I. K’s History
My mentor teacher, Ms. S, recommended that I work with K, a third grade girl who has continually struggled with reading. K is an eight year old, regular education student and has not yet been tested for inclusion in RTI. Although K’s second grade teacher recommended that she be tested for inclusion in RTI programs, as of yet nothing has been done. Ms. S explained that K’s parents are divorced and that she frequently travels back and forth to their different homes. Furthermore, she has moved around Delaware a lot and has occasionally started the school year in one school, been taken out for a considerable amount of time, and then finished up the year in another school. K’s parents are not very involved in her learning and K’s mother refuses to believe that K has difficulty reading. K has missed many days of school throughout the years which has only served to compound her reading problem. Currently K goes to a reading intervention workshop for one half hour every day during reading time. Her time at intervention is meant to help her with reading fluency. Although intervention should help her, this time is spent with a variety of other students, some of them English language learners, so K does not get any individualized attention.
Pre-Test
Since my mentor teacher described K as a very poor reader, I started her off with a first grade word list. Her sight word skills proved successful and she only mispronounced one word. On the second grade word list she correctly pronounced each word on the first try. Unfortunately however, there was a large decline in her skills when it came to the third grade list. K was able to only get 13 of the words correct for this grade level, so that is where I stopped testing her. The third grade list included some larger words than the first and second grade lists, so it allowed me to see how K approaches a large, unknown word. Unfortunately, K is quick to guess and does not stay focused on sounding out correct vowel sounds.
For the reading passages, I started K at a second grade level. During this story entitled Bill At Camp, K only had a total of 5 miscues and during the comprehension questions she only answered three incorrect. Her retell showed a basic understanding of the major points and she did not show any signs of major struggles. On the third grade reading passage entitled The Hungry Bear, K had a total of 9 miscues. Although her reading was somewhat unsuccessful, her ability to answer the comprehension questions was more adept, as she only got 2.5 of the questions wrong. K was enthusiastic about reading and did not seem at all frustrated, so to get an even clearer view of her skills, especially in comprehension, I had her read the fourth grade passage entitled Fire and Animals. She had a total of 11 miscues during the reading and missed 4.5 of the comprehension questions.
Overall, the BRI helped reveal some of Kayla’s problems. Kayla has a tendency to rush through things which causes her to lose focus. When she comes to words that she is unfamiliar with she tends to read them almost as quickly as words that she knows. This ends up causing her to sound out the words improperly or to say a wrong word altogether. Occasionally she will say a word that is not only incorrect, but that would also be completely out of context in the story. Her lack of focus not only causes a problem with fluency, but also with comprehension. The fact that she adds inappropriate words to the story concerns me, since that must mean that she does not have a solid understanding of what she is reading.
On the positive side, Kayla likes to read and is enthusiastic despite not being focused. She likes to talk about what she has read and enjoys any illustrations that come along with texts. Kayla does know quite a few sight words and seems willing to learn more. Kayla seems interested in school and is friendly and talkative. Kayla does not seem to be intimidated by books and seems to be a positive young girl.
Determine the Problem
I believe that with one-on-one tutoring Kayla can make some solid advances in reading. I plan on working with her to get her to slow down and to think about what she is reading. I think that it will also be helpful for Kayla to make predictions before and throughout a story and to stop and retell parts of it while she is reading. Hopefully by working on predictions and retells Kayla will begin to focus more on what is happening in a story and pay more attention to context and to important details. Not only should that help Kayla’s overall comprehension, but it should also help her when she encounters a word that she does not know. If I can get Kayla used to focusing on the context of the story she may be more likely to make educated guesses on unknown words instead of guessing incoherent and inappropriate words. Furthermore, I would like to work on some vocabulary techniques with Kayla. I believe that working to find strategies of sounding out unfamiliar words as well as learning about valuable prefixes and suffixes will also aid in her reading skills.
Goals and GLEs
Overall my tutoring will focus on these Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.3: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.3a: Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.4: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
Through brainstorming about ways to incorporate these standards I have come up with a few ways to help Kayla with her reading. I believe that through different methods such as working on making text connections and through completing graphic organizers she can begin to get more comfortable with reading comprehension. Everything we read will require predications and summaries both during and after reading. Furthermore, vocabulary work such as studying prefixes and suffixes, writing definitions and sentences for new words, learning strategies for decoding unfamiliar vocabulary, and the like, can all help to make Kayla a more fluent and proficient reader.
Research Hypothesis
If I work with Kayla on constantly discussing events in the story, all while helping her to improve her vocabulary skills, then I anticipate that she will improve on her second BRI test. I believe that through some focused attention on reading and vocabulary-decoding strategies Kayla will be able to make strides in her reading and become a more confident and proficient reader.
Strategies
Since Kayla is behind in school and currently rests between having a C or D in the class, I do not want her to miss much class time. The total reading time for the day is about 2 hours, although Kayla goes to intervention for about 30 minutes of that time. During other times in class where she would be doing independent work or partner work ,I take her into the hallway to work on tables that are set up there. My mentor teacher requests that I help her with what she is supposed to be working on for school, so my normal tutoring sessions focus on that work all while adding in reading comprehension and vocabulary strategies. Although I try to mainly work with Kayla one-on-one, my mentor teacher often has me work with Kayla and a struggling English language learner in the class. My approach is a positive one, making our time together something that Kayla looks forward to. I unfortunately do not have any interaction with her parents during this time as they are not involved in her school life. My mentor teacher too, struggles to get them to come in for parent/teacher conferences. I do however conference with my mentor teacher about Kayla’s struggles and advances so that she is aware of what I am working on and can hopefully work to implement more strategies with Kayla in the future.
Samples of my lessons with Kayla follow later in this paper and a larger lesson plan format is attached to this document.
Analysis
During each tutoring session I would make notes as to what Kayla struggled with so that I could focus on it during the next lesson. I would try to make sure that we continued our discussion of important vocabulary that we had been working on as well as keeping a focus on the strategies for vocabulary decoding that we had worked on, as well. Ultimately this work proved successful since Kayla improved her BRI score during her post-test.
On the post-test BRI, I started Kayla with a second grade word list on which she only got one word incorrect. Next I gave her the third grade word list and this time she was at the instructional level for third grade, since she only missed four words. Then I gave her the fourth grade word list where she missed 8 words and fell to the frustration level. During this time I could see that Kayla focused more on the words and relied more on effective strategies to sound out the words.
On the reading passages, I started Kayla with the second grade text entitled The Strange Object. Here Kayla had a total of 5 miscues. On the comprehension questions she showed a large improvement. She gave valuable answers to almost all of the questions, but I had to give her half credit on two of them, resulting in one missed question overall. Next I gave her the third grade reading passage entitled, The Night Noise. Here Kayla confidently read the passage and only had 3 miscues. Kayla struggled slightly with the retell and the comprehension questions for that story, but still only missed three questions. Finally, I gave Kayla the fourth grade reading passage, The Purse Detectives, where she had ten total miscues. Kayla’s ability to retell what happened in that story was very good, but ultimately she got 4.5 of the comprehension questions wrong.
I believe that my strategies and my tutoring time with Kayla truly made a difference. Not only did I personally see an improvement in Kayla’s confidence and reading abilities during our time together, but her improvement on the BRI is evidence of it as well. During the reading passages she once again read up to the fourth grade passage, but had fewer miscues on both the third grade and the fourth grade reading passages during the post-test. Her work on the comprehension questions for third and fourth grade was almost identical, with her scores for the third grade passage being one-half of a point better during the pre-test. As for the reading lists, during the pre-test Kayla reached the frustrated level during the third grade reading list. However, during the post-test, Kayla was instructional in the third grade list and then hit the frustration level for the fourth grade list.
Overall, I think that these results show a slight improvement in Kayla’s abilities. I think that getting Kayla to slow down and to try to focus on her reading made a big difference in how she approached the texts and word lists. Additionally, I think that our time working on phonemic awareness, sounding out words, and studying prefixes and suffixes was successful as evidenced by her growth on the word lists on the BRI test.
Unfortunately, our success was limited due to many factors. Due to the tight schedule in the class and the high amount of work, it was hard to find a time to fit in tutoring. Working with Kayla on her work for class made sense in order to keep her up to speed and to help her grades, but the work was not always focused on an area that could use tutoring. Furthermore, Kayla’s tumultuous home life and what seems like a lack of familial support, stop her from making great strides through practice at home.
Finally, although I worked hard to get Kayla to focus she still has difficulty paying attention to the story. For example, occasionally we would work on vocabulary that was embedded in the story and we would spend a minute or so going over the definition and pronunciation. Later on in the story when the word would reappear, Kayla would stumble over it, mispronounce it, or simply say “I forget.” This was a common occurrence and one that I discussed with my mentor teacher.
Altogether I learned a lot from this experience. I have never had to tutor a student before nor have I ever had to work with a struggling reader. Although sometimes the process was painstakingly slow, it was rewarding overall. Not only did I grow in patience but I also grew in my awareness of how to make reading appealing and fun for students. Often Kayla would struggle through a long reading passage and I learned how important my support and enthusiasm were for her in finishing the reading. Through this I’ve learned tricks for teaching vocabulary skills and I’ve also become proficient at asking prediction, opinion, and retelling questions.
Unfortunately, too, I’ve seen first hand the toll that a difficult home life has on a child in school. Without parental involvement and without a steady home life, it’s no wonder why Kayla has trouble focusing. I’ve learned that support and encouragement work wonders for students and I believe that my praise of Kayla and my believing in her helped her just as much as any of the tutoring material did. My experience truly can be summed up in one exchange that Kayla and I had. One day when I was pulling Kayla from the classroom out into the hallway she said with a huge smile “I feel so special that I get to come out here with you!” I quickly replied that she is special and that she should have confidence in herself because she’s a smart girl. I realized that my time with her and my friendship meant a lot to her and I realize that as a teacher it is the care that we give our students and the confidence that we can instill in them that helps them grow just as much as the academic material does.
Action Plan
For Kayla to continue to grow in reading fluency I would recommend that she continue to work on focusing and slowing down while reading. Graphic organizers that allow her to take notes on the text while she is reading should help her to place her thoughts in order and to keep her focused on the events of the story. Overall it is clear that Kayla needs help with reading comprehension. Work on skills and strategies that will allow her to grow in this area are important. Asking questions while reading and stopping to frequently retell the story are good ways for her to get in the habit of keeping track of a story. Finally, Kayla needs more work on phonics and on her phonemic awareness. Sometimes when sounding out a work Kayla adds sounds that are not even there. Working on word decoding strategies while also keeping up work with sight words should help to improve her vocabulary skills.
Lesson Plan 1
Grade: 3
Content Area: English/Language Arts - Reading
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.3: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.3a: Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes.
Objective/Essential Question:
Can I learn common prefixes and suffixes that will help me when decoding unknown vocabulary?
Summary of Lesson:
During this lesson I will be working with Kayla on learning common prefixes and suffixes. Since Kayla struggles with vocabulary and with decoding unfamiliar words within text, it will be helpful for her to know them when deciphering meaning and pronunciation. I will give Kayla definitions of these prefixes and suffixes, then we will look at sample words, then we will work to find similar words within text.
Materials:
Worksheet with prefixes and suffixes and their definitions as well as sample words.
Copy of the Tortoise and Hare fable found in the student’s textbook
Procedure:
First I will teach Kayla about prefixes and suffixes. Not only will we study them and their definitions but we will also discuss how they come in handy when figuring out unknown words. After practicing with some examples, we will look to find them in a text for practice.
Introduction:
First I will show Kayla samples of prefixes and suffixes and ask her to make predictions as to what these special parts of words are. I will ask her if she has seen them before and if she can name any words that include them. Then we will move on to discuss what they are, their definitions, and then move on to review examples.
Closure: Ultimately Kayla will work to identify common prefixes and suffixes in a text that we have recently read. We will discuss our predictions as to the word’s pronunciation and meaning. Finally we will discuss how to use this strategy during reading.
Assessment:
During this activity I will constantly ask Kayla clarifying questions to check her understanding. If at any point she seems very confused I will reteach the material and give her even more guidance, including a worksheet to take home to study and review with a parent or sibling.
Lesson Plan 2
Grade: 3
Content Area: English/Language Arts - Reading
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.4a Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.4b Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression.
Objective/Essential Question:
Can I read a text out-loud fluently? Can I work on my fluent reading while still paying attention to the main points in the story?
Summary of Lesson:
For this lesson Kayla will be working on her reading fluency. This story, The Knee-High Man, is one that I plan on having her read multiple times so that she can truly become fluent with her reading. After reading Kayla will also have to answer a few comprehension questions and retell the story.
Materials:
Copy of The Knee-High Man story found in Kayla’s state test preparation handbook.
Procedure:
First I will have Kayla make predictions about the story based on the title. After this she will work on reading the story aloud at a comfortable, fluent pace. She will work to use vocabulary decoding strategies that we have talked about and she will have to periodically stop and summarize the text. After reading she will have to retell the story by citing specific details form the text and answer questions based on the story. We will also work on any vocabulary that she struggles with while reading.
Introduction:
First I will have Kayla warm up by making predictions about the story based on the title. After a brief discussion she will read the story with limited help from me except in cases where she is really struggling.
Closure: After reading, Kayla will work on retelling the story by citing specific textual evidence. Kayla and I will discuss any vocabulary that she struggled with. We will also discuss the strategies that she used and her strengths and weaknesses during the reading activity.
Assessment:
During this activity I will be observing Kayla’s reading fluency and reading strategies. I will be checking to see if she is using strategies we have worked on together while also making notes of where she still struggles. I will use these notes to modify upcoming lessons to better suit Kayla’s needs. I will also be sharing my observations with my mentor teacher.
Lesson Plan 3
Grade: 3
Content Area: English/Language Arts - Reading
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.4a Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Objective/Essential Question:
Can I correctly answer comprehension questions after reading a text? Can I write about a text citing specific textual evidence to support my answer?
Summary of Lesson:
For this lesson Kayla will be reading a fable from her textbook entitled The Hungry Spider. After reading she will be working on answering a variety of reading comprehension questions that require her to find details in the text, to make inferences about the text, and to write about what she read. Kayla is to work on her summarizing skills and to find specific examples in the text to support her answers.
Materials:
Copy of The Hungry Spider story found in Kayla’s reading textbook.
Pencils and erasers.
Procedure:
I will begin by having Kayla make predictions based on the title. Then while reading I will have Kayla stop and retell the events of the story thus far. After this she will work on answering a variety of reading comprehension questions that range in difficulty. She will also be working on her writing skills, by writing short essays about the text. She will have to be sure to restate the question, use linking words, and give detailed examples from the text.
Introduction:
First Kayla and I will discuss the proper format for answering short essay comprehension questions. She is to restate the question then support her arguments with specific examples from the text. Kayla also needs to be sure to use linking words and to give a proper conclusion. Then, before reading I will once again have Kayla make predictions about the story to activate any background knowledge.
Closure: After reading Kayla will answer comprehension questions that require her to write short essays. When she is finished we will go over her work and we will discuss the important components of the essay and go over key details from the text. Ultimately this assignment will get handed in to Kayla’s teacher.
Assessment:
During this activity I will be observing Kayla’s reading. I will also continually check to make sure that she understands the reading passage by asking her to stop and summarize the text. If Kayla really seems to be struggling I will have her reread the text before answering the questions and perhaps take notes or highlight the key parts of the story to help her with answering the questions later.
Lesson Plan 4
Grade: 3
Content Area: English/Language Arts - Reading
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.3: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.3c: Decode multi-syllable words.
Objective/Essential Question:
Can I work with new vocabulary words to help expand my understanding?
Summary of Lesson:
For this lesson Kayla will be working on her vocabulary. We have just finished working with the text Mama Lioni’s Everlasting Noodle and we will now be conducting an activity with the vocabulary words from that text. I will once again go over the definition of the words with Kayla as a brief review. Then, Kayla is to write her own definition of the word and her own sentence that correctly uses the word. Finally, Kayla can include a picture with her definition.
Materials:
Copy of Mama Lioni’s Everlasting Noodle story found in Kayla’s state test preparation handbook.
Dictionary
Blank paper, pencils, and markers.
Procedure:
First Kayla and I will review the vocabulary words from the story. These words are: awe, exhausted, slithered, scheming, and heap. We will look back on how these words were used in the story and then look at their definitions in the dictionary. Next, Kayla is to write her own definitions for each word and then create a sentence that correctly uses the word. This will serve as her own unique dictionary. When she is finished she can create a picture to accompany some or all of the definitions.
Introduction:
First Kayla and I will look back at how each word was used in the story. I will see if Kayla remembers their definitions and then we will look at the exact definition in the classroom dictionary. Then Kayla will use this knowledge to create her own definitions.
Closure: Once Kayla has finished creating her dictionary she will present it to Ms. Slody and I. At this time she will discuss each definition and explain her sentences and illustrations.
Assessment:
While Kayla is working on this activity I will check to make sure that she is using the words correctly. I will ask her questions about each word and definition to make sure that she understands. Kayla’s teacher and I will then review her work to further check its accuracy. If she is struggling to complete this assignment independently, then I will help her to use the dictionary and to figure out how to correctly use each word.
Lesson Plan 5
Grade: 3
Content Area: English/Language Arts - Reading
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.3: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
Objective/Essential Question:
Can I continue my work with phonics to learn about the sounds th, sh, and wh? Can I use what I learned to write a poem that uses those sounds?
Summary of Lesson:
Once again Kayla will be working on phonics to help her reading and vocabulary skills. For this lesson I will have Kayla watch a brief movie online from Brain Pop Jr., on the sounds ‘th’, ‘sh’, and ‘wh’. Getting familiar with these common sounds should help Kayla read with more ease and help her with vocabulary decoding. After watching this video I will have Kayla complete some of the activities on this site. I will sit with her while she works on these activities to monitor her progress and offer assistance if needed. She will complete an online game, a worksheet that asks her to list words containing ‘th,’ ‘sh’ and ‘wh’ and then she will get to write a poem that uses repetition of those sounds.
Materials:
Computer connected to the internet to get to the site: http://www.brainpopjr.com/readingandwriting/phonics/thshandwh/
Printer
Paper and pencils.
Procedure:
First I will explain to Kayla that she will get to watch an animated video on phonics. After this video she will get to complete some activities online. These activities are found right on the page that the movie is on. First she can complete the game, where she must match words that have the ‘wh’ sound. Next I will have her work on a worksheet that asks her to list as many words with ‘th’, ‘sh’, and ‘wh’ as she can think of. After we go over these words she will take a short quiz on the website to go over what she has learned. Finally, for homework she will get to write a poem that uses repetition of the sounds that she learned about today. She will then get to share this poem with her teacher and I during the following day.
Introduction:
First I will discuss the activity with Kayla, explaining that she will watch a movie online and then complete some fun online activities. We will briefly discuss the importance of phonics when figuring out unknown words while reading. Then she will go to the computer and watch the movie.
Closure: I will then have Kayla print out the “Talk About It” activity on the website that asks her to list words that contain ‘th’ ‘sh’ and ‘wh.’ Kayla can work on this independently or with my help if needed. When she is finished we will go over the list together for accuracy and I will have her read each word. For homework she will complete the “Write About It” activity from the website. This activity asks her to write a poem that uses repetition of words with ‘th’, ‘sh,’ and ‘wh’ sounds. She can add an illustration to this poem and share it with Ms. Slody and I during the following day.
Assessment:
I will continually check on Kayla to monitor her progress and to check for understanding. I will make sure that her activities are completed correctly and that she has a thorough understanding of the sounds covered during the lesson.
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