Anna Gallacher

May 8, 2013

EDUG 789: Methods of Teaching At Risk & Disabled Students Final Report Part 1: Student Background Bryan is ten years old and a fifth grade student at a private catholic school. He comes from a Spanish speaking household. His parents contacted Manhattan College in search of tutoring for their son. Upon first meeting Bryans mother, I requested that she complete a parent questionnaire in which she expressed concerns about her inability to effectively communicate and help her son who struggles daily with his reading and writing proficiency. Bryan is passionate about basketball and loves to play with his friends during recess and gym class. When asked about his feelings regarding school, Bryan stated that he enjoys math but has insecurities with reading, especially out loud to the class. Bryan likes to read books such as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, however gets easily frustrated because his reading fluency and comprehension deficiencies make books at this level too difficult for him. Bryan is extremely respectful and at the beginning of our tutoring sessions for 787 appeared to be eager to learn. Unfortunately, as the weeks progressed, I noticed a change in Bryans attention to instructional support. He has difficulty sitting still and focusing on the task at hand, constantly looking for an outlet to distract him from his work. He accidently pushes his pencil and/or papers off his desk so that he has to get up to retrieve them. Bryan is aware that

he does this because he mentioned that his teacher gets frustrated with the constant distractions to not only himself but his classmates. Summary of Test Results The first assessment was reading. According to a reading level correlation chart, fifth grade students are expected to be reading at levels T through V. Bryans teacher recently assessed him at a level D. I used benchmark passages to complete three running records at levels D, E, and F. Bryans accuracy rate on the level D running record was 100%. His oral reading fluency revealed his ability to read quickly and with minimal effort at this level. He made one self-correction three quarters of the way through the passage. Bryans accuracy on the level E running record was a 99%. He began reading with speed and clarity but inserted one word towards the end of the passage. Finally, I assessed Bryan at a level F and he scored a 98%. Bryan repeatedly replaced the word cool with cold and his oral reading was less fluent. I interpreted the following reading strengths and weaknesses based on this data: Bryan can successfully decode individual words but struggles when they are in the context of a longer sentence. Bryan struggles with reading longer, more complex texts with expression and accuracy because he reads one word at a time. When asked to recall facts from one of the passages, Bryan was unable to provide main events or details, demonstrating his weaknesses in reading comprehension. Next, I assessed Bryans written language. The first assessment was a free write, in which Bryan chose to write about all of his favorite things: basketball, karate, video games, and pizza. According to the scoring rubric for writing pieces, Bryan received 8 out of 24. The rubric scored Bryan at a level 1 according to his organization, word choice, sentence fluency, voice,

and writing conventions. Bryan struggled most with organizing his ideas into a cohesive story that used grade appropriate vocabulary and punctuation. His writing reads more like a list then a story, revealing a need for structure and transitional phrases to take him from one idea to the next. With interventions that target Bryans need for developing a main idea and supporting details, I believe his weaknesses with writing can improve. Bryans penmanship is also difficult to read. He writes in cursive very slowly and erases often. The following week Bryan was given a writing prompt which asked him to write about a moment in his life that he shared with a special person. Bryan wrote about a family vacation to Florida. It is evident that when given a focus, Bryans writing improves. He successfully wrote about his vacation throughout and did not incorporate any irrelevant information. His word choice was also more appropriate for his grade level, such as beautiful and adventure. Based on the rubric, Bryan scored 14 out of 24 which is a level 2. His weaknesses continue to lie in expanding details to support his main idea, transitioning from one idea to the next, and having a clear introduction, body, and conclusion rather than one big, run on paragraph. The final assessment conducted with Bryan was math using the WIAT-III. After analyzing the data, I found that Bryan is in fact strongest in math. He successfully completed addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts with speed and accuracy. Bryans raw score on the addition portion was 45 out of 48 which equates to a 94%. He scored a 100% on subtraction. Bryans raw score on the multiplication portion was 40 out of 48 which is equivalent to an 83%. In terms of weaknesses, Bryans speed can hurt his precision in answering questions correctly, as his few mistakes occurred toward the end of each set of math facts. For the questions he answered incorrectly, Bryan did not show any work which made it difficult to identify where his

mistakes occurred. It is evident that he simply was not paying as close attention toward the end of each set because he answered 8 x 7 correctly but later answered 7 x 8 incorrectly. Part II: IEP Goals 1. Reading: Within one semester, Bryan will learn and apply strategies in order to improve his reading comprehension skills using context clues and applying prior knowledge. 2. Writing: Within one semester, Bryan will improve his organizational skills in written language using graphic organizers. 3. Mathematics: Within one semester, Bryan will improve his mathematical fluency using a self-check method. Demo Lesson Topic: Sequencing Grade: 2

1. Purpose (Essential Questions): a. What is sequencing? b. Why do we sequence? 2. Vocabulary: a. Sequence: the following of one thing after another b. Recipe: a set of instructions for making something 3. Objectives: a. Students will demonstrate their ability to listen and recall the steps in the story. b. Students will be able to sequence the steps from the story. 4. Standards a. Common Core Standards:

i. Reading Standards: 1. Key Ideas and details a. Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson. b. Describe characters, setting, and major events in a story, using key details. ii. Reading for Information: 1. Key Ideas and details a. Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. 5. Materials: a. Stone Soup by Ann McGovern b. Sentence strips c. Pencils d. Markers e. Chart Paper f. Index Cards g. Glue h. Independent Worksheets 6. Lesson Presentation: a. Connections/Relevance/Background: i. The students have been previously assessed and found to have mastered how to determine major events in a story. Some students will be given reinforcement on identifying major events while most are ready to move on to sequencing. This lesson will require the students to sequence those major events. b. Motivation: i. The teacher will present a morning routine to the students that are out of order. The students will be asked to put the morning routine in order. ii. The students will mirror the teacher as she identifies the sequencing vocabulary using her hand (First, Next, Then, After, Finally). iii. The teacher will invite students to place the correct sequencing word next to the corresponding morning routing. c. Development: i. To activate prior knowledge we will ask the students what a recipe is. ii. One student who has helped their parent with a recipe will be asked the significance of following the recipe in the correct order. iii. We will then introduce the book Stone Soup by Ann McGovern and ask for student predictions based on a picture walk.

iv. At the end of the story, the students will be asked to recall the different steps in sequential order. Together we will put all the ingredients in order on chart paper. v. After sequencing the ingredients, we will have the students place the sequencing words in the correct order next to the ingredients. vi. The students will then be grouped based on readiness levels. vii. Three Groups: 1. Group 1: The students will be given index cards and will be asked to write their birthdays on the index card. They will communicate with their group members to stand in the correct order from January birthdays to December birthdays. They will be reminded to refer back to the classroom calendar if they need help. Then with a partner they can unscramble pictures of a typical morning routine and glue them to their notebooks. 2. Group 2: The students will work together to unscramble a typical school day. Then separately they will be asked to put the correct sequencing words in front of the sentences. They can use their hands to help them.

3. Group 3: The students will generate a sequenced routine about a typical Saturday in their lives. They will be asked to choose 5 events. They will be asked to put the events in the correct order using the sequencing vocabulary and then draw a picture of each event. d. Summary: i. The teacher will ask the student what the importance of sequencing is and how they can use it while they are reading independently. 1. The teacher will remind them that they can use their fingers while reading to help them. 7. Differentiation/Modification: a. Visual and Auditory: Students will listen to the text and use the teacher made sentence strips as auditory and visual reinforcement. b. Groups and independent worksheets are leveled according to student readiness. c. Kinesthetic: students are engaged kinesthetically using their five fingers and group 1 is physically getting up to put their birthdays in order. d. Intrapersonal: The students will be engaged in group work.

e. Interpersonal: The students will have the chance to practice these skills independently. 8. Resources: a. Common Core Standards: http://www.commoncorestandards.org b. Ann McGovern, Stone Soup, 1986, Scholastic Paperbacks.

Successful Strategies/Interventions For struggling readers likes Bryan, although he has mastered the basic reading skill of decoding, his fluency with grade-level texts can sometimes be choppy. In turn, this is impacting his ability to make sense of word meanings and read for overall comprehension. Reading Comprehension: Smart 7 After modeling this strategy, we gave Bryan a text with several paragraphs about Michael Jordan. Bryan had to complete the following: (1) box the title and number each paragraph of the text (2) read each paragraph silently to himself (3) write 2-3 key words next to each paragraph (4) go to the questions and underline any key words (5) read each multiple choice option and eliminate any that are definitely wrong with an X (6) go back to the text and underline important parts that prove the correct answer (7) mark the final answers. We worked through this strategy step-by-step with Bryan and intend to have him complete it independently next week. This was effective because it really broke down the reading and comprehending process into manageable parts and gave Bryan time to think about the reading. On step 6, the key words on the side made it easier for him to

refer back to specific parts of the text which saved him time from having to re-read the whole paragraph. Writing: Graphic Organizers After modeling the significance and proper use of a graphic organizer, Bryan practiced using a graphic organizer that included an introduction, thesis, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion in steps. Breaking down the graphic organizer initially helped Bryan visualize each section as its own entity. Then, Bryan put the parts together to form a cohesive written piece. The graphic organizer was successful at helping Bryan expand his ideas and add details to support his thesis. Bryans writing structure improved over the course of each tutoring session as a result of using a graphic organizer. Math: Self-Check Method Bryan demonstrated his academic strengths in math from the very beginning. His speed at completing addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts hurt his accuracy at times because he went too fast and either did not show or check his work. To address this issue, Bryan learned a self-check method which included reviewing the numbers in the problem and the math sign before solving the problem and when going back to check his final answer. This was proven to be successful because it forced Bryan to slow down and give each problem a second look. On-going Observational Assessment In order to monitor Bryans progress throughout our tutoring sessions, we kept weekly logs. In each log we documented Bryans strengths and weaknesses. While planning instruction

prior to each weeks session, we identified common trends in Bryans work from week to week to inform our interventions in reading, writing, and math. Noted Progress/Improvements Reading o When we first started working with Bryan, his deficiencies in reading comprehension were the most prominent. After implementing several strategies to improve his reading comprehension, we learned that reading texts pertaining to his personal interests enhanced his ability to retain major events in a story. However, Bryans overall improvement in reading comprehension was not as significant as we had hoped. This can be attributed to his lack of focus during longer, grade-appropriate texts. We also noticed that Bryans reading fluency and decoding skills still require support and reading comprehension cannot be attained until these components are mastered first. Writing o Bryans written language improved the most as a result of our tutoring sessions. When given a prompt, Bryan successfully focused on one main idea throughout his written piece rather than jumping to and from irrelevant topics. We also noticed that when given a graphic organizer, Bryan was able to not only able to effectively structure his writing into an introduction, three bodies, and a conclusion, but also expand on his ideas to support his thesis. Math

o Since math fluency is Bryans strength there was less need for improvement compared to reading and writing. The self-check strategy that was implemented helped Bryan slowdown in order to highlight his strengths in this subject. Part III: Recommendations for Continued Support Reading o Continued support in decoding and reading with speed, accuracy, and prosody will in turn support Bryans reading comprehension proficiency. Mastering decoding and fluency using texts that target Bryans interests will ideally help him focus and retain pertinent information that he will encounter in longer, grade level texts. Writing o Bryan should continue to use graphic organizers to guide his writing across all content areas. This visualization tool, when used repeatedly, will increase Bryans confidence in organizing a written piece that incorporates grade level writing conventions.