KuhnReflectionEDT477

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January15,2016
RileyisstillgettingusedtomeandisVERYhesitanttoworkwithme.Ihave
removedherfromtheclassroomsettingandhavestartedtoworkwithherinthe
hallway.ShestilllooksawayfrommeandwillnotworkifIamlookingather.Iam
tryingtoeasemywayintoworkingwithherbecauseshehashighanxiety.Overall,
thisisalearningprocessforRileyandmyself.Weekonewasroughtryingtogether
toworkbutitisalearningprocessandhowtodealwithherpowerstruggle.
January22,2016
WeektwowasnotmuchdifferentfromlastweekbecauseRileywouldjustsitthere
andrefusetodoherwork.OnceIwouldwalkawayshewouldworkonthemagnetic
letters.Itwashardertodothegofishingactivitybecauseitwassomethingwehad
todotogether.ButItriedtouseencouragingwordstotrytomakehercomfortable.
IthinkIamgoingtotryanddosomeformofbondingactivitynextweektogetRiley
comfortablewithme.Iamtryingtoovercomeherpowerstrugglebutnotgivingup
andlettinghercontroltheworksetting.Ifeeluncomfortablejustsittingtherewhile
sherefusestoworkbutIdonothaveanyotherchoicewhenitcomestotutoring
her.IfshewontIneedtothinkofgamesthatrequirenonverbalactions.Wemissed
outonWednesdaytutoringbecauseofasnowday.
January30,2016
OvertheweekendIresearcheddifferenttypesofnonverbalgamesandcameup
withTraceitandJumponIt!ThesegamesdonotrequireanytalkingfromRileybut
theydoallowhertopracticerecognizingandwritingherwords.ItestedRileyon

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herwordsonMondayandshegot100%.Iwasproudbutconfusedsinceshewas
veryresistantonworkingwedidnotpracticealot.Thismakesmethinkthatshe
knowsherwordsbutisjustrefusingtoworkandthatsheisnotbeinggiventhe
correctwordstoheractuallevel.Itsasifshegetsnervouswhensheisworkingin
theclassroomorbeingtestedandmessesupwordsshedoesknowbecauseshegets
anxious.Sheisgettingmorecomfortablewithmeanditisbecomingeasiertowork
withherwhenweareoneonone.SheisstillVERYshyintheclassroomandwillnot
talktomeyet.WhenIintroducedthenewgames,shewasconfusedhowtoplayitso
Ihadtogostepbysteptomakeherfeelatease.Onceshesawmedoit,Rileywas
abletocautiouslygoalongwiththegame.Ittookawhileandweonlygotthrougha
fewwordsbutIunderstandthatIcanusethesegamesthroughoutthesemester.she
willbecomemorecomfortablewiththemovertimeanditwillpayoffinthelong
run.AsfornowIamstilllookingintononverbalgamestosupportherasaselective
mute.Althoughsheisnotinthesilentstagetechnically,Ineedtosupportherasif
sheisinthatstage.
February5,2016
ThiswasabigbreakformyrelationshipwithRileybecauseshewhisperedtome.I
knowthisisveryminimalbutitisprogress.Ididreadingonmyowntimewithher
duringanothersubjectandshewhisperedtome.Butithasnotcrossedoverto
workingonwordsinthemorning.Itriedeachdaythisweekforhertosayatleast
onewordbutshewouldjustsitthere.Wedidfourdifferentactivitiesinordertomix
uptheexposuretothewords.Shedidherpowerstruggleinthewordsinthe

KuhnReflectionEDT477
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beginningoftheweekbutwouldloosenupastheweekwenton.Ithinkgoing
forwardIamgoingtotryandbranchoutfromjustthewordsandtrytoworkon
readinginthenextcoupleweeks.Alsothisweek,westartedtoworkinaemptyESL
supportroomtogiveRileymoreprivacywhenworkingeachday.Thiswould
removeherofthestressoftheclassroom.Icantellwearemakingprogressbutthe
verbalpartisjustnotthereyet.
February12,2016
ThisismyfirstweektakingovereverythingintheclassroomsoworkingwithRiley
hasbecomesomethingIneedtoplanextrahardforsinceIamworkingonthewhole
daynow.Ihavestartedtoworkonsentenceswithhertodayanditwenthorribly.
Shewouldnotwriteformebutwouldwriteastringofletterssuchas:jifehgry
whfnsjfenefnaihiadnfnShejustdidnotwanttowritebecauseitwassomething
shewassureof.IunderstandthatsheisnervousanditwillbesomethingIwilltry
tointroduceslowly.Shedidgreatwiththenewactivitiesthathadtodowith
nonverbalactionsandwaswillingtodothem.Itseemsthatsheismakingprogress
withherwordsandisabletomoveontonewwordseachweek.Thisweekshe
movedontoList2!!Thisishugeprogresssinceformonthsshehasbeenworkingon
List1.Iwilltryagainwithsentencesandkeepontryingtogethertoreadtome.
Therewasnoschooltoday(the12th)soRileymissedoutonadayoftutoring.
February19,2016
WorkingonList2isgoingverywell.TherewasnoschoolonMondaysowepushed
herassessmenttoTuesdayafternoon.Wearetryingtoworkthisweekonsentences

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andreading.SadlyitisnotgoingverywellbecauseIamtheonereadingandsheis
refusingtowrite.IonlyhavesomuchtimewithherbecauseIneedtoteachtherest
oftheclassroom.SheknowsIeventuallyhavetogobacktotheclassroomtoteach.I
triedonThursdayforhertoworkonitintheclassroombutshedidnotworkand
justsatthere.Needtoresearchnewapproachesovertheweekend.Forreadingeven
thoughshewasnotreadingshedidfollowalongwithherfingerwhereIwas
reading.
February26,2016
Sincetherewasalotofresistancelastweekwithreadingandwriting,Idecidedto
takeabreakandgobacktoReadandWritewords.Itisimportantthatshekeepsup
thegreatprogresswithlearningnewwordsandbeingabletoapplythemwhen
doingnewactivities.AttheendoftheweekItriedtopromptherwithwaystouse
herwordsinsentencesbutstillwouldnotwork.Ihaveherexamplesandwaseven
tellinghershecouldcopythewordsbutnothingwouldwork.Shewascomfortable
withherwordsandpracticingdifferentwaystowritethewords.Itwasvery
frustratingwhenRileywouldnotwriteanythingandIhadtodomybesttokeepit
together.
March4,2016
ThisweekwasanoddweekbecauseIwassickonMondayandhadthedayoffon
Wednesdaysoweonlyhadthreedaystoworkonherwords.Sheworkedonreading
levelbookswithmeonWednesdaybutitagainwasmereadingandherfollowing
along.IfeellikeIamwastingmytimewithsentencesandreading.Imighttaketime

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toreconsideradjustingmyplantofocusmainlyonsightwordsandapplyingthem
indifferentactivitiestopractice.IjustseemsthatIcangetmoreoutofherewhenit
issimpleandconcrete.Ihavebeenthinkingaboutthisanditseemsmore
productivetoseewhereshelayswithReadandWritewordssolelyratherthan
mixinginsentencestructure.
March11,2016
IwasoutonTuesdayagainbecauseofedTPAbutshewasgiveninstructiontoread
herbooksoncecompletewithherrainbowwrite.Thisweekwasfilledwithreading,
writing,andassessing.ItwasgreatwhenIwastherebecauseshewaswillingto
workondifferentactivitieswhenithadtodowithherwords.Butshedidnotread
tomeonFridaywhenIwasthere.Ihadtoagainreadtoherwhenshefollowed.She
isnotbecomingcomfortablewithherreadingtomesoIamgoingtostartpulling
backonthatactivity.Sheseesmeastheteachernowintheclassroomwhichmakes
hernervoussoItrytoreassureherthatIjustamheretohelpherandkeepupthe
performancebasedapproachwithteaching.Ihavetoconstantlylookatdataandsee
howsheisprogressingandwhataremynextsteps.IhaveasetroutineonhowIgo
abouttheactivitieswithRileybuteachweekIhavetoassess,providenewwords
andhelpguidehertounderstanding.Ialsoneedtorememberthatitisimportantto
reassesspastwords.TherehavebeentimeswhereIhavehadtothrowinapast
wordbecausesheforgotit.
March18,2016
SinceIstartedtopullbackonreading,Ionlyhaveherreadingoncethisweek.The

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restoftheweekisfocusedonReadandWritewords.Thethingissheseems
confidentwhensheisworkingwithmebutthesecondsheisassessedsheforgets
words.Iamtryingtoprovideherextratimeintheclassroomtohelphergetthe
supportfrompracticingbecauseIknowshedoesnotdothemathome.(takehome
sheetisturnedineachweekanditisalwaysblank)Ihavetalkedtomomata
meetinghowimportantpracticingisbuttheyarebusywiththeirbusinesssoitis
overlooked.Itrytomakethetimeworkingwithmefunsothatshecanloosenup
andnotfeellikethisisagradedassignment.Eachweekshegetsmoreandmore
relaxedandiswillingtodomoreandmoreoftheactivities.
March25,2016
Thisweekisthestartofspringbreakandwehavenoschooltoday.(March25th)I
onlyhadherreadtomeoncethisweekandyetagainitwasjustmereadingand
herfollowingalong.WeworkedontheiPadandpracticedwritingoutthewordsin
differentways.Icantellwhenshefeelscomfortableandwhensheishavinganoff
daybyhowwillingsheistoworkwithme.Shejuststartedtoseehertherapistagain
thisweeksoshemissedthemorningonTuesday.Butwemadeupforitlaterinthe
daysoshedidnotmissoutonexposuretothewords.Shewasgivenastickerbook
touseifshespoketoanyone.Ididuseitasabribebutshewouldnottalktomebut
shedidtalktootherteachers(resources)shehadnottalktopreviously.Ithinkshe
seesmeandherteacherasthegradersandfeelsnervoustomakemistakesaround
us.Wewillhaveaweekoffforspringbreakanditisimportantthatshepractices

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herwordsinordertonotgobackwards.Isenthomepracticesheetsforhertouse
andIhopetheyarehelpfuloverthebreak.
April8,2016
WejustgotbackfromspringbreakthisweekandthesheetsofpaperIsenthome
werestillinherbackpack.IknewthatIneededtoassessherbutIwantedtoholdoff
aweektoreviewthepastwordssoshewouldnotbededucted.Weworkedhardon
thewordsfromlastweekandthisweek.Ijustaddedthenextfivewordstokeep
goingonthelist.Eachdaywasanewactivitythatwasnonverbalbutcouldhelpher
practiceherwordformation.Itwasimportantforhertokeepupthemomentum.I
sawthatshewasshyatthebeginningoftheweekbutIdidmybesttogobackto
normal.ItseemedthatsheknewallherwordsfrombeforespringbreakbyTuesday,
shejustneededaquickreview.
April15,2016
Itriedtoreintroducereadingthisweekbutdidnotgowell.Ididbringupthesticker
bookanditdidnotmotivateher.ShedidgreatwithheriPadgamethisweekand
wasabletogetallofthemcorrectinthegameshewasplaying.Wehadafieldtrip
onWednesdaysowequicklygotalittlebitofworkdonebeforeweleft.Itwasa
rushedmorningsoshewasnotonhergameandfeltuncomfortable.Herteston
April18thwasa100%andIwassoproudofallherhardwork.Shedidherbest
eachtimeshewasgivenataskandwasreadytoworkeachday.
April22,2016

KuhnReflectionEDT477
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Rileyisnowcomfortablearoundmesincespringbreakandwearemakinggreat
stridestowardsmovingontoList3.WeareattheendofList2thisweekandshe
hasdonegreatduringeachactivity.Shelovestodotraceitandwasabletogeteach
wordcorrectwhenitwascomplete.Iwashopefulthisweekaboutreadingwithher
butitwasjustnothingmorethanstorytimeforme.Itisdisappointingtometosee
hernotwantingtoreadandIdontknowexactlywhattodo.Ihaveneverdealtwith
aselectivemutebeforesoitisalearningprocess.Iamalmostatmylastweekof
tutoringforheranditisimportantformeatleasttoseehergettoList3!
April30,2016
WEMADEITTOLIST3!IamsoproudofRileyforherhardworkthissemester.She
hasmadegreatstridesintherightdirection.NowIknowsheisnotonbenchmark
butshepassedalist.EachchildlearnsattheirownpaceandthatiswhyItriedto
focusonperformancebasedlearningthroughoutthesemester.Forsomestudents
theycanlearn30wordsintwoweeksbutAnnaneededadifferentiatedlistthat
providedherfivewords.BybreakingitupIcouldseehowmuchtimesheneededto
focusoneachwordinordertomasterit.Ihadalongsemestertryingtogetthrough
toRileyandeventuallyshecamearound.Ihadtochangemyinquiryquestionalong
thewaybutmyendresultofworkingonwhatsheknewwasmet.SheisatList3
andisbeingchallengedatherownlevelwithfivewordsaweek.SheisonanIEP
whichprovidesherthesupportfornextyearsincesheisnotatbenchmarkwithher
ReadandWritewords.Ihadagreatsemesterbeingchallengedeachdaytotryand
dobetterthanIthoughtIcould.WestartedatList1andendedatList3!Iconsider

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thattobeasuccessandabigimprovementforRiley.Shetaughtmethatevenwith
nowordsthatwecouldworktogetherandfigureoutnewwaystolearnnewthings.