Running head: Case Study

Case Study Rachel Davey EDU 741 University of New England

Part One: Identification and Introduction

Running head: Case Study

John* is a nine year old boy in fourth grade. Johns teachers and parents have been concerned about his reading since first grade. John is currently reading below grade level. He is reading at a level N, which is a transitional level between third grade material and beginning of fourth grade. John does not have adequate decoding skill, he stops frequently while reading to decode. He often mispronounces words and does not monitor himself to realize what he has said does not make sense. Johns teachers and parents also have concerns about his handwriting, writing, and spelling. He often omits words, capitals, and punctuation in his writing. He also has difficulty staying on task while reading or writing. He is more cooperative and on task when working one-on-one or in a small group compared to a whole group scenario. During the following assessments John was cooperative. All of these assessments were given on an individual basis. John had a positive attitude throughout all assessments. Part Two: Evidence Collection 3- Minute Reading Assessment Fourth Grade Level Passage Total Words Read Words Correct Accuracy 111 105 WCPM 95%

Multidimensional Fluency Scale Expression and Volume 2 Phrasing and Intonation 2

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Smoothness Pace Total Fluency Score Comprehension

2 3 9/16 4/6

Reading benchmark from Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark System Reading Passage Title Level Accuracy Comprehension Self Correction Fluency Rate Spelling Inventory Consonants (beginning) Consonants (ending) Short Vowels 2/2 5/5 4/5 100% 100% 80% Dogs at Work (Nonfiction) N Below 95% (19 errors) Satisfactory (7/9) 4 total 2/3 55 WPM

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Digraphs Blends Long Vowels Other Vowels Inflected Endings Syllable Junctures Unaccented Final Syllables Harder Suffixes Bases or Roots Feature Points Words Attempted Number of Words Correct Spelling Stage: Early Syllables and Affixes Written Sample Qualitative Spelling Checklist

6/6 7/7 4/5 5/7 2/5 3/5 3/5 0/5 0/5 41/62 25/25 12/25

100% 100% 80% 71% 40% 60% 60% 0% 0% 66% 100% 48%

Early Within Word Pattern

Running head: Case Study

Part Three: Analysis of Evidence Student Strengths Johns area of strength is his background knowledge and ability to make connections to texts. These two skills assist John to comprehend what he has read. Johns desire to learn new information about the world around him is also a strength. His desire to learn about the world around him makes it easier to engage him in nonfiction texts. While reading nonfiction texts John will often stop to share new information that he has learned. John is also very strong in his ability to generate questions while reading. He often will stop to make I wonder statements as he reads. Students Areas of Need Johns largest area of need is his ability to self monitor. His inability to self monitor is affecting his decoding and fluency while reading. Although John often relies on his prior knowledge and connections for comprehension, his fluency and decoding impede his comprehension frequently, especially with fiction texts. He needs more explicit instruction on how to self monitor while he is reading and writing. John will often mispronounce words while reading and will continue reading even if what he has said does not make sense. John also is in need of more directed instruction with his writing. Not only is his spelling troublesome in his written work, but he also omits words while writing, uses capitals incorrectly or not at all, and is not showing correct usage of punctuation. Instructional Implications

Running head: Case Study

First of all, this testing has implied that John needs to receive more direct instruction on how to attain to text. He needs some concrete self monitoring strategies to utilize while reading and writing. Direct instruction in this area will include teaching him to ask himself if the text is making sense as he reads. If while he is reading he mispronounces a word that he has decoded he should always be asked if it sounds right and if it makes sense. He also needs to be taught to transfer these skills to his writing. As he is writing he needs to be taught to reread frequently and to ask himself if what he has written makes sense. He can also reread his written work and record it so he can then listen to what he has written and assess if what he has written sounds as he imagined. Other adults working with John including his family should constantly ask him if what he is reading and writing makes sense and sounds right. Secondly, John will continue to receive direct instruction on fluency. This instruction can be received in a small group or individually. He needs experiences with reading texts aloud as frequently as possible. He also needs to continue to hear other readers read aloud frequently. John needs many experiences hearing fluent readers. He will then be given a chance to record his reading so he can listen to himself and taught how to self assess how he can sound more fluent. With several experiences John will be able to self assess his fluency independently while listening to a recording of his reading. The texts that John is given to practice his fluency will be short texts; for example Readers Theater, poems, nonfiction passages, etcetera. He also will be given the chance to read these texts in a variety of ways, meaning that he could read texts showing different emotions or using different rates. John also needs to continue to be explicitly taught how his fluency will impact his comprehension and enjoyment of reading. John should also be reading aloud at home as well as being read aloud to.

Running head: Case Study

Finally, John also needs more focused instruction on decoding strategies. John will be provided with a toolbox of strategies he can use when he encounters an unknown word as he reads. He will continue to be taught to question himself as he reads to see if his reading is making sense. He will also be taught how to chunk words more accurately, how to sound words out, how to use context clues, rereading, etcetera. John will only be asked to utilize one strategy at a time. Each new strategy will be modeled several times then John can be asked to help with the strategies. He can then begin to use these strategies with guidance. Once he has demonstrates that he can utilize the strategy with guidance he can use it independently. John will need frequent check-ins with the teacher to be sure that he is using the strategies provided. The teacher will check in with John daily to check his comprehension and to analyze which strategies he is finding most useful and to provide him with different strategies if necessary. Any strategies that John is utilizing should be shared with his family so they can encourage him to use this same strategy while reading at home. Part Four: Reflection When dealing with a student that is falling between the cracks, is below grade level, or is not motivated; case studies are very effective. Case studies force you to take a step back and to really analyze different aspects of a students learning process. When looking at specific academic areas a case study provides a chance to take a closer look at where the students gaps are. While compiling this case study chapter ten in the book Assessment for Reading Instruction by McKenna and Stahl was especially helpful. Particularly table 10.1 on page 247 was helpful. This table was a guide to inform you of which assessments to use when a student was experiencing a specific deficit in their literacy learning.

Running head: Case Study

A case study is beneficial not only in the case of an academic set back, but also in a behavioral or motivational dilemma. This tool is valuable to use with any student when there is a concern. Utilizing a case study provides a teacher with an opportunity to examine what is occurring that is impairing a students learning whether it is academically or socially. Whenever a teacher has specific concerns about a student a case study should be employed. A case study when being prepared formally becomes a lengthy document, but a case study can simply be collecting several assessments on a child and analyzing the outcomes. The bottom line is if there are significant concerns, as much data as possible should be gathered on a student to then be analyzed and to inform what needs to happen next to get that student back on track.

* Students name has been changed for privacy purposes.