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Case Study 1
Case Study on Student Learning
By Heidi Riehl
EDU 6613, Standards Based Assessments
March 18, 2009
Case Study 2
Teaching Context
JB attends Liberty Elementary in Marysville Washington. The school is an older
facility that was built as a neighborhood school that families could walk to. There is a
real sense of community in this school between families and staff. The staff is dedicated
to the kids and the kids are dedicated to the staff. Liberty is a Title One school with 75%
free and reduced lunch and many of the families live in poverty. Liberty Elementary also
has quite a bit of diversity and a large ELL population.
The classroom in which JB learns is colorful, clean, and comfortable. The walls
display student work, posters, and learning aids, such as a word wall and an alphabet. The
furniture is laid out openly with room for movement. The room is divided by learning
areas: student tables, carpet meeting area, library, drama center, art center, writing center,
and small group work. Materials and supplies are easily accessible and well organized for
learning and use. The philosophy in the classroom is one of safety, caring, fun, and
student choice.
JB is a kindergartener in a class of 23 students, aged 5-6 years old. The class is
made up of eight girls and fifteen boys. The kids are primarily white, with one
Vietnamese child, two African American, two racially mixed and five Hispanic children.
There are five ELL students, both boys and girls. Three children are on behavior plans
and four students are on Individualized Educational Plans for speech. The skill level
varies from low (not meeting first trimester standards for Kindergarten) to high
(demonstrating skills at a first grade level). All the students live in low socioeconomic
homes including one or both parents. JB is a six year old, Caucasian boy. He began the
year on a behavior plan and has since been exited out. His skill level has always been
Case Study 3medium to high in literacy and math. JB comes to class from a two-parent household with
multiple younger siblings. Socially, he demonstrated some aggressive play at the
beginning of the year, but has since matured and works well with any of the students in
class.
Kindergarten Curriculum and Standards
Currently, Marysville Kindergarteners need to have a well developed sense of
numbers, their order, and counting to 50. They should be able to count by ones and tens.
They need to develop patterning, sorting, and addition skills. The math curriculum used
in the district is Everyday Math, which has higher standards and more demanding skills.
This curriculum more closely resembles the state standards, than the Marysville
Kindergarten assessment card. In literacy, they need to learn about the relationship
between letters and sounds and how to apply them to reading and writing.
Kindergarteners are required to learn to read, but also how to think deeper about stories.
They need to understand concepts of print, types and styles of books, how to choose a
book, and relationships between words, such as rhyming. In writing, Kindergarteners are
required to think of ideas, write them down with an accompanying picture. They should
apply spelling patterns and a complete sentence format. Again, these district standards
match some of the state standards, but do not encompass all of them. This year, the
district decided that all Kindergarten readers need to be at a C level based on Fountas and
Pinnell leveling and assessment kit. Liberty Elementary has a unique literacy program
because it is a Title One school. They adopted the Success For All program that uses Fast
Track Phonics and Kinderroots reading program for Kindergarteners. This year the
Case Study 4district has developed Literacy Units of Study for each month that incorporates mini-
lessons and components of balanced literacy.
Student as a Learner and What He Has Learned
JB has built solid understanding of letter and sound knowledge that he can apply
when he is reading and writing. He knows more than 25 sight words and can identify
beginning and ending sounds in words. He is able to spell out and write simple three
letter words, but struggles with middle sounds (vowels). JB knows how to choose a book.
He looks at the front cover, back cover, and does a picture walk. He also chooses books
based on interest. The next step will be for him to look at the words in the books and
decide whether the text will be easy, just right, or too hard. He is reading level B books.
As he reads, he will look for picture clues to identify a word he doesn’t know, but does
not consider the initial sound when making a guess. For example, if he comes to “Here is
the party.” He will look at the picture, see a table, and read “Here is a table.” I am
working with him to look at the initial sound in the word and then consult the picture to
make an educated guess. I also want him to begin trying to sound out short words in text.
Finally, I would like JB to consider whether his guess makes sense to the story by going
back and rereading the text. During class discussions of books, JB seems as if he is not
paying attention, but he is actually an attentive listener who thinks deeply about the story.
He often contributes ideas about the story, details he has noticed in the pictures, or makes
connections to other books or his own life. As a writer, he is very creative and currently
writes one complete sentence. When instructed, he will write more than one sentence. He
likes to write about dinosaurs, friends, and topics learned in class. His next steps are to
Case Study 5add details into his sentences, write more than one sentence, and think about the who,
what, and where as he writes. He quickly grasps math concepts, such as, counting,
money, patterning, sorting, shapes, estimating, etc. He is able to apply what he has
learned in math to the world around him. He is working on numbers beyond 50, number
stories (addition and subtraction), and time. He loves to challenge himself with problem-
solving, books that are at his instructional level, and going beyond what is asked of the
teacher. JB tends to be very critical of himself and when he perceives a mistake he has
made, he will put himself in timeout. He is responsible, happy, and motivated as a
learner.
Evidence that Student is Learning
Formally, JB is assessed through Kindergarten assessment cards that cover math,
writing, and literacy, a checklist of math skills from Everyday Math, Benchmark Running
Records from Fountas and Pinnell, and Dibels Assessment booklets. Informally, he is
assessed every week through conferring notes on reading and writing skills. Informal
running records are administered to assess what strategies are being applied and JB’s
easy and instructional reading levels. Observations are made daily on math skills, social
interactions, problem-solving skills, and work habits.
What Instructional Practices are Helping/Hindering JB in Class
JB works best when he has choice, a quiet environment, and support. He
continues to build confidence and feels comfortable sharing. He can read and write longer
when he is not distracted by noise or interruptions. To accurately assess him, I sometimes
have to interrupt his reading and writing so that I can confer. Kindergarten is a very
social environment and sometimes, the noise level or sharing of ideas can be distracting
Case Study 6to JB. He responds well when there is time to share and discuss ideas in class. This is not
always possible in the day and lessens his motivation to listen. JB, himself is his biggest
hindrance as he shuts down and will not work when he makes a mistake, usually behavior
related, not academic. Mini-lessons regarding strategies and skills for reading, writing,
and math support JB's learning as they are short and to the point. When lessons drag on
or do not seem relevant to his skill level, JB quits listening and loses engagement.
What Does JB Need to Know About Reading and Writing to be Well-rounded?
Reading, writing, and math in Kindergarten set the foundation for students to
build on the rest of their school careers. These subjects also give students skills they can
use outside of the classroom in the real world. Every task, activity, interaction that
students encounter requires some level of reading, writing, and/or math skills. JB needs to
have a basic understanding of the format of books, strategies for decoding unknown
words, strategies for understanding what is read, a word bank of commonly read words,
strategies for spelling, an understanding of what makes a sentence, ability to think of
ideas, an understanding of how reading and writing relate, and finally, a good sense of
numbers and their uses.
Case Study
JB has demonstrated above average skills in reading, writing, and math. While he
has next steps and goals in all areas, this case study specifically focuses on JB’s writing
skills and progress. He can think of ideas and write a complete sentence, whether the
topic is teacher directed or free choice. He has an understanding of sounds and spelling
patterns that he incorporates as he writes words. He is a very capable independent writer.
Case Study 7When asked, JB felt writing was fun because he likes to write, color, and make
books. He feels writing is easy, but that words can be hard because of the different letters.
Writing is easier when he knows how to spell, and can write about dinosaurs. He likes to
write with his teacher, but also on his own in his journal. He doesn’t like writing about
things he is not interested in, like care bears. At home, he writes in workbooks with his
mom and does writing on his homework. He believes he needs to learn to write, so that
he can write numbers and words when he becomes a dinosaur man.
January 2009 – “I hav and cold and sniffles. I need a cough drop”
I noticed that JB was inconsistently using punctuation at the end of sentences and not rereading his sentences to edit when something doesn’t make sense. I decided he needed to work on these two goals as during writing workshop.
Case Study 8
February 5, 2009 – “I have a $100! I will buy time mushen”
After whole class lessons reviewing the use of punctuation at the end of sentences, he still was not adding them independently.
I decided to focus on the following standards as goals for JB in writing workshop.
Case Study 9
After reviewing JB’s writing in January and the early part of February, I decided to focus on the following standards as JB’s writing goals.
EALR 1. The student understands and uses a writing process. Component 1.3 Revises to improve text. GLE 1.3.1 Understands that writing can be changed.
Component 1.4 Edits text.GLE 1.4.1 Understands that there are conventions of punctuation and capitalization in writing.
February 12, 2009 – “My Heart Book, My heart is red My heart is red and. green pretty. My. heart. has dots”
After whole class lessons reviewing the use of punctuation at the end of sentences and conferring with JB, he was remembering to use punctuation, but not in the appropriate places.
Case Study 10
February 17, 2009 – “Polar bears like to eat sel. they play”
Through conferring during writing workshop on his goals, JB was able to remember to use a period (not consistently and reread to edit his writing.
Over the past three weeks, I have observed JB’s work habits as he is writing, his
spelling, how he develops an idea, and what conventions he is using. I have found that he
continues to forget to add a period or exclamation point at the end of his sentences when
Case Study 11
February 23, 2009 – “I see a dinosaurs an polar bears live on Ice”
During conferring , I had JB go back and reread his writing after I modeled, and edit or add in punctuation. He still continues to struggle with remembering this step.
he writes. I also notice that he is capable of writing on many subjects, but when given
choice, always writes about dinosaurs or thinks about how to relate the writing task to
dinosaurs. The whole class has been working on rereading what they write and editing
the picture or text when needed. He does this with reminders, but I am trying to help him
remember to do it as a routine like adding his author line.
My instruction and interventions have been through mini-lessons during writing
workshop and individual conferring with Jeremy. My assessment of his progress is
observation during writing workshop, his journal, formal projects, and informal phonics
work that incorporates a writing piece, which I take notes on. Week one, I observed he
was using his own ideas, used spacing between words, and no punctuation. Week two, I
saw he was adding great detail into his pictures, writing complete sentences, but was still
not remembering to add punctuation to the end of the sentence. He wrote “The queen bee
is my fen” without a period. Week three, I noted that he was still using quite a bit of
detail, consistently using uppercase letters to begin his sentences and beginning to use a
period at the end of sentences without reminders. He wrote “The cone is pokudot.” I still
did not see consistent use independently without reminders. He will go back and reread
his writing to edit, but again not consistently during independent writing. I feel this may
be a goal for the end of the year, not over three weeks.
Case Study 12
Conclusions
I believe writing is very important skill that connects to all other subjects in
school. It is used in a variety of ways, whether students write a story, a letter, or a list. As
I teach lessons in writing, I constantly look at what the students are doing in their
March 4, 2009 – Cover – “My UP Book!” “My Dinosaurs si up.”P 1 – “My Dinosaurs up”P 2 – “My Dinosaurs si little an up.”P 3 – “My Dinosaurs is up.”After the mini-lesson review, incorporating editing into morning message, conferring with JB about remembering to add a period and reread for editing, I can see he made some progress with punctuation use. My next strategy will be to have a poster checklist that he can refer to after he finishes writing his idea.
Case Study 13journals, during time in writing center, and in more formal writing to assess whether a
lesson has been successful. Some skills, such as, a complete sentence takes multiple
lessons and review for the whole class. I confer with individual students when I feel a
specific skill has not been understood by a few and to develop goals. Often, I think
standards and curriculum are developed by those who do not have an understanding of
Kindergarteners’ capabilities and developmental stages. My job as the teacher is to look
at the writing skills of the class and individual students to know what the kids are ready
for and what skills need more practice.