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Running head: LITERACY CASE STUDY 1

Literacy Case Study

Gina Harris

Georgia State University

LITERACY CASE STUDY 2

Literacy Case Study: Introduction

Profile of the student as a reader and writer

The student I chose to work with for this case study is one that is repeating her

kindergarten year. I had the opportunity to be a guest teacher in her room for about ten weeks

and watch some of her struggles and growths as a reader. She was not at benchmark with several

of her literacy skills at the end of her first year which led to the decision of retention. This

student is a six year old girl who behaves in class and likes to please her teacher. She is pleasant

to her classmates and enjoys playing all different kinds of games. She seems to be attentive

during whole group instruction but I have noticed she dazes off and sometimes has to be drawn

back into the discussion. During guided reading she waits for the teacher or a classmate to help

her with any skill we might be working on. She is helpful, and seems to be an overall happy

little girl. Her teacher mentioned, when I came in to take over for the marking period, she

struggles with change, and may have a hard time adjusting. I conducted a general interest

survey and discovered she likes to play and watch videos. Her interests included visiting her

family, collecting rocks, and playing with playdoh. She did not mention reading, writing or

listening to stories as activities she does outside of school. As I began to watch this student I

noticed she is not very motivated as a reader. She will do as she is asked, and try to complete

assignments to the best of her ability, but always wants that extra help or assistance to reassure

she is doing it right. The initial assessments I completed with this student included a sight word

assessment, DRA (developmental reading assessment), dictated writing assessment, and a guided

book selection inventory. Many of the informal assessments included watching and listening to

her in our guided reading groups. She knows less than 20 sight words automatically and after her

second year of kindergarten the expectation is for this number to be at least doubled. I noticed


even after a second year of kindergarten she is still struggling more than she should with

automaticity, fluency, and phonemic skill sets. During the guided book selection she chose the

books that were familiar to her, for example the Three Little Pigs. She did not seemed interested

in deviating from anything she had not seen before. This student is very strong in using visual

clues to help guess unknown words, but she is afraid to sound out words without those visual

clues. Her kindergarten teacher for the past two years mentioned some of her struggles and

confidences. She tends not to want to try an unknown word because she thinks she will get it

wrong. She also mentioned she struggles with decoding words and using strategies such as

chunking, word families or words within. Her teacher mentioned some of her strengths include

using picture clues, one on one correspondence and recognizing known sight words. This

student is pulled daily for one on one literacy assistance because she has not met benchmark for

all her kindergarten literacy skills. The learning consultant who pulls this student once a day

noticed some of her weaknesses as segmenting words and not attending to the beginning

letter/sound in a word. The learning consultant also mentioned one of her strengths is using

visual clues, however she sometimes inserts a word to match the picture instead of checking to

see if it matches the word on the page. For example, she will substitute the word bunny for rabbit

because she sees it in the picture. “Successful student readers are motivated, have a positive

attitude, possess a good, self-concept, and are capable of making accurate attributions for their

performances” (Afflerbach, 2012). Discussing this student’s weaknesses and strengths in

literacy, combined with my own observations has helped me conclude the reasons for her

struggles. Her lack of self-confidence and motivation are two factors in her struggles with

literacy.

Evidence of student work:


This student is making words with another student. I say

the word and they spell it

This student is taking turns reading her weekly sight word book.

Students write about their dads. She is sounding out what

she wants to say.


Evidence of Data Collection and analysis of QRI-5.

I began to understand my student’s literacy struggles more and more with every

assessment I administered. The QRI-5 helped me determine once again where this student was

struggling with reading. She consistently has trouble using decoding strategies and sight word

recognition. I knew which word list I was going to use with this student based on what she

could do in class, and the sight word assessments I had used previously. Her sight word

recognition was quite low. I knew I was going to use the Pre-Primer 1 word list. She was able to

automatically identify 12/17 words. She did not have any she just identified. If she was not able

to say the word within the first second she did not attempt to say it. I covered each word and

only showed her one at a time. This resulted in a 71% correct automatic, which was the same

percentage for the total number correct. According to the QRI-5 scoring sheet, this is her

instructional level. What I found interesting is some of the words she did not attempt, or

recognize were words I have seen her read off before when we were in our guided reading

groups. The concept questions for the Pre-Primer 1 passage titled, “I See” were fairly easy for

her. She was able to correctly identify a frog, a bug, and a pig. Her score was 9/9, which made

me feel comfortable with this level text for her. I chose to administer the prediction task after I

asked the concept questions. She was able to predict the story was going to be about different

animals that we see. She specified a frog, a pig and a bug. She only had three miscues for this

passage. According to the scoring guide she scored a 91% in accuracy and acceptability. When

she could not say a word she would substitute something based on the picture. For example, she

said fly for the word ant because she was not sure how to pronounce ant. She recalled seven of

the ten ideas for this passage and her explicit/implicit responses totaled four. This put her at an

instructional level for this text. I originally started with the Pre-Primer 2 passage, one step above


this one (“Just like Mom”) and realized she could not get through the first page. The learning

consultant suggested I start there, stating if she could recognize the word “just” she may do well.

She could not recognize it, and struggled with many other words in that passage. I took her

down a level and knew with the visual clues she would be able to get through the passage “I

See”. I anticipated her to do better than she did, but she seemed very shy and hesitant not

wanting to mess up. Based on this assessment as well as the others I have previously

administered my lessons with her will focus on segmenting words, sight word activities and

word solving strategies. The first lesson will focus on reviewing vowels and what sounds they

make. She would benefit from using sound boxes and spelling out words I say. The second

lesson will focus on creating simple sentences full of sight words. She likes to substitute words

when reading a text based on the picture she sees. If I were to have her make sentences using

puppy/dog, bunny/rabbit, hat/cap, coat/jacket etc., she would have to look at the beginning

sounds in the words I say and pick appropriately. I would like to include a lesson where she is

reading without using pictures so she is forced to focus on the words in front of her. I would also

like to add a writing component in with the last lesson. She was able to retell most of the lines in

the passage “I See” but the rhyming, pig/jig, frog/log, etc. helped her recall these lines. I would

like her to read a short story and retell in her own words what took place along with writing it

down. This way I am able to see her thought process happen on paper and where she might still

be struggling with sounds and word formation. At the end of kindergarten the focus is to pull

away from the pictures and be able to recognize and sound out words. She often reverses the b/d

sounds when reading, this has come up in other assessments as well as not attending to the

beginning and ending sounds in words. Focusing on sight words, segmenting words and

building her confidence with attempting unknown words will benefit her greatly. I feel her


confidence plays a huge part in her consistent errors with reading. I hope to see this change so

she can reach her full potential.

Rationale for Lesson 1:

I completed lesson number one with Morgan based on her QRI data, sight word

assessment and observations during guided reading group. Morgan tends to need reinforcement

when asked to produce short vowel sounds as well as providing examples. She seems to be

inconsistent at times with correct responses. She may know the sounds of the vowels but when

asked to give a word with that sound she seems to struggle. When asked to spell a word she

sometimes has a hard time differentiating which vowel to use. She sometimes has difficulty

recognizing high frequency words in sentences as well as spelling them when spoken to her. I

planned lesson one according to the miscues in her QRI data, as well as the other assessments

that dealt with phonemic awareness. She does not always here the middle sounds in words. I also

wanted her to practice writing and recognizing the letter b and d in the alphabet. She tends to

reverse these two letters, which is a developmental skill in kindergarten. Towards the end of

kindergarten it is expected they can write these letters correctly. I wanted this lesson to focus on

segmenting sounds in cvc words. The goal of this lesson is to help boost her confidence with

attempting to pronounce and spell unknown words. I used different visuals for this lesson. I

instructed her to spell words using magnetic letters, where she is able to see all the letters in front

of her. I also instructed her to write the words given to her by using a sound box template. This

way she is able to see there is a spot for each sound in the words she hears. Finally, I wanted her

to have some fun with spelling the words. I gave her an IPad and let her practice on a phonics

app. This kept her engaged and willing to keep trying.

Assessing Lesson 1:


The lesson was a success for Morgan. She did well with the review of each vowel and

was able to give me a word with each vowel sound. The magnetic letters in front of her were

very beneficial. She looked at the letters as she began to spell out the words I spoke. I

transitioned from having her manipulate magnetic letters to writing down words in sound boxes.

I kept my focus on three letter words so she did not get discouraged. She did well sounding out

the words. On a few occasions she had a hard time distinguishing between the short “i” and the

short “e” vowel sound. She still reversed the letter b and d in the word “and” and needed some

redirection in writing the word. I concluded the lesson by having her complete a similar activity

on a phonics app on the IPad. She enjoyed this and it kept her attention. This lesson was an

excellent example of authentic assessment with Morgan’s phonic skills. “Such assessments may

be embedded in classroom routines of instruction and learning and conducted during regular

activities of the classroom” (Afflerbach, 2012). The activities Morgan performed in this lesson

were activities she is expected to perform every day during reading and writing workshop as well

as guided reading groups. It is crucial she is able to segment, decode and write cvc words

independently to grow in her reading skills.

Lesson Plan Template

Theme or Concept to be learned: Student will be able to identify all short vowel sounds, and

each sound in three letter words.

Age/Grade Level: 6 years old/kindergarten

Time Required: 20 min

Overall Goal of the Lesson: The goal for this lesson is for the student to recognize each

sound in a word (beginning, middle, and end) and to correctly identify the short vowel sounds


in each word.

Content Objectives: Student will be able to identify all short vowel sounds and segment

words correctly.

Michigan Common Core Standards: R.F.K.2c- Blend and segment onsets and rimes of

single-syllable spoken words.

R.F.K.2d-Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel and final sounds in three-phoneme

words (cvc)

Explanation of how standards will guide the lesson content: These standards will guide the

lesson content by teaching the student how to single out each sound in CVC words by writing

and speaking the words.

Visual/Resources/Supplementary Materials: Sound box template, magnetic letters and white

board. IPad phonics app.

Key Vocabulary: Short vowel sound (a,e,i,o,u) consonant, segment

Detailed Sequence of the Lesson:

Time/Part of Lesson Objective/Rationale Teacher Activities

Learner Activities Discourse Pattern

Assessment

5 min/review Student will correctly identify each short vowel sound before demonstrating segmenting skills.

I ask student to identify each vowel letter using magnetic letters. Student is asked to say the short vowel sound of each letter and give a word with that sound.

Student picks up each vowel and says its sound. Student says a word with that sound in it.

T-S-T-S Student identifies each vowel and can give a word with the correct sound.

5 min/using letter tiles to build words

Student will spell words using letter manipulatives. Student will have visual of all

I say a word for student to build

Student builds words with magnetic letters.

T-S Student is able to correctly build three letter words by using letter manipulatives


letters of alphabet to assist in the word formation

5 min/ using sound box template to segment words.

Student will segment words by using a sound box template. Student has to form the letters and sound out words.

I say a CVC word for student to write in template

Student sounds out and writes CVC words

T-S-T-S Student is segmenting words correctly.

5 min/ closure review with a IPad phonics app.

Student will use IPad to spell words correctly. App says the word and scrambles the letters. Student must put beginning, middle and end sounds in place.

I explain app to student and model.

Student works on words that are given in app.

T-S Student correctly spells words with letters given in app.

Accommodations: N/A

Homework & Extended Activities: Student will be given a few pictures and have to write the

word below the picture as homework. Example: a picture of a net, pig, bat etc.

Linkage to Other Disciplines/Intelligences: This lesson links to students writing and decoding

skills.

Reference: Richardson, J. (2009). The next step in guided reading: Focused assessments and

targeted lessons for helping every student become a better reader. New York: Scholastic Inc.

Notes: The results of this lesson proved the student can identify letter sounds properly when she

is given one-on-one instruction. This student needs a high level of remediation to master the

standards expected in kindergarten. Reviewing and extended activities are very beneficial for

this student.

Rationale for lesson 2:


I completed lesson two based on Morgan’s QRI data, sight word assessment and results

of lesson one. She still has trouble with CVC words and sounding out the beginning and middle

sounds in words. I wanted to start this lesson with giving Morgan simple sentences to read. Each

sentence had a picture associated with it. I wanted to use some high frequency words in this

lesson as well as words she is forced to sound out. I used visual clues to assist her, but she has to

prove she understands the correct word by sounding out the beginning and end sounds. For

example, one sentence has the word “dog” in it. In the past she has substituted puppy and when

asked how she knows that is a puppy and not a dog she pointed to the picture. I want her to point

to the word and use her sounds to prove her thinking. I also added a short passage with this

lesson. During our book selection she mentioned she had many books about pigs, and liked

reading about pigs. I selected a simple story on a pig that dealt with the short e, and i sounds in

words. This seemed to be her hardest task in our first lesson. I am hoping with constant

repetition she can master her short vowel sounds. This passage also has high frequency words.

Her QRI data showed she has some difficulty retelling and comprehending an instructional level

text. The rhyming scheme of the QRI passage helped Morgan remember some of what she read,

but she still did not recall each part of the passage. She focuses so much on trying to decode

words, she is unable to attend to the meaning of the text. I added in some comprehension

questions for her to answer orally after she read the passage. Afflerbach mentions three types of

questioning that can take place when assessing comprehension. “Textually explicit questions

require students to locate answers that have exact wording in the texts they read: the answers are

right there in the text” (Afflerbach, 2012). I wanted to use this type of questioning with Morgan

because we are working on rereading as one of our reading strategies. I want her to look back at

the text and reread the exact word from the passage. This is also forcing her to pay attention to


the printed text and not guess the answer. I felt this was an appropriate form of questioning

based on her age and reading level. Her extension activities will involve creating her own simple

story with about three sentences, using a few of the words from the passage. I want her to be

able to independently write and sound out her words while making sense of what she is writing.

Assessing lesson 2:

Morgan did well with attempting the tasks she was given. She still seems to rely heavily

on her visual clues. When she was redirected back to the words she got wrong she took her time

and was able to correctly sound out and read each word, such as rabbit, and dog. She said puppy

and bunny while reading in her simple sentences but I made her look at the words and explain

why she said those words. Once I did this she corrected herself. She seemed confidant when she

read her short passage. She was able to predict the story being about a pet pig and could read the

title on her own. She took her time orally sounding out some of the words like “pink”. She still

had trouble recognizing some of her sight words such as “funny”. She should be able to move

away from using visual clues as a strategy for unknown words during her first grade year. My

goal in this lesson was to get her to pay attention to the written text and use her pictures if

needed. She did well with the comprehension questions. She could not recall the pigs name but

went back and reread the text. Rereading is something she would not attempt in previous lessons

or during guided reading groups this year. She had no motivation or care to reread, many times

she would wait for others to answer for her. I am seeing growth in her literacy skills. She is

applying what she has been taught with cross checking words and rereading for meaning.

Lesson Plan Template:


Theme of concept to be learned: Student is able to read a short passage correctly using her

decoding and segmenting skills as well as visual aids.

Age/grade level: 6 yrs. old/Kindergarten

Time Required: 20 minutes

Overall goal of the lesson

Student is able to comprehend what she has read as well as recognize and correctly pronounce

short vowel sounds in cvc words.

Content Objective: Student is able to read a simple story fluently and prove comprehension

of text.

Michigan Common Core Standards:

R.F.K.2c- Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.


words (cvc)

Explanation of how standards will guide the lesson content: This lesson focuses on

segmenting and sounding out each sound in a word. The student will do this reading a simple

passage composed of CVC words and other high frequency words.

Visual/Resources/Supplementary Materials:

Simple sentence template, simple story passage “Peg’s Pig”. Homework writing paper

Key Vocabulary: Passage, short vowel sounds, segment

Detailed Sequence of the Lesson


Time/Part of Lesson

Objective/Rationale Teacher Activities Learner Activities Discourse Pattern Assessment

Review/5 min Student will demonstrate knowledge of each short vowel sound.

I hold up each vowel individually and ask for the sound

Student gives me each sound for each vowel.

T-S Student correctly identifies each vowel sound

Simple Sentence oral reading/ 5 min

Student is able to correctly read simple sentences with visual clues. Student can prove why she chooses a particular word

I ask student to read each simple sentence. I ask her to prove why she chose certain words: ex. Rabbit, coat, and dog.

Student reads each sentence, then explains how she is sure of particular words.

T-S-T-S Student can prove her thinking, and read sentences correctly.

Simple Story reading/ 5 min.

Student is able to correctly read short i, and short e, cvc words as well as other high frequency words independently.

I ask student what she thinks passage will be about.I ask her to begin reading and pay attention to what vowel she sees in each word.

Student looks at picture and predicts passage. Student begins to read passage orally.

T-S-T-S Student reads passage correctly.

Conclusion: 5 min. Comprehension of passage

Student is able to correctly answer questions about text, and demonstrate comprehension of text.

I ask student questions about text.

Student answers questions and refers back to text to check for understanding

T-S-T-S Student correctly answers comprehension questions.

Accommodations: N/A

Homework & Extended activities: Student will write her own short passage using some of the

words from the simple story. Ex. Pig, pet, funny etc.

Linkage to other discipline/ Intelligence: This lesson links to the student’s writing and

decoding skills.

Reference: Ann Moffatt @ The Moffatt girls 2014. Peg’s Pig simple story.

Notes: This lesson was very beneficial for Morgan. She does well when she gets individual

attention from a teacher. She does not want to disappoint me and puts forth more effort than in

small group. She did try using her visual clues as her evidence during one point of the lesson.

When she read the sentence about the rabbit, she said “bunny”. I asked her how she knew it was


a bunny, and she said “because that’s a picture of a bunny”. I redirected her to the word rabbit

and made her slowly sound it out. She looked and me and smiled and said “oh it’s a rabbit,

because the “r” and the “a” say “ra”. I am hoping with constant repetition to sight words and her

level text she begins to increase her fluency and comprehension levels.

Rationale for Lesson 3

The third lesson I planned for Morgan will incorporate some spelling, reading and

writing. I want this to be a lesson that combines some of the skills we have been working on

throughout the semester. Morgan still needs help with identifying some high frequency words

and according to her QRI data she still struggles with segmenting words. She also needs to pull

away from using her visual clues to assist her in reading unknown words. I based this lesson on

Morgan’s QRI data, sight word assessment and sentence dictation that was completed a few

weeks earlier. Our last lesson focused on the short e and i vowel sounds, I wanted to incorporate

the short o sound in this lesson. She needs remediation with all vowels, so I thought a passage

that incorporated the short o sound would benefit her. I wanted Morgan to start the lesson by

reading another short passage and retell what happened in the passage. This passage will

determine some of the words for her word bank she will use to write her own short story. This

word bank will lead Morgan into the next part of the lesson. I wanted Morgan to take ownership

of this story so I incorporated a digital component in her story creation. “Researchers have begun

to document how the introduction of storytelling in various forms such as personal narrative

texts, journal writing and more recently digital storytelling provide opportunities for youth to


develop and display different literate identities” (Skinner and Hagood, 2008). Morgan seems to

be quite motivated with the use of technology, and even though she is far from being an

adolescent this opportunity for her to take on a different identity gives her a different viewpoint

on writing. This lesson is giving Morgan more independence in her thinking and addressing

many different skills in literacy. Her imagination and artistic side is being displayed using the

IPad drawing app. “Opportunities should be created for the student to develop skills in critiquing

and reflecting on the values operating in source and created texts” (Wyatt-Smith, K. Kimber”

2009). Using different modalities in this assignment gives Morgan an opportunity to reflect on

her work and strive to make it even more animated and interesting for her reader. I want Morgan

to be able to look at her final product and reflect on how she can make it better or more creative.

Incorporating a multimedia setting helps motivate Morgan in her literacy activities.

Assessing Lesson 3

This lesson was quite successful for Morgan. I gave her a passage she needed a little help

with when it came to unknown words. She did well with most of the passage and I noticed her

frustration level was quite lower than in the first lesson. She was not hesitant to say words when

she did not know or recognize them. Morgan did very well with remembering events in this

short passage. There were two comprehension questions and she immediately answered them

correctly. I gave her two passages to choose from, “Peg the Pig” and “Frog on a Log”. I used

those as examples for her to get ideas about a story she would want to write. She quickly said

she wanted to write a story about a frog. Morgan was more confident in her writing and quickly

recognized some mistakes she made. She still needed help with some of the words she wanted to

place in her story. If she could not sound out a word she would replace it with a word she knew.

For example, she wanted to say the frog caught a bug. After a moment of trying to sound out


“caught”, she said “can I say the frog got a bug”. I encouraged her to do so. When Morgan

found out she was able to use an app on the IPad and create her story she got very excited. I

allowed her to write her sentences on this app and she designed her pictures as well. Usually in

Kindergarten we stress using capitals and punctuation, finger spaces and spelling sight words

correctly. I noticed she was getting a little frustrated when I was asking her to use capitals and

she had to keep erasing. This app was a little different than pencil and paper when it came to

constructing letters. I was happy with just getting a sentence with each illustration.

Lesson Plan Template:

Theme or concept to be learned: Student is able to draft her own story using known sight

words. Student will use phonemic skills for correct word composition.

Age/grade level: 6 yrs. old/Kindergarten

Time Required: 40 minutes

Overall Goal of the Lesson:

Student is able to comprehend what she has read as well as compose her own story using

phonemic skills.

Content Objective: Student is able to read a simple story fluently and prove comprehension

of text. Student is able to compose her own short story.

Michigan Common Core Standards:

R.F.K.2c- Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.


words (cvc)


Explanation of how standards will guide the lesson content: This lesson focuses on

segmenting and sounding out each sound in a word. The student will do this reading a simple

passage composed of CVC words and other high frequency words. The student will be writing

her own story and have to sound out words as she writes. She will be isolating sounds during

this process.

Visual/Resources/Supplementary Materials:

Simple sentence template, simple story passage “Frog on a Log”. IPad drawing App,

PowerPoint slides.

Key Vocabulary: Passage, short vowel sounds, segment, sentence

Detailed Sequence of the Lesson

Time/Part of Lesson

Objectives/Rationale Teacher Activities

Learner

Activities

Discourse Pattern Assessment

Short vowel review-5 min.

Student will be able to confidently give each short vowel sound and an example

I will ask student to give sound of each vowel: a,e,i, o,u with an example

Student identifies vowels and gives example

T-S-T-S Student identifies vowel sounds

Passage Reading and comprehension questions: 10 min

Student will be able to read a short passage with some assistance and answer related questions. Student will highlight words with short o sound.

I will ask student to read title and begin reading passage. I will ask student to sound out unknown words as she reads.

Student will read passage and highlight short o words and answer

questions.

T-S-T-S Student reads high frequency word correctly and can segment one syllable words in text.

Sight word bank for

story: 5 minutes Student will create her own sight word bank for her story. This way she will take ownership of some of the words in the story as well as having a reference guide while writing. This is also a review of sight words.

I will have student look at both passages Peg the Pig and Frog on a Log and instruct her to select a few sight words she would like to put in her own story she is going to create.

She will select a few words she wants to use in her own story

T-S Student can recognize some high frequency sight words

Story creation on IPad app.: 20 min

Student will create her own story and illustrate. She will not have access to visual aids when writing words. She will sound out her words and practice writing sight

I will ask student what she wants to write about and introduce her to IPad app. I will instruct her to write one sentence for each picture she

Student decides to write about her own frog. She uses her word bank as she constructs her sentences, she uses iPad app to illustrate each

T-S-T-S Student is able to compose a short story with correct spelling with one syllable words, and

sight words.


words. draws. sentence.

Accommodations: N/A

Homework & Extended Activities: Bingo Cards with sight word review

Linkage to Other Disciplines/Intelligence: This lesson allowed Morgan to use multimodalities

as she constructed her own story.

Reference: IPad Drawing Pad App.

Notes: This lesson was very beneficial for Morgan. She was motivated and creative in using an

app to write her story. She is getting stronger in her sight word recognition and segmenting of

one syllable words. Her confidence is growing with each lesson. She enjoyed taking ownership

of her story she created and illustrated and was enthused to see it converted to a PowerPoint

slideshow. She began to critique her own work after she saw her final copy. She mentioned how

she should have written neater and used capitals in her sentences. She also stated her drawings

could have been better with more colors.

Reflection

Advantages and difficulties

During my time with Morgan I began to understand and recognize her weaknesses and

strengths in literacy. At first it was difficult to get Morgan to open up to me during our tutoring

lessons. She stayed quiet during guided reading lessons with other students and I assumed she

would be more comfortable when it was one on one. She was afraid to say or do the wrong thing

at times which made it difficult to get to know her as a reader. It was also very difficult to

motivate Morgan in the lessons I presented. She does not have much remediation at home with

literacy activities which makes it hard to stress the importance of what we are working toward.

Her interests were very slim when it came to books and topics. I had a hard time finding topics


that would interest her. Even though Morgan was somewhat unmotivated and very quiet as a

student there were some advantages in working with her. She knew the expectations and some

of the literacy activities I was doing with her because she had been retained in Kindergarten. She

is also a very compliant student and will do what is asked to please her teacher. This made it

easy for me to get her to keep trying. She would get frustrated at times but not give up as long as

she had positive reinforcement.

Recommendations

I recommend being persistent when helping a student with a particular skill. The more

Morgan was exposed to her sight words, and vowel sounds, the more confident she became.

Younger students really enjoy using anything other than pencils. Expo markers, erasable

templates, magnetic letters are all motivating factors for the younger students. I also recommend

using technology for remediation purposes and composition with the younger students. Any

time they can use their imagination and create, motivation seems to be greater. Keeping track of

student’s weaknesses is very important. Any time a running record is completed it is important

to evaluate that data and document what exact skills the student may be struggling with. I

recommend using different forms of assessment. Many times one assessment did not address all

of Morgan’s weaknesses. Some assessments focus on comprehension and others focus on

phonics. Some assessments were formal and many were informal, such as guided reading

activities. Using different assessments helped guide me in writing my lesson plans. I was able

to look at all of Morgan’s weaknesses as well as some of her strengths. This allowed me to use

different modes to address Morgan’s literacy needs. I also recommend getting to know your

students as well as you can. They all have different abilities and interests, sometimes just giving

them topics they enjoy will change how they complete and view an assignment.



References

Afflerbach, P. (2013). Understanding and using reading assessment K-12. (2nd edition),

Newark, DE: International Reading Association

Carter, M. & Beaver, J. (2012). Developmental Reading Assessment K-3. (2nd edition),

Parsippany, N.J: Celebration Press,

Harp, P. (2006). The Handbook of Literacy Assessment and Evaluation (3rd ed.), Norwood, MA:

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