Running Head: AIDING STRUGGLING READERS

Pamela Nickleberry
Aiding Struggling Readers
University of St Thomas

Dr. Elizabeth Bieler

Fall 2015

AIDING STRUGGLING READERS

Aiding Struggling Readers

Students struggling with reading is becoming a growing problem in our elementary
schools. Studies reveal that when students get off to a poor start in reading they rarely catch up.
In fact The National Research Council (NRC) concludes most reading problems can be
prevented by providing effective instruction and intervention in preschool and in the primary
grades (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). The National Reading Panel (NRP) concluded that
reading instruction should address the domains of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency,
vocabulary, and comprehension. Effective classroom reading instruction includes teaching
phonemic awareness (in kindergarten and 1st grade, and for older students who need it) and
phonics or word study explicitly and directly with opportunities to apply skills in reading and
writing connected text (e.g., Ehri, 2003; Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Petsetsky, & Seidenberg,
2001).
Students with learning difficulties benefit from explicit instruction in decoding skills and
strategies, fluency (modeling fluent reading, directly teaching how to interpret punctuation marks
when reading orally, etc), vocabulary word meanings and word-learning strategies, and
comprehension strategies. When a teacher provides explicit instruction she or he clearly models
or demonstrates skills and strategies and provides clear descriptions of new concepts (providing
both clear examples and non-examples). Students dont have to infer what they are supposed to
learn (Denton, Carolyn 2009).

AIDING STRUGGLING READERS

Aiding Struggling Readers

Students who struggle need extended guided, independent. And cumulative practice.
They should practice with teacher feedback both positive and corrective. Students need to know
what behavior and processes they are implementing well a well as when they have made
mistakes. If clear corrective feedback is not provided, students are likely to continue making the
same errors, in other words practicing their mistakes. Independent practice is needed in order for
students to implement skills and strategies without the support of the teacher; however, the
teacher should monitor and reteach when needed. Lastly, students who struggle with reading
need a tremendous amount of cumulative practice to learn to apply skills and strategies
automatically when they read, just as skilled readers do.
It has been found that students who struggle with reading often do not comprehend what
they have read. This is mainly because they spend so much time stumbling among the text they
often forget what they have read. They lack the ability to decode words correctly, or the ability to
blend sounds correctly. Struggling readers are often characterized as reading in monotone
without expression or with inappropriate phrasing (Torgesen, Joseph K).
There are other areas that also limit comprehension for students who struggle in reading.
Those areas include the inability to transfer information to new settings, finding the main idea in
a story, and using context clues while reading. When students stumble on words, the amount of
information they can comprehend is limited. Engaging students in a variety of listening activities
can be used to model fluency, inflection, and correct expression.

AIDING STRUGGLING READERS

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Hypothesis
The current study explores the single case of a 3rd grade student who is struggling
tremendously in reading. The case focuses on a nine year ole African American male named
Bennie (a pseudonym). Bennie is the eldest of two males and live in a community where a
majority of the families are of low socioeconomic status. He attends third grade at this local
public school which has received the status of low performing for three consecutive years. He is
raised by his mother who works two jobs and is seldom available when called by his teachers.
Bennie is somewhat below average in his other classes due to his reading difficulties. He has
been labeled at risk since the end of first grade. Currently he participates in RTI on a daily basis
and after school tutorials twice a week. He has a very supportive teacher who works with him to
improve his reading skills so that he may gain success and show dramatic improvement by fourth
grade. I suspect Bennies reading difficulties are a result of not being taught phonemic awareness
and phonics in the earlier grades. I think that his reading fluency may be improved by working
with him with phonics, phonemic awareness, teaching him to decode words, and providing him
the opportunity to listen to text. My hypothesis is with explicit instruction in phonemic
awareness and phonics Bennie will improve his reading skills thus leading to better
comprehension.

Aiding Struggling Readers

Method:
The proposed research will be conducted as an individual case study that focuses on one
African American male third grade student who struggles in reading. The setting for the research
study will be at the participants school. Each session will last approximately 30 minutes during
the students RTI time.
Measures:
I will use RTI beginning reader booklets along with decodable books and phonic
activities using explicit, systematic instruction and practice. I will also integrate readalouds,
sound/symbol books, and phonogram flashcards. Bennie will be taught how to match a unit of
sound (phonemes) to the letter or letters that make the sound (graphemes). He will separate
written words into their individual sounds and blend the individual sounds of letters to make
words. Bennie will be allowed opportunities to practice with books, worksheets, flashcards, and
writing the symbols as well as use them in spelling. I will use phonic assessments to monitor
Bennies progress. Bennies reading teacher will provide me with his reading level and current
methods of interventions used within her class.
I will use running records as a qualitative analysis of observing the participant as he
learns to match letters to their sounds and separate written words into their individual sounds and
as he learns to blend the individual sounds of letters to make words.

Aiding Struggling Readers

Design and Procedure:

A case study design with qualitative and quantitative components will be used for this
case study. This design is chosen because it will allow me to work one on one with a student who
is struggling in reading. I will directly instruct specific phonemic and decoding strategies and
assess his level of phonemic awareness while reading RTI beginning leveled readers. Direct
instruction will focus on the following skills: phonics, decoding of words, matching phonemes to
graphemes, blending individual sounds to make words, and eventually checking for
comprehension while reading. The student will use these strategies before, during, and after he
reads selected texts.
The proposed study will take place three days a week during RTI time for approximately
six weeks. Each session will last 30 minutes. During the initial meeting, I will assess the
students knowledge of words using leveled RTI material chosen by his reading teacher. The
student and I will begin our session by discussing letters and their sounds. I will read each letter
and model the sound for the student. After I model the sounds, the student will practice the same
letters. Finally, we will use the letters and blend sounds to make individual words. This will
continue during the first week.
The second week of meetings will include a review of the first set of strategies: modeling
and practicing letter sounds, and using letters blending sounds to make individual words. I will
introduce basic sight words reading each one for the student. The student will be taught to

decode the words to their individual sounds and then blend those sounds back to the individual
word. The child will be provided with flashcards to practice at home.
Aiding Struggling Readers

During the third week, I will assess the students understanding of phonemic awareness
and sight words using the RTI progress monitoring report. The student will be introduced to
beginning leveled readers which includes the basic sight words. We will read the books together
and the student will read them independently.
During the fourth week of meetings we will continue reading leveled RTI books. The
students will use all previously taught strategies. I will include third grade leveled spelling words
that are being taught in the regular reading class and begin to incorporate them in text for the
student to read.
During the fifth week of meetings, I will conduct an additional RTI assessment to test the
students understanding of phonics and word fluency. The student will continue to use a
combination of strategies taught during reading. At this time I will have the student incorporate
spelling of words as well.
During the sixth week, I will allow the student to choose books on his own to read aloud.
I will monitor his progress and only intervene when needed. The student will be encouraged to
use all strategies taught within his regular education classroom.
Data Analysis Plan
Data will be organized using the RTI progress monitoring system, running records,
spreadsheets, and spelling tests. The data will be analyzed using quantitative and qualitative

methods, particularly graphing of changes in outcome measures. All data will be shared with the
students reading teacher and will use a pseudonym to protect the identity of the student.
Aiding Struggling Readers

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Work Cited

Denton, Carolyn A. Classroom Reading Instruction That Supports Struggling Readers: Key
Components for Effective Teaching. Childrens Learning Institute. University of Texas Health
Science Center Houston. Retrieved from
http://www.rtinetwork.org/essential/tieredinstruction/tier1/effectiveteaching
Ehri, L.C. (2003, March). Systematic phonics instruction. Finding of the National Reading Panel
Paper.
Reyner, K., Fooman, B.R. (2001). How psychology science informs the teaching of reading.
Psychological Science in the Public Interest.
Snow, C.E. Burns, M.S. & Griffith, P. (1998). Preventing Reading difficulties in young children.
Washington D.C. National Academy Press.