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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
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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:
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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.
LITERACY CASE STUDY 5
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
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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
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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:
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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
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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
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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:
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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
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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:
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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.
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: 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
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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
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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
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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
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“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.
R.F.K.2d-Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel and final sounds in three-phoneme
words (cvc)
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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.
LITERACY CASE STUDY 19
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
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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.
LITERACY CASE STUDY 21
LITERACY CASE STUDY 22
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:
Christopher Gordon (p. 72).
Leslie, L., & Caldwell, J. (2011). Qualitative reading inventory. (5th edition). Boston, MA:
Pearson, Allyn and Bacon
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.
Vasudevan, L. Schultz, K. & Bateman, J. (2010). Rethinking composing in a digital Age:
Authoring literary identities through multimodal storytelling. Written Communication,
27(4), 442-468
Wyatt-Smith, C. & Kimber, K. (2009). Working multimodality: Challenges for assessment.
English teaching: Practices and critiques, *(3), 70-90.