meeting.

Third Meeting

GV Daily Lesson Plan

Student Name: Jessica Dow                         Course Title; Semester: EDUC 325; Spring 2013

Title of Lesson: Tangerine by. Edward Bloor  Total Lesson Time: 45 Minutes                      

Grade(s): 3rd                                                   Subject Area: Literacy                                    

This lesson is part of a unit over Building Reading Fluency

Curriculum Standard(s):

Iowa Core/District/National Fluency RF.3.4. Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. ·         Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding. ·         Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression. ·         Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Learning Objectives and How Assessed:

Learning Objective(s)	Assessment Plan
Student will be able to: 1.      Identify that schema helps comprehend what we are reading. 2.      Identify what fluent reading sounds like. 3.      Identify that reading fluency affects reading comprehension.	1.      Student will discuss how identifying schema on soccer helps to comprehend what he is reading. 2.      Verbally distinguish 2 characteristics of fluent reading (Expression, natural phrases and pauses, sounds like we are speaking.) As we listen to clips of his reading and my own reading. 3.      Answer the question how does fluency affect reading comprehension?

Content Outline of the Lesson:                                   Materials Needed:

Today we will begin reading the book Tangerine by Edward Bloor. This book has been chosen based off of his interest and reading level. We will begin by activating his schema he has on soccer, introduce the book, begin reading the text aloud (taking turns modeling fluency), using the app Croak.it! to record reading fluency, and working with inflected ing endings. We will also set a goal to accomplish for the rest of the meetings we have together.

Schema Worksheet iPad Croak.it! Tangerine by Edward Bloor

Lesson Procedures:	Time	Differentiation (Adaptations for Diverse Learners, ELL, Gifted)
1.  Before Reading: **Activate Student Schema *Introduce the word schema to the student. Tell him that schema is our background information and prior knowledge that we have on a subject. *Tell the student that schema helps us to make connections with the text we are reading to better understand what we are reading. *We build schema through experiences, reading, and through our classes. *Have the child write the schema that they have about soccer in the brain and discuss the schema that he has with the topic. **Introduce the Book *Tell the student that we will begin reading the book Tangerine by Edward Bloor. *Tell the student that you have chosen this book for him as he had said that soccer is his favorite sport and that he likes to read about sports. *Tell the student that this book is about a boy named Paul who recently moved to Tangerine, Florida. Paul is legally blind without his glasses. But still he is a tremendous soccer keeper. *Read the back cover of the book to find out what the book with be about. 2.  During Reading *Take turns reading the text aloud. *While you are reading, model fluency and expression with your voice. *As the student reads, use the app Croak.it! on the iPad and record his reading. (This app will record 30 second clips of his reading. Send the clips to your e-mail to access at a later date and compare his reading fluency at the beginning of the meetings to the end of the meetings.) *Repeat reading and alternating reading aloud. Record 2 or 3 clips of reading for your access. 3.  After Reading *Tell the student that we are going to listen to how he reads using the recordings taken during reading. *Have the child identify differences between your reading and his reading. *Discuss how reading should sound natural and how we would speak. *Discuss how we add expression when we read and that we take breaths at periods. *Tell him that reading fluently helps us to better understand what we are reading. *Discuss how it is easier to comprehend what is being read when we read fluently vs. in short phrases. 4.  Word Work *Complete the –ing word sort. *Have the child arrange the words without the headings to begin with. *After 3-4 minutes of allowing the student to organize and explore the patterns of words, have the child explain how they have organized the words and why. *After the child explains their organization give them the categories. Discuss, doubling the last consonant and adding ing, dropping the e and adding ing, and adding ing to the base word. *Allow the child to reorganize the words with this new information. 5.  Closure *Set a goal with the child. What kind of improvement does he want to see and what do you expect to see as he improves? *Ask what are 2 characteristics of fluent reading? *Ask how does reading fluency affect reading comprehension?	5 Min 3 Min 15 Min 10 Min 7 Min 5 Min .	*This lesson is specifically created to fit the individual needs of this child. Therefore, there is no need for further differentiation. *Record answers of two questions to demonstrate understanding. These questions will be asked again at the end of our sessions to show growth.

References:

Schema Worksheet, Andrea Morris

Schema Worksheet

Reflection on Student Learning:

This lesson was extremely successful for this student. He was extremely excited about the book I have chosen for him because it was based on his interest, soccer. We began by filling in a schema sheet. He learned what schema is and how it can help you to better understand what we are reading. We discussed how he would better understand the book Tangerine, a book about a child that plays soccer, than someone who did not play soccer.

We than began to read the story after I introduced the story to him. He was eager to begin reading the story because of the way I introduced it to him. Showing the student that you are excited about the literature you are reading helps to excited them as well. Therefore, through this experience I have learned how important it is to introduce a new book in an exciting way. For children that dislike reading, I believe that it helps the student to have the teacher hand pick a book for them because this can be exciting for them.

I found that my student truly enjoyed reading a book that was interesting to him. This book is a few levels higher than what he ended up benchmarking at. However, he did a wonderful job reading. Therefore, I have learned that if students have a motivation to read a book and the interest to do so, we should not discourage them from reading it. Typically, our students are turned off by reading because they cannot read the books they want to read. So allowing him the time to read this book was truly important to him and he did not want to stop.

Through working with the word sort I had created on inflectional endings (specifically –ing endings) the student discovered what a base word is, how we drop the e, and how we double the final consonant to add the –ing. He is now able to identify the base word and how the word was manipulated to create a new word. Through the word sort, I have realized that the student thrives on hands on activities and likes to do rather than watch. I will take this into account while creating instruction for him in the future.

Second Meeting

During the second meeting with my reader we spent the majority of the time discussing his interests as a reader, a student, and outside of the classroom. Although benchmarking is an extremely important task to complete so the child can be taught at the correct instructional level, I believe that it is just as important to know the child in all aspect of their life so that we can create an instruction that appeals to them. To do this, I gave my reader an interest inventory, which we completed and discussed together. I learned that his favorite subject in school is science because he gets to complete experiments and that he dislikes writing because it makes his hand tired. I have found that many children begin to dislike writing because it places them in physical pain and as a teacher this is worth considering. His favorite place to read is at home, because he can read in a comfortable place in his room. He also indicated that his favorite genre is non-fiction and he likes to read anything about sports. He plays soccer outside of school and is looking forward to this coming season. He has six pets, 3 birds and 3 fish. I also felt like I needed to find out what motivates this child to read as I work with him. Therefore, I gave him a reading attitude survey that we also completed and discussed together. Overall, the student in internally motivated to read and enjoys it. However, he is most excited to read in the comfort of his own home. We then completed the Elementary Spelling Inventory (ESI). I told him that I wanted him to write the words as he heard them and that this test would not be graded but that it was important that he do his best. After analyzing this test I found that the student understood initial and final consonants, short vowels, digraphs, blends, long vowels, other vowels, and syllable structures. However, the student struggles with inflected endings which I will target in my instruction to come. We ended our session by having him read aloud to me and also noticed that he reads with little expression. Therefore, we will be working on voice and adding expression as we read as opposed to reading monotone and in short phrases as we are reading aloud. Reading fluency is related to the child’s ability to comprehend the text they are reading. Therefore, working with the child with fluency will help build his ability to comprehend what he is reading. This meeting has allowed me to access the information necessary to provide effective instruction for the student and help further his reading abilities. I am currently thinking about reading the book Tangerine by Edward Bloor based off of the information I have gathered from the intrest inventory.

The reading attitude survey we completed can be found at: http://www.professorgarfield.org/parents_teachers/printables/pdfs/reading/readingsurvey.pdf

First Meeting

My cooperating teacher has recently started the benchmarking process for the second time this year. Being that I will be working with an individual reader, he felt that it would be a wonderful idea if I benchmark the student, I agreed. I meet with this student, introduced myself, and asked if he would like to work with me individually while I was working with his class for my practicum. He eagerly agreed. I explained to him that the first couple of meetings would be about getting to know each other so that I can create lessons that will be enjoyable, exciting, and benefit him as a reader. After we engaged in small talk about his weekend, we began the benchmarking process. I explained to him that I would be writing down what he was saying as he read to me aloud. For benchmarking purposes, the school I work with uses the Fountas and Pinnell benchmarking system. I began with the level “N” because this is where the student was marked for instructional level during the first benchmarks. The student read this as a cold read and read and comprehended with ease. We continued until we hit level “R” as he completed levels “O”, “P”, “Q” with 98% accuracy. This was a difficult read for the student and he finished the read with 96% accuracy. With my cooperating teacher, we concluded that this would be his instructional level for the time being. The student jumped 5 levels from the last benchmarking and will receive instruction at the level “R”. This level is representative of that of a 4^th grader in the middle of the year. Therefore, this student is above grade average on the Fountas and Pinnell benchmarking scale.