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

Reflection
Artifact Description
            The artifact I used for this class was my case study for a student I worked with for my practicum.  The case study summarizes the intervention and student abilities.

Professional Growth
I learned a lot about word sorts.  I gained a lot of information using these word sorts and having students manipulate the words and find words.  I had never used these before and now in my current position as an interventionist, I use them with several intervention groups.  A lot of what I did during this practicum was a part of my current job.  I also utilize the “Miscue Analysis” sheet in my day to day running records because I like the visual I get from it, and I can analyze the data better. 
The teaching plans allowed me to focus on the strategies for each lesson.  The reflections led me to focus on particular areas of strengths and weaknesses and this is how I created my lesson plans for the next session.  I liked how the 3 components of the lesson plans focused on the whole reading process.
One of the things I would have changed was to look more carefully at the word sorts I used.  I went by the first sort of the “Within Word Patterns/ Other Vowel Patterns” and I should have looked closer at the vowel patterns the students struggled with on their pretests and used those word sorts in our lessons.  I also should have used an expository book in one of the lessons.  As I picked books I thought that The Boy Who Saves Camels was an expository because it was non-fiction, but in fact it was a narrative. 
My current position as a reading interventionist utilized all of the components in the practicum lessons.  I now use word sorts daily for several groups.  This was not something I had used in the past and feel that it’s a beneficial component.  I also utilize the “Running Record Analysis” sheet that was handed out.  I like the visual you get from having all your information on one page.  I am excited about the new knowledge I can bring to student interventions!

Understanding and Application of WI State Standards
Standard #7 The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals.
            During my practicum I created 9 personalized lessons based on this standard.  I created lessons in word study, fluency, and comprehension skills. These lesson plans were well thought out taking into consideration short term and long term goals for my students and adjusted as needed.  Through testing I was able to determine a starting point and created lessons based on my knowledge of the student.  Using all of my knowledge from this class I was able to understand the theory behind the components and why students need to develop in all areas to meet curriculum goals. 
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.
            In this class, we learned to triangulate data from a minimum of three assessments.  The first was a formal assessment utilizing Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessments.  This gave me a starting reading level for my student for my intervention.  The second formal assessment was Words Their Way Spelling Test.  This gave me a beginning point for the word study portion of the intervention.  Lastly, I used a formal fluency test and the Names Test to help triangulate the data for my interventions.  I repeated these assessments at the end of the intervention to determine student growth. 
            I also utilized informal assessments to aid in my lesson planning.  These were running records taken during the intervention.  These allowed me to monitor the progress of my student.  I also informally observed my student’s reading and wrote anecdotal notes to guide me in lesson planning and personalizing the lesson to meet the needs of my students.
           



Impact on Student Learning
Both of my students struggled with the cueing strategies.  I saw great growth in both students during our time together.  Izzy went from 0 self-corrections in the pretest to 1:4 self-corrections on her posttest, and Talon went from 1:14 self-corrections in the pretest to 1:2 self-corrections in the posttest.  I would really like to keep working with these students because I feel that with continued support they both could make great gains.


 Case Study for Izzy


March 31, 2014-May 15, 2014


Background Information

Name:  Izzy
Born:    04/28/2003    
Age:    11 years old    
Grade:  5th Grade       

Reason for Referral

            Izzy’s parents indicate the she is below grade level in reading, letter sounds, phonics, sight words, fluency, comprehension, listening, time on task, and study strategies.  Izzy was diagnosed with Dyslexia in February of 2013.  Izzy’s school universal screener indicates that she is reading below grade level.

Case History

            Izzy’s parents have indicated that she has no speech, language development, or medical issues that would affect her academics other than the Dyslexia.

School History

            Izzy entered Merton Primary School as a 4year old and remained there K4-3rd grade.  She then transferred to North Lake School for 4th-5th grade.  She has never been retained and continues to progress at a steady rate that is below grade level in reading.  Comments indicate that she is a motivated reader, but gets discouraged easily.

Attendance    

            Izzy attended all fifteen thirty minute sessions, and she always came with a positive attitude.



Summary of Assessment Results

Test Date
Test Name
Synopsis of test evaluation
Results
Comments
3/31/14
Pretest
Fountas and Pinnell Assessment
Benchmark Assessment for Reading
Level O
Instructional
Izzy read with 96% accuracy, 0 self-corrections, satisfactory comprehension, and at a fluent rate.
4/2/14
Pretest
Words Their Way
Elementary Spelling Inventory
Word Study and Spelling
Within Word Patterns Stage, Other Vowels
Izzy will be starting word sorts in the Other Vowels stage, in particular vowel patterns with oi, oy, oo, ou, ow, and ar.
4/2/14
Pretest
Names Test
Spelling
Long vowel/VCe Stage
Izzy does not yet exhibit long vowel sounds.
4/4/14
Pretest
5th Grade Fountas and Pinnell
High Frequency Words
High Frequency Words
98%
Izzy exhibits mastery of high frequency words.





5/9/14
Posttest
Fountas and Pinnell Assessment
Benchmark Assessment for Reading
Level P
Izzy exhibited progress.  She read with 95% accuracy, 1:4 self-corrections, satisfactory comprehension, and at a fluent rate.
5/12/14
Posttest
Words Their Way
Elementary Spelling Inventory
Word Study and Spelling
Syllables and Affixes Stage, Unaccented Final Syllables
Izzy exhibited progress and moved on to the next stage of word study and spelling.
5/14/14
Posttest
Names Test
Spelling
Vowel Digraphs Stage
Izzy exhibited progress.

Izzy was a motivated and cooperative student during testing and lessons.

Summary of Word Study Interventions and Progress

            Izzy’s pretest indicates she was in the “Within Word Pattern” of her word study.  Izzy’s objectives were to master ow/ou words, oi/oy words, oo long and oo short words, and ar/are/air words.  We did this through word sorts such as Basic Word Sorts, Repeated Word Sorts, Speed Sorts and Word Hunts within our text.  Izzy mastered ow/ou words, oi/oy words, oo long and oo short words, and ar/are/air words according to the results of the posttest.  Post testing results also indicated she had moved on to the next stage of word study, the “Syllables and Affixes” stage.  Izzy mastered ow/ou words in 3 sessions, oi/oy words in 1 session,  oo long and oo short words in 2 sessions and the ar/are/air (r controlled words) words in 3 sessions. 





Summary of Fluency Interventions and Progress

            Izzy’s fluency focus was on prosody.  We started off with the strategy of “I do it, we do it, you do it”.  I demonstrated the 3 cueing strategies at this time.  They are, “Does it look right?  Does it sound right?  Does it make sense?”  She also played the game “Click or Clunk” while reading.  We started with reading a sentence from the text, if the sentence made sense it was a “click” and we read on.  If the sentence didn’t make sense, it was a “clunk” and we reread it correctly.  Izzy’s pretest indicated she was not doing any self-correcting.  The posttest indicated she was beginning to use the strategy, but does not yet exhibit mastery of it. 

Narrative and Expository Text:
Summary of Running Records

Date
Text Name

Narrative or Expository
Genre
Level
Running Record Results
4/7/14-4/14/14
Andromeda Clark Walks on the Moon by Anne W. Phillips
Level O
Narrative Fantasy
Level O
N/A
4/16/14-
4/30/14
The Boy Who Saves Camels
by  Carmen Morais
Narrative Expository
Non-fiction

Level O
Izzy read with 98% accuracy, 0 self-corrections, satisfactory comprehension, and at a fluent rate.
5/5/14-
5/9/14



The Pocket Watch
By Anne W. Phillips
Narrative
Historical
Level O
Izzy read with 96% accuracy, 1:3.75 self-corrections, satisfactory comprehension, and at a fluent rate.


Summary of Comprehension interventions and progress

            Izzy was to complete graphic organizers to cement her comprehension, organize her thoughts, and remember what she read.  We completed the following graphic organizers: Beginning/Middle/End, O.W.L.S. (observe, wonder, link, sensory), 5W’s (who, what, when, where, why and how).  Izzy was very strong on her comprehension about the text.  She has not yet exhibited mastery of thinking about the text and thinking beyond the text at higher levels. 

Parent Component

Izzy spent homework time rereading the books.  She also applied the “Click or Clunk” strategy to reading classroom texts.




Reflection
            My main goal for my teaching plan for Izzy was to slow down her reading pace and self-monitor her reading.  For the initial F&P assessment I gave Izzy, she did not self-correct any errors.  I set this as my number one goal for her.  A lot of her reading errors were not because she couldn’t decode words, it was that she read very quickly and didn’t notice when something didn’t make sense, look right, or sound right.  I continually prompted her with meaning, syntax, and visual cues during the fluency and comprehension portion of our lesson.  I was pleased that she self-corrected 1 in every 4 times on her posttest.  This showed me that she was demonstrating the use of the strategies we worked very hard on.
I would encourage Izzy to use these strategies with her classroom reading and independent reading.  Although I am pleased with the progress, I would continue to have her focus on that part of her reading because once this falls into place her accuracy in reading should increase and with fewer miscues her comprehension will also increase.  Izzy is quick to master word sorts and I would remind her to use these skills in the writing process.
One of the things I would have changed was to look more carefully at the word sorts I used.  I went by the beginning sorts of the “Within Word Patterns/ Other Vowel Patterns” and I should have looked closer at the vowel patterns she struggled with on her pretest and used those word sorts in our lessons.  I also should have used an expository book in one of the lessons.  As I picked books I thought that The Boy Who Saves Camels was an expository because it was non-fiction, but in fact it was a narrative. 
I learned a lot about word sorts.  I had never used these before and now in my current position as an interventionist I use them with several groups.  A lot of what I did during this practicum was a part of my current job.  I utilize the “Miscue Analysis” sheet in my day to day running records because I like the visual I get from it and I can analyze the data better. 
I am pleased with the growth of my student.  I would love to continue to work with her because I believe that she could improve so much more on her accuracy just by practicing with the miscue strategies we have been using.  I think her reading level will skyrocket once this is mastered because her decoding strategies are good.  It’s the pace of her reading that causes the miscues and the lack of self-monitoring

Link to Practicum Rubric

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