Sophie James S00153574

Chantal Lauren S00142334

Sophie Wraith-Frank S00146926
Rachel Kelly S00147066

INDIVIDUAL LEARNING
PLAN (ILP)
Student name: Max Hiland
Year level: One
School: St Marys PS

Date: 19.05.2015
Date of birth: 14.09.2007

Parent Support Group (PSG) members consulted in devising this ILP:

Classroom Teacher: Ms K Gregs
Parents: Ben and Hailey Hilard
Principal: Mr J Knox
Consultants to the PSG: Belinda Hay from SPELD Victoria (assessed Max) and
Literacy Coordinator Jane Summer.
Background information:
Max is a grade one student currently enrolled at St Marys Primary School. He has
been at the same school since grade prep and this is the first ILP the school has
implemented for Max. It has come to the attention of Maxs classroom teacher
and parents that he is having difficulties in the learning area of Literacy and
consequently performing at a grade prep level. Max was assessed through SPELD
Victoria over the Easter school holidays. A cognitive and educational assessment
indicated that he has a serve language disorder (SLD) causing Max to have
difficulties in his expressive and receptive language development (SPELD Victoria,
2015).
In the classroom Max does not have an aide at all times as he is not a funded
student. He can work independently most of the time but requires constant
assistance from the teacher to process his thoughts before starting a task. He
does seem to hold back in class discussions rarely putting his hand up to
contribute to a conversation. He does struggle with following instructions and can
get perplexed quite easily when completing a task (Lewis & Lewis, n.d). This has
also been noted at home when he does small chores. When talking with peers in
the schoolyard Max is however comfortable and engaged.
Max has an interest in Mathematics and has a very good number sense when it
comes to counting, adding and subtracting and place value. He works well in
groups and independently engages in his own development of knowledge. He
also has an interest in the outside world, which has come from his love of bike
riding he participates in with his father on a weekly basis. Furthermore he plays
basketball twice a week, which he is passionate about.
Maxs limited vocabulary, which is restricted to high frequency short words has
lead to him using non-specific word such as stuff and things when trying to
describe events that have happened and the physicality of objects. (Special
Education Support Service, n.d) Additionally complex sentence structures are a

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challenge in Maxs writing ability. When writing about certain things he has an
interest in like basketball and bike riding, he can verbally explain a lot more than
writing it down. (Department of Education, 2008)
When engaging with his peers Max can sometimes have difficulty in expressing
his ideas and tends to sway off topic. However he has an outgoing attitude and is
always welcoming towards other students. He has many positive relationships
with other students in the class and is regularly playing basketball at lunchtime
with his friends. He is a good role-model for his younger brother at home yet can
get easily frustrated.
At home it has also been noted by Maxs parents that he struggles to remember
events from the school day and usually says, I cant remember what we did.
This lack of memory is reflected in his comprehension skills where he struggles to
answer inferential questions (American Speech Language Hearing Association,
1993). They try to prompt Max with questions about his day, which he generally
answers. However, they are normally short and not very detailed. Nightly they sit
down and read through a reader, which Max engages with but can sometime be
restless and only takes in visual cues instead of decoding. (Department of
Education, 2008)
Max is a lovely asset to 1P, who loves being around his peers and is always happy
to lend a helping hand. He is a delightful and well-mannered child who, with
assistance of an ILP, will hopefully improve his Literacy skills. Through the cooperation of home and school Max will be well supported to reach his goals.
ENTRY SKILLS:
AT SCHOOL:
Max has a good number sense - he can confidently add and subtract
numbers, skip count and understand number sequences and place value.
Max is currently at standard for Mathematics.
Max has a positive relationship with his peers, regularly playing basketball
at lunchtime.
Max shows an interest in the specialist subjects of PE and Music.
Max struggles to understand verbal instructions given by teachers and
other students.
Max has an interest in the world around us and actively participates in
Inquiry lessons.
Max has difficulties reading and comprehending short texts.
Max is currently reading at Level 5 on the PM Benchmarks
He has limited vocabulary and word knowledge causing him to use few
adjectives in his writing and struggle with sentence structure.
Max performed below average on the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability
test.
AT HOME:
Max completes simple tasks such as packing his toys away.
Max participates in dinner tables discussions however usually relays short
responses.
Max has a positive relationship with younger brother and often play

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together.

SHORT TERM GOALS:

1. Max will follow simple and clear
classroom instructions given by
the teacher 8 out of 10 times
within one month.
2. Max will put a capital letter at the
beginning of sentences and a full
stop and then end of a sentence
within in one month.
STRATEGIES:
Goal 1:
Simplify and repeat verbal
instructions.

Give instructions in sequence.

Use visual cues on the

whiteboard.

Write expectations of each

lesson on the whiteboard using
the WALT and WILF framework

STRATEGIES:
Goal 1:
Have brainstorms displayed in the
classroom showing synonyms of
adjectives that all students can
refer to.

Max is given a sticker each day

if he has followed verbal
instructions for majority of the
time. This sticker is then put on
an individual sticker chart.

Goal 2:
During modeled writing the
teacher will familiarise
students with a range of
punctuation focusing in on the
use of capital letters and full
stops.

LONG TERM GOALS:

1. Max will develop his sentences by
using at least one new adjective in
his writing per week that relates to
the topic by the end of term.
2. By the end of term 3 Max will be able
to retell a story in sequential order
being beginning, middle and end
using pictures and sentences.

Max will be encouraged to take

a piece of work home and edit
mistakes ensuring capital letter
and full stops are used.
Teacher and parents will
prompt and praise Max to use
capital letters and full stops.

Adjective, noun, verb flash card

game can be used during Literacy
rotations.

When correcting his word teacher

can underline certain adjective
that can be improved.

Ensure Max is reading every night

to broaden his vocabulary.

Max will receive a sticker if he

completes five nights of reading
each week and records this in his
diary.

Goal 2:
Get Max to retell smaller parts of a
story in three sections.

Max can use aids to re-tell a story

such as props, re-telling cards or a
storyboard.

When reading, allow Max to write

down unknown words and then
look them up in a dictionary. For
every 5 new words he investigates
he get one sticker to go on his

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sticker board.

Teacher and parents can

expose Max to a variety of
YouTube songs which talk
about full stops and capital
letters.
Max is given 5 minutes to
shoot hoops with a mini
basketball ring in the
classroom at the end of the
week if he gets 4 stickers for
using capital letters and full
stops correctly.

Give Max opportunities to retell

events that have occurred
throughout the day.

Max can create a retelling bracelet

where each bead represents a part
of the story and moves each time a
child identifies that component of a
story.

Parents/carers expectations/support
The school is to provide Maxs parents/ carers with the following tips in order to
help Max achieve his goals.
Short term goal 1:
- Practice giving Max clear and simple instructions every night after school.
E.g. Please put your school bag in your room, please put your dishes on the
sink.
- Be sure to follow these instructions up if Max does not adhere to them.
- Offer Max consistent praise for following instructions successfully.
Short term goal 2:
- Sit down every night with Max and write three sentences, focusing on the
use of a capital letter and a full stop.
- No need to pay attention to errors in spelling.
- Make the writing as enjoyable as possible, for example allow Max to write
about his day or any particular interests of his.
- If Max is restless and not showing interest in constructing sentences, try
the use of YouTube songs about capital letters and full stops. Although the
YouTube song does not provide Max the opportunity to practice, it is more
focused on reinforcing Maxs memory of the use of capital letters and full
stops.
Long term goal 1:
- Continue with the writing task above.
- Encourage Max to write one extra sentence including one new adjective
from the list provided by the classroom teacher.
- Also encourage Max to read every night to increase his vocabulary.
Long term goal 2:
- Encourage Max to recall his day at school at the dinner table each night.

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Allow Max time to recall his day using full sentences, provide Max with
assistance if needed.
As Max improves in his story telling encourage him to recall his day at
school in sequential order.

Processes for collection of data

Short term goal 1:
- The teacher will use a check list to note down when Max follows
instructions and when he does not.
- At the end of each week the teacher will review Maxs progress and
discuss the progress with Max.
- At the end of each week Maxs goal may be altered if he is finding the 80%
success rate too difficult or too easy to achieve.
- At the end of the month Maxs goal will be reviewed.
Short term goal 2:
- The teacher will use a formal method of assessing Max.
- At the end of the first week Max will be asked to sit down and write three
sentences, with the successful use of a full stop and capital letter, no
consideration of spelling.
- The teacher will review Maxs progress, if Max successfully completes all
three sentences the next week he will be asked to write five sentences. If
Max is not successful the teacher will keep the number of sentences at
three.
- The teacher will continue to review Maxs success of using a full stop and
capital letter throughout the four weeks, aiming for a success rate of 80%.
Long term goal 1:
- The teacher will use an informal method of assessment by observing
Maxs writing during class writing time.
- The teacher will keep a record at the end of each week if Max showed
evidence of using one new adjective in his writing which was relevant to
the topic.
- If Max is managing to use one new adjective each week within his writing
then his goal will be altered. Max will be required to try and use two new
adjectives each week.
- If Max is struggling to successfully use one new adjective each week
within his writing then his goal will be altered. Max will be given a list of
adjectives to have by his table during writing time in order to encourage
the use of new adjectives.
- At the end of the term the teacher will review Maxs progress by looking
over all collected data
Long term goal 2:
- The teacher will use a formal and informal assessment when assessing
Max.
- After lunchtime every day the class spend 5-10 minutes discussing how
they spent their lunchtime, every second day Max gets the opportunity to
recall how he spent his lunch time.
- The teachers notes will be focused on the story being told in full
sentences and with a beginning, middle and end.
- Max will continually be assessed using the PM Benchmarks.
- Max will read a book and have to order it sequentially the beginning,
middle and end using a storyboard.

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The teacher will continue to add to these notes throughout the term and alter
the goal when necessary.
Timeline for review and revision of plan:
Max will have his own goal-setting journal where he writes the goals he is working
on and the strategies that will make the goal achievable, with teacher assistance.
There will be visuals to help him remember his goals and the opportunity for him
to self reflect on his progression every two weeks. He can use a feeling chart,
draw a picture or other ways that may interest him.
Once a month the PSG will meet to see if the goals are being met and if further
adaptions need to be made. Parents will be informed of progress through number
of stickers, evidence of work and opportunities to play basketball.
A communication diary can be set up between the classroom teacher and parents
to continually assess how Max are progressing at home and school. This way
parents and teachers can easily discuss any queries about Max.
At the end of Term 3 the entire ILP will be evaluated as a whole at a final PSG. A
decision as to whether Max will need further assistance will be made and further
goal setting.
Students comments:
-

I enjoyed sharing how I spent my lunchtime with the class.

I found the visual aids on the board very helpful and enjoyed getting a
sticker to add to the sticker chart.

I liked practicing my sentence writing at home with Mum.

Classroom teachers comments:

-

Max has showed significant improvement in following instructions and he

has responded positively to the sticker and chart system.

Maxs successful use of full stops and capital letters has become more
consistent and it is evident that he has been practicing regularly at home.

Max found it challenging to think of a new adjective each week to use in

his writing, however the implementation of an adjective list on Maxs desk
significantly improved Maxs success of using one new adjective each
week.

Max loved getting up in front of the class and talking about his lunch time
activities. Each week it was evident that Maxs recalling ability was
improving, however in the first few weeks he needed continual reminding
to recall the events of his lunch time in order of them occurring.

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Parents/ Carers comments:

-

The simple set of tips to assist Max given by the school/ classroom teacher
were easy to understand and follow.

Being reminded to use clear and simple instructions when instructing Max
was a helpful reminder for myself and husband. We found that Max
responded well when we used clear simple wording.

It was sometimes difficult to get Max to sit down and complete his general
class homework as well as the extra sentences he was required to write,
however when Max did manage to complete the task, I could see that it
was very good practice for him.

Max would previously contribute to the discussion at the dinner table but
his responses were always short and lacked structure. Giving Max time
and encouraging him to tell the family about his day, really gave Max the
opportunity to improve his recalling ability.

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Justification of strategies:
Short Term Goal 1:
In order for Max to complete this goal, helping him follow simple and
clear classroom instructions, we have decided to implement some
strategies that will not only benefit Max, but his peers. The WALT
(we are learning to) and WILF (what Im looking for) framework,
offers students a clear outline of what is needed from them in every
lesson in the day. Through the WILF, students have a list written on
the board that sets out what they need to achieve by the end of the
lesson, which will prompt Max to remember the instructions given to
him by the teacher. This framework has been implemented on
placements, and I have seen a direct link in the amount of questions
asked by a student about their task decrease through simply stating
them on the board.
Following on from this, we will add more visual cues to the board
(Ganz, 2010), including a daily timetable created through images of
subjects, helping Max to understand the different tasks he will
complete that day.
A way to motivate Max to remember instructions is through positive
reinforcement (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013), by using a sticker chart.
Everyday Max will be rewarded with a sticker when following
instructions the majority of the time (8 out of 10), this reinforcement
strategy aims to encourage his ability to follow simple instructions,
hoping that he will use his own initiative to look to the whiteboard
for task instructions rather than continually asking questions.
Short Term Goal 2:
For Max to improve his reading and writing, he needs to remember
when to use punctuation. We chose this goal because punctuation is
important to understand and use as it could be said that without
punctuation marks, reading would be a very difficult task (Benzer,
2010, 1879). We know that Max has the ability to use punctuation in

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his writing; he just needs help in remembering when and where it is

needed. So with this goal and the strategies we use, we are hoping
that he can slowly come to remember to put capital letters and full
stops in his writing. If a child is known to have problems with
memory they can often lag behind (Gathercole & Alloway, 2007, 7)
and that is why we must ensure that Max does have the chance to
enhance his memory as well as improve his use of punctuation with
this short-term goal.
Punctuation is a hard enough thing for a child to wrap their head
around, but its even harder for them to remember to use it
(Atkinson, 2010, 41). By encouraging Max to edit his own work both
in class and at home, he is taking responsibility of his own learning
and therefore developing a deeper understanding and improved
ability to recall (Atkinson, 2010, 7). An important strategy when
teaching punctuation to a child is by modelling it yourself, as they
are more likely to do as we do (Oxford Owl, 2015). We need to
familiarise them with what it is we want them to do and we can only
do this if we model it ourselves.
Max tends to enjoy YouTube and we can use this to our advantage
by exposing him to songs about punctuation. YouTube clips like The
sentence song (Scratch Garden, 2013) can help Max remember
through visuals, repetition and a catchy tune. We are also
encouraging Max to achieve this goal with the use of praise, stickers
and free time to play mini-basketball. This will hopefully motivate
him to try his best to remember to continually use punctuation in his
writing (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013).
Long Term Goal 1:
Long term goal 1 was chosen as Max was displaying a very limited
vocabulary which was affecting the standard of his writing. The
strategies put in place included a visual display of adjectives in the
classroom, research has shown that seating students in a position
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that facilitates the use of prompts and cues (Special Education

Support Service, 2015) enhances their learning significantly, flash
cards was another strategy put in place as it has been shown that
using pictures to reinforce and review vocabulary (Special
Education Support Service, 2015) is a highly successful technique in
increasing a students vocabulary.
An indirect strategy put in place to help achieve long term goal 1
was ensuring Max practice reading each night, this was chosen as it
exposes Max to a large variety of vocabulary, in particular
adjectives. Reading was chosen as Max would be able to choose a
book of particular interest to him and therefore enjoy reading while
simultaneously exposing him to endless language. Positive
reinforcement (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013) through the use of
stickers was used as a method of encouraging Maxs continual effort
to read each night. Involving the parents/ carers of Max also
enhances the likelihood of achieving the set goal.

Long Term Goal 2:

In order for Max to be able to be better at comprehending texts it is
best we first work on his ability to retell a story in sequential order.
Maxs second long term goal aims to have Max read a text and then
confidently order it in the middle, beginning and end using pictures
and sentences. It is a critical stage of language development that
students have the ability to retell. Through sequencing a student
understands and follows a passage well. In classroom Max will be
given shorter texts or snippets of a text to read as The New South
Wales Government (2011) stated Retelling is made more difficult by
the length of the text and the events presented. From this Max will
hopefully move onto more complex text types.
To assist Max in retelling a story we thought he could use a re-telling
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bracelet, which was seen on placement. The bracelet has three

beads, each one representing the beginning, middle or end. As Max
reads through a story and identifies a different part he moves one
bead across. This helps in remembering the parts of story and aids
in retelling. On placement at St Annes Primary, Sunbury grade prep
students were engaged in using the bracelets and loved using them
in comprehension activities.
Using a story board will help Max remember parts of a story when it
comes to retelling as students with SLD benefit more visual cues
rather than written or verbal (The Department of Education, 2008).
In developing these visual cues Max will be able to read for meaning
and further improve his reading ability. Trinkle (2009) stated that
Good readers use graphic and semantic organizers to make
meaning from informational text as well as fiction (p48).
Furthermore Max will have his own individual dictionary where he
will write unknown words he finds whilst reading. The definition of
these words will then be looked up in a dictionary to help Max
understand the meaning of new words. This strategy can also be
easily used at home when Max is doing his nightly reader (William,
2007).

11

The effect a particular Impact The features, difficulties, Characteristics

characteristic has on the
strengths and differences
student at home, at
the student displays in
school/community
each of the areas

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Communication

Social Interaction

Information Processing/Learning Styles

Memory

Max communicates with

others through
conversation
He expresses his feelings
well
Max has difficulties
understanding instructions
verbally
Max has difficulties using
his intuition when not
given clear, specific
instructions.

Max plays basketball

regularly with his friends
at lunchtime
He participates in show
and tell
Max can become
frustrated when his friends
do not give him clear rules
for a new game they are
playing

Max is a largely visual

learner, learning through
images rather than
auditory as he has trouble
understanding auditory
instructions
He is also a kinaesthetic
learner, processing
information through
concrete

Max has difficulties with

short term memory,
recalling work from the
previous days and
recalling instructions for
tasks he has been set.

This means Max is able to

communicate his wants
and needs
He can hold a
conversation with peers
and asks for help at school
Max has trouble following
instructions and can
therefor fall behind in a
task

Due to Maxs good

interaction skills, he has a
good group of friends
Max is generally happy
and has a good support
base at school and at
home
When Max doesnt
understand the rules of a
game, his friends can
become frustrated with
him, which leads to Max
becoming agitated and
can upset play time

Maxs learning style

effects his work as he is
usually unable to follow
verbal instructions
His visual learning style is
also hindered by his
difficulties reading and
writing, making it
important to use images
on the board.
Max has flourished in
maths through the use of
concrete materials in
many class tasks

Max is unable to follow

verbal instructions as he
forgets them quickly
He finds it hard to recall
the previous days work,
resulting in repeating
various activities and tasks
in order for his to
remember
This results in his falling
behind in many aspects of
classwork, due to the
constant repetition of
previously completed
tasks

12

Modifications, adjustments and Strategies

activities to support the student.
These will include adjustments
and accommodations

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Knowing his ability to

communicate efficiently,
we will give Max plenty of
opportunities to complete
his work verbally
We will give specific and
clear instructions when
necessary
We will encourage Max to
ask questions if he does
not fully understand what
he is to do for a specific
task

We will encourage Max to

ask questions if he does
not fully understand the
rules so that he can get a
better understanding of
what the limitations and
allowances of the game
are

To support Max we need to

make use of more visual
aids in the classroom,
creating a timetable made
from images
Supporting Max through
using simple visual
storybooks to build his
comprehension skills

Max will be supported in

class tasks through the
WALT and WILF framework,
which will be used to help
remind Max of the
instructions of each task
he is given that day

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REFERENCE LIST:
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (1993). Definitions
of communication disorders and variations. Retrieved from:
http://www.asha.org/policy/RP1993-00208/
Atkinson, J. (2010). Im working it out, said John: an Active
Learning approach to mastering punctuation, English Drama
Media, 18, 41-47. Retrieved from
http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/ps/i.do?
&id=GALE|
A242299039&v=2.1&u=acuni&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&authCo
unt=1
Benzer, A. (2010) Prospective teachers proficiency in punctuation
rules and opinions related to punctuation problems, Procedia:
social & behavioural sciences, 2(2), 1878-1883. Retrieved
from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042810
010426
The Department of Education. (2008). Language Support Program.
Retrieved from:
https://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/st
udent/lspresource211.pdf
Ganz, Jennifer B. (2010). Implementing Visual Cues for Young
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Their
Classmates. Young Children, (3), 78.
Gathercole, S.E & Alloway, T.P. (2007). Understanding working
memory: A classroom guide. London: Harcourt Assessment.
Retrieved from http://www.york.ac.uk/res/wml/Classroom

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%20guide.pdf
Lewis & Lewis. (n.d) Severe Language Disorder - Information for
Parents and Teachers [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from:
http://www.lewisandlewis.com.au/wpcontent/uploads/2011/11/
fact_sheet_SLD.pdf
The New South Wales Government. (2011). NAPLAN 2011. Retrieved
from: http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/712assessments/naplan/teachstrategies/yr2011/index.php?
id=literacy/reading/lr_dilo/lr_dilo_s13_11
Oxford Owl (2015) Expert help: Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling
made easy, How can I help my child with grammar,
punctuation and spelling? [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/reading-site/experthelp/grammar-punctuation-and-spelling-made-easy
Scratch Garden. (2013). The Sentence Song [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wrv_ZviMEc
Special Education Support. (n.d). Strategies for Learning and
Teaching. Retrieved from:
http://www.sess.ie/categories/specific-speech-and-languagedisorders/receptive-language-disorder/tips-learning-and-teac
SPELD Victoria. (2015). SPELD Victoria Services. Retrieved from:
http://www.speldvic.org.au/2014-10-28-22-51-19
Trinkle, C. (2009) Reading for Meaning: Questioning. School Library
Media Activities Monthly. (25). 48-50.

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Williams, J. (2007). Improving comprehension for students with LD.

LD Online. Retrieved from http://www.ldonline.org/article/86
Woolfolk, A. E., & Margetts, K. (2013). Educational psychology (3rd
Australian ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education
Australia

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