Braden Pelly

SPED 377
Case Summary and Analysis
July 24, 2018

Case Summary and Analysis

1. Summary and analysis of the student’s foundation for reading success at baseline.

This study is going to revolve around the second student that I tutored, Scarlet. Scarlet

had a reading level, at the beginning of tutoring, at a G1 March. This was interesting, especially

with this being my first experience, because she was going into the second grade. I had never

seen such a large gap so this made it very interesting to me. At first, she was slow when it came

to the speed at which she read, and was prone to mistakes. As the tutor, you could tell how she

wanted to badly to read quickly, but her consistent mistakes made it hard for her to focus. After a

couple lessons of practicing slowing down our reading speed, she began to improve when it

came to comprehension. She also had a problem skipping lines while reading. She had never

been taught to follow the words with her finger so she wouldn’t get lost when it came to her

reading. This, yet so simple, is such an important skill when it comes to reading and reading

comprehension.

I had a difficult time adjusting to the “script” method of this intervention program. I

wasn’t a huge fan of not being able to cater the lessons to my student’s needs, especially because

I was able to identify what I thought was halting Scarlet, but instead, I had to follow a more

cookie cutter program. After a couple attempts, I realized that this research based intervention

was working for my student. Helping with her pace and physically following along with her,

Scarlet was making leaps and bounds with her reading and reading comprehension. Within the

first couple days, Scarlet had passed her first Word Study Check and was moving onto G2 Mid,

the direction she needed to be going.

2. Summary and analysis of the intervention. Describe the intervention you provided for
this child. Briefly describe each component (assisted reading, advanced word study and
fluency work). Did any component seem to offer more difficulty or ease than others?
Why? What, if any, adjustments did you make in the intervention?

The assisted reading portion of this intervention was the most beneficial for my student.

She was able to pace herself based off the pace that I provided during the echo reading. She was

able to listen while I modeled correct pronunciation, not only when it came to words, but when

to correctly stop at periods, commas, and question marks. The tone of voice that I used when

these punctionations came about was able to show her when it’s time to slow down your reading,

and when it’s time to speed back up. The assisted reading portion made the biggest impact

because it modeled to Scarlet the correct way and allowed her the opportunity to learn then and

there.

Another component of the intervention that provided Scarlet with the tools to become a

more proficient reader was the Repeated Reading section. Not only did this portion of the

intervention help her hear the mistakes that she was making after reviewing them with her after

the alloted time was up, but it instilled a sense of confidence within her. She was able to make

mistakes the first time through the reading, and because it was repeated a second time, Scarlet

was able to listen to her mistakes, make the corrections, and repeat the passage again, this time,

error free. This was a huge help when it came to her fluency. Her confidence, built during this

portion of the intervention, carried her through difficult words when it came to reading on her

own.

3. Summary and analysis of the student’s reading abilities at posttest. After administering
the posttest and analyzing the data, describe your student’s reading abilities at the close of
the intervention. Discuss your student’s instructional level in passage reading and word
recognition in relation to chronological grade level. If indicated, make specific
recommendations for future instruction/intervention.

At posttest, Scarlet’s reading and reading comprehension were at the highest they’ve

been. Four straight weeks of intense, one-on-one intervention and her scores were where they

should be based on her grade level. She was consistently reading at a G2 Mid level, which was

where she needed to be, seeing that she was entering the second grade. Her sight word

recognition had improved which I directly related to her practice of pace and building

confidence. She was able to dip into the third grade level Sight Word Recognition Test, which

made me very happy. Her hard work was paying off and she was beginning to see it.

Her reading level had improved, but with such a short intervention, I wasn’t able to truly

grasp how much of a leap she had made. I’d seen minor improvements, enough to make me

happy for both myself and Scarlet, and I wish I would’ve had more time working with her to

really see her reading improvement.

The recommendation that I gave her father was to keep having her read out loud. This, I

explained to him, will allow her to read text and hear what she’s actually reading. If she makes a

mistake, she’ll hear it. That is a great time to model with her what she may be doing wrong, and

have her re-read that section, to ensure that she has come full circle with her mistake.

4. Summary and reflection of your own teaching practices. As an educator, what have you
learned about reading development and instruction/intervention from your practicum
experience? How has this learning informed your practice? Provide specific examples.
 Especially with this program being research based, I learned that I’m able to adapt my

teaching style to any situation. As I stated earlier in the Case Study, I wasn’t a huge fan of the

way that the intervention came across. After giving it a chance, I was able to see change within

myself and that carried over to my student. I was feeling comfortable, so they were feeling

comfortable. I learned about the importance of researched-based interventions and the

consistency that makes them successful. You’re only going to get better at something with more

exposure. This program gave these struggling readers the exposure that they so desperately

needed.

I’d like to see what the other programs (Early Steps/Higher Steps) have to offer. I still am

not 100% on board with the style in which they teach, but I understand that I need to be more

receptive in order for the success to come. This is a perfect example. Who knows, maybe if I did

the tutoring in my own way, I wouldn’t have seen the same results? I thought that this was a

great jumpstart program for any student, struggling or not, to enhance their skills and be the very

best student they can be.