EDUC 529/683 Assessment and Treatment of Reading Difficulties and Practicum

Reflection and Artifact

My artifacts for EDUC 529/683 Assessment and Treatment of Reading Difficulties with Practicum are The Case Study cover sheet, the grading summary/rubric and the case study.  These items represent the learning that occurred as I worked with a fifth grader and a first grader who were struggling with their reading.

Cover Sheet

 

Case Study 

Background Information of Student:  Deni is a six-year-old female (D.O.B 07-09-2007) who is finishing her last weeks of first grade. She will be entering second grade for the 2014-2015 school year.  She lives at home with her parents and four-year-old sister.

Reason for Referral:  Throughout most of first grade, Deni had been reading at grade level according to Fountas and Pinnell Assessment System.  Even though she met the March benchmark, her classroom teacher did not feel she was secure at that level and noted inconsistencies with her fluency.  Due to those concerns, the classroom teacher referred her for the nine reading intervention lessons.  Deni’s attendance during the school year was within the district guidelines.

Parents agreed to the nine intervention lessons.  They reported no difficulties with letter recognition, letter sounds, listening, motivation, or attitudes towards school, reading, or writing.   Concerns regarding phonics, sight words, fluency, comprehension, time on task, and study strategies were noted; but no further information was given.

Case History:  Parents report a normal birth and no major medical difficulties with eyesight, hearing, other physical impairments, or attention.  Parents do seek speech-language services for Deni’s articulation outside of school, but no further information was given.

School History:  In 2012-2013, Deni enrolled in five-year-old kindergarten at Stormonth School which is part of the Fox Point-Bayside School District.  She progressed to first grade and will be entering second grade during the 2014-2015 school year.  Deni’s formal schooling has taken place in one school. 

Like Deni’s parents, her teachers report her to be a pleasant girl with a positive attitude towards school.  Her teachers describe her as being reserved and not a risk taker.  Her current teacher noted that his tentativeness impacts her willingness to try new strategies independently.

Summary of Assessment Results:

Pre-Assessment for Reading Analysis

Test Date	Test Name	Results	Comments
04-08-2014	Fountas and Pinnell Level H Fiction	Accuracy:  96% Fluency 48 WPM Comprehension: 6/6	Accuracy and comprehension are independent level.  Fluency is instructional.
4-10-2014	Fountas and Pinnell Level I Fiction	Accuracy:  94% Fluency 37.75 WPM Comprehension: 6/6	Accuracy and Fluency are instructional level.  Comprehension is independent.

Post –Assessment for Reading Analysis

Test Date	Test Name	Results	Comments
05-16-2014	Teachers College Level I Fiction	Accuracy:  98% Fluency 72.28 WPM Comprehension: 4/4	Accuracy, fluency, and comprehension are independent levels.
05-19-2014	Fountas and Pinnell Level J Nonfiction	Accuracy:  95% Fluency 43 WPM Comprehension: 4/6	Accuracy is independent level.  Fluency and comprehension are instructional.

Synopsis:  Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System 1 and Teachers College A-K Reading Assessment for Independent Reading Levels are used to determine student reading levels based on accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.

Pre-Assessment for Word Study

Test Date	Test Name	Synopsis	Results	Comments
04-11-14	F & P Word List 2	Assesses appropriate level for reading assessment	16/20	Begin assessing at level H
04-11-14	F & P  Grade 1 Word Features Test	Gives information about features of words student attends to	26/30	Cues to beginning sound, not yet reading through the word
04-08-2014	Words Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory	Assesses features   of the letter name-alphabetic to within word pattern spelling stages	Words Spelled Correctly:  9/26 Feature Points:  38/56 Total:  47/82	Within Word Patterns Long Vowel Patterns
04-11-14	F & P Phonological Awareness:  Segmenting Words	Measures student ability to segment a word into individual sounds	9/10	Proficient at this task
04-10-14	F & P 100 High Frequency Words Assessment	Measures student knowledge of high-frequency words	91/100	Cueing to beginning sound and some end sounds

Post-Assessment for Word Study

Test Date	Test Name	Synopsis	Results	Comments
	F & P Word List 2	Assesses appropriate level for reading assessment		Reading level known so not administered again
05-22-14	F & P  Grade 1 Word Features Test	Gives information about features of words student attends to	26/30	Four errors were different than the four pre-assessment errors
04-08-2014	Words Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory	Assesses features   of the letter name-alphabetic to within word pattern spelling stages	Words Spelled Correctly:  11/26 Feature Points:  40/56 Total:  51/82	Within Word Patterns Long Vowel Patterns
04-11-14	F & P Phonological Awareness:  Segmenting Words	Measures student ability to segment a word into individual sounds	9/10	Proficient at this task
04-11-14	F & P 100 High Frequency Words Assessment	Measures student knowledge of high-frequency words	96/100	Confuses words for ones with similar letters/pattern (Ex.  were for where; then for than)

Pre-Assessment for Writing

Test Date	Test Name	Synopsis	Comments
04-10-2014	Writing Assessment Prompt:  In the story you learned about a dog named Biscuit, now I would like you to write to tell me about your dog.	Samples a child’s writing in response to a prompt	Able to provide four facts about her dog

Post-Assessment for Writing

Test Date	Test Name	Synopsis	Comments
05-22-2014	Writing Assessment Prompt:  Since this is our last session together, I would like you to write about what you look forward to doing this summer.	Samples a child’s writing in response to a prompt	Able to provide three ideas

Running Records

Synopsis:  Running Records assess a student’s accuracy, fluency, and comprehension as he or she reads from a leveled book.

Date	Book	Accuracy and Self-Correction Rate	Fluency	Comprehension	Comments
04-30-2014	Bear’s Birthday Level I Fiction	Accuracy:  97% Self-Correction 1:3	78 WPM	5.5/6	Accuracy, fluency, and comprehension are all independent.
05-06-2014	All About Honeybees Level I Nonfiction	Accuracy:  95% Self-Correction 1:3.3	58.2 WPM	6/6	Accuracy, fluency, and comprehension are all independent.
05-09-2014	The Problem with Meli Level J Nonfiction	Accuracy:  93% Self-Correction 1:3.3	56.67 WPM	6/6	Accuracy was instructional level.  Fluency and comprehension are independent.

Attendance:  Deni’s school attendance was within the district guidelines, and she attended all nine intervention sessions.

Summary of Word Study Interventions and Progress:  Based on data obtained from Words Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory, all long vowel patterns were identified as Deni’s focus.  The assessment revealed Deni is not yet using any long vowel patterns.  Instead of using a long vowel pattern, Deni wrote only the vowel to represent the sound (drem for dream, shin for shine).  Deni’s objective was to read, write and discriminate between the CVC short vowel patterns/sounds and the CVCe long vowel patterns/sounds. 

During each of the nine sessions, Deni read, sorted, and wrote words with long and short vowel patterns.  As a result of this intervention, Deni gained an understanding that the CVCe pattern often makes a long vowel sound.  Since the  focus was only on CVC and CVCe vowel patterns, she overgeneralized the CVCe pattern on the post-assessment (frite for fright, wate for wait). Moving forward, Deni would benefit from work with other long vowel patterns.

Based on data obtained from Fountas and Pinnell Word Features Test and Fountas and Pinnell 100 High Frequency Words, Deni has a large sight vocabulary.  During the nine sessions, the examiner used the gradual release model to build on her existing sight vocabulary.  At difficulty, the examiner would model how she would think of a word with a similar pattern or look for a chunk she knew to solve the tricky word.  After several examples, Deni was encouraged to try the strategy and then began to try it on her own.  Practice with this strategy helped increase Deni’s instructional level and her fluency.

Summary of Fluency Interventions and Progress:  Based on data obtained from the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment, Deni’s oral fluency was noted as a focus area.  On a level H, her accuracy and comprehension were an independent reading level, but her fluency was instructional.  As the text difficulty increased, her reading fluency decreased.  She read 48 WPM on a level H and 37 WPM on a level I.   Deni’s objective was to read text at her independent level for accuracy and comprehension with appropriate fluency and automaticity.

Rereading text, previewing vocabulary, echo reading, and choral reading were strategies Deni engaged in throughout the nine sessions.  As a result of these interventions, Deni increased her fluency.  She went from 37 WPM on a level I to 72 WPM on a level I.  This growth allowed her reading fluency to reach the same independent level as her reading accuracy and comprehension on a leveled text.

Narrative and Expository Text:  The following texts were read during the nine intervention sessions:

·        Fun for Hugs-Narrative

·        Bear’s Birthday-Narrative

·        Stone Soup-Narrative

·        The Missing Cat-Narrative

·        All About Honeybees-Expository

·        The Lucky Penny-Narrative

·        The Problem with Meli-Expository

·        All about Bats-Expository

·        The Ugly Duckling-Narrative

Summary of Comprehension Interventions and Progress:  Based on the data received from the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment, higher level comprehension skills (making connections and using evidence from the text) were determined to be Deni’s goal.  For narrative texts, the examiner coached Deni using T-charts and Venn Diagrams to connect the stories to her own life and using story steps to retell the story adding specific details from the text.   For narrative texts, the examiner used the gradual release model and bubble maps to organize key ideas and supporting details.  After examiner modeled the bubble map with one text, Deni completed one on her own.

As a result of this intervention, Deni was able to answer both explicit and implicit text at her independent level.  With an instructional level text, Deni is independent with her comprehension on a narrative text, but instructional on an expository.  Based on the test results, the examiner would recommend that Deni spend time previewing new vocabulary and concepts in expository texts.

For both writing samples, Deni was appropriate with her responses.  She seems to be able to generate more ideas when she has a text as an example.  Moving forward, I would recommend that Deni continue to engage in both writing that is modeled after a text and writing that is personal narrative.

Parent Component:  Following each of the nine intervention sessions, Deni’s parents were given a form containing the text read, fluency and comprehension goals, a word study goal, and home connections.  On days when Deni read a narrative text, parents were asked to listen to Deni reread the text and then discuss the story with her or have her retell the story to them.  On days when we read an expository text, parents were asked to listen to Deni reread the text and engage her in a conversation about main ideas and supporting details.  For word study practice, parents were asked to have Deni sort her words and tell them about the word pattern.

Reflection on Teaching Plan:  Post-assessment data from the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment and from the Teacher’s College A-K Reading Assessment demonstrate the effectiveness of this teaching plan.  Following intervention, Deni increased her instructional reading by one level.  On a same leveled text (level I), she increased her fluency by 35 WPM.  This increase in fluency not only reflects use of new strategies but also an increase in reading confidence.  The examiner would recommend continued close monitoring of Deni’s reading with appropriate praise to maintain reading confidence and with time spent rereading familiar texts in order to solidify fluency growth.  The examiner would recommend that Deni continue to use graphic organizers to retell stories, to make connections, and to identify main ideas with supporting details.  The examiner would also suggest adding a writing component to the comprehension by encouraging Deni to use information from the graphic organizer to write a paragraph.

 Post-assessment data from Words Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory indicate that Deni made slight growth in the area of vowel patterns.  On closer review of the assessment, it is clear that Deni has gained an understanding of the CVCe vowel pattern, but is not yet applying it correctly.  The examiner would recommend that Deni continue to complete word sorts with long vowel patterns introducing a variety of patterns rather than focusing on just one.

Reflecting on the nine intervention sessions and the data collected, I would only make one change to the intervention plan before implementing.  Rather than focus on CVC and CVCe vowel patterns during word study, I would focus on multiple long vowel patterns for one long vowel sound.  This would help alleviate her overgeneralization of the one long vowel pattern that was our focus.

  

Practicum Rubric

Professional Growth

Throughout the practicum, I gained many insights and strategies that will help me meet the needs for students reading at a variety of levels.  First, I learned the importance of using a combination of word study, comprehension, and fluency practice within each lesson. Even though the three are intertwined, the teacher needs to be explicit about teaching the goal in each area in order to make it clear for the student.  I also learned that reading intervention is most effective when taught consistently and frequently.  This allows the student to build on the previous lesson while the knowledge is still fresh, and it provides frequent practice which is needed to solidify skills.  Since the lessons usually cover a lot of content in a short period of time, it is critical that the teacher is organized and well-prepared.  This allows the student to receive the maximum amount of instruction during that time.  One of the biggest contributors to student growth during my practicum was the increase in the student’s reading confidence.  Even though my lesson plan did not have an area to plan for this, I made sure in every lesson to praise what the child could do and build off of that knowledge.  A final insight that I gained is the importance of the home-school component.  When a student shares new knowledge and practices concepts with family members, it emphasizes the importance of what the child has done at school and continues to cement the learning.

Student Growth

Frequent, intensive, one-on-one reading instruction is a powerful way to help struggling readers. Both of my practicum students increased their reading levels, fluency, and knowledge of word patterns.  In particular, my fifth grade practicum student made amazing gains. She went up two reading levels on Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment and twenty points on her reading MAP assessment.  Even though I was well-prepared and worked hard with her,  I contribute some of her growth to the boost that reading intervention gave to the her self-confidence as a reader.  She was in her first year of middle school and had begun to decline.  I believe she was overwhelmed by the middle school workload and was not feeling as capable as previous years.  In our lessons, I continually pointed out what she could do and how much she was learning.  As our sessions progressed, I watched her come alive and enjoy reading again.  Even though content knowledge and preparation are important, reading teachers always need to remember to teach the whole child in order to achieve optimal growth.

Connection to Standards

Standard #1:  The teacher understands the central concepts, assumptions, debates, processes of inquiry, and ways of knowing are central to the discipline(s) s/he teaches.  One of the goals of this standard is for the teacher to appreciate multiple perspectives and share with the learner how knowledge is developed through these perspectives.  I met this goal when I worked with my reading students.  I taught them a variety of strategies to use when they reached difficulty or noticed that something did not make sense.  By the end of my practicum, both of my students were more independent at self-monitoring and deciding which “fix-it” strategy to try.  As I move into my role as reading interventionist, I will continue to equip my students with a variety of strategies in order to make them independent readers.

Standard #4:  The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.  During my practicum, I learned the importance of using a combination of word study, comprehension, and fluency practice within each lesson.  By having my students practice the three main areas of reading instruction, they grew as readers and had a variety of strategies to draw from when they reached difficulty.

Standard #7:  The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals.  During the practicum, I learned the importance of reading intervention occurring consistently and frequently.  This allows the students to build on the previous lesson while the knowledge is still fresh, and it provides frequent practice which is needed to solidify skills.  Since my time with each student was so brief, I discovered the importance of being organized and well-planned.  But, I also learned that the teacher always needs to be flexible. I often found that I needed to tweak lessons based on a weakness or strength that was discovered during the lesson.

Standard #8:  The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the learner.  During the practicum, I learned that assessment plays an important role in the planning process.  After each session, I reflected on what my practicum student did during the lesson in order to prepare the best lesson for her particular needs.  During each session, I was constantly evaluating what my student was doing and then choosing the most appropriate strategy in order to best support her particular needs.  

Standard #9:  The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively seeks out; opportunities to grow professionally.  Not only did I reflect on each lesson in order to set goals for my next lesson, I also reached out to colleagues in order to share information and gain perspective.  For both of my practicum students, I frequently talked to their classroom teachers in order to get their views on how the students were performing in that setting.  I also shared with the classroom teachers the goals that I was working on with their students and the strategies that worked particularly well.  In addition, I discussed my intervention approach with our reading specialist in order to gain her insights. As I move forward, I will continue to seek out the latest research about reading intervention in order to stay current and provide my students with best practice.

Standard #10:  The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support students’ learning and well-being.  For each intervention session, I sent home a home-school connection sheet. The sheet shared with parents the goals for that session and the homework that correlated to the goals.  By having the students share new knowledge and practice concepts with family members, it emphasized the importance of what the child had done at school and continued to cement the learning.