RICA Case Study 1

RICA Case Study Project

Natasha Ioviero

SPED 525 Methods of Teaching Reading and Writing (K-8)

Dr. Catherine Hahs Brinkley

December 14, 2017

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RICA Case Study Project

Introduction

The student in this case study is a girl in the 4th grade. The components of reading

assessed for were vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. There were three assessments

administered to measure this student’s progress. To assess her vocabulary knowledge a Dolch

Sight Vocabulary test was administered. To assess her reading fluency the student was given a

Read Naturally Fluency assessment that charts words correct per minute. Lastly, she was

assessed in reading comprehension through a Read Naturally story along with a reading

comprehension quiz. The results of the Dolch Sight Vocabulary test were that the student is at a

2nd grade level. The results of the fluency test were that the student read 31 words correct per

minute. Based on her reading comprehension test results, the student has a 2nd grade reading

comprehension level.

THREE NEEDS

1. Need: Sight Vocabulary

The results of the Dolch Sight Vocabulary assessment show the student has a need in

recognizing and pronouncing grade level vocabulary. The goal of the Dolch Sight word

assessment that was given is 100% accuracy. The student recognized and pronounced 35

of the 46 Dolch 2nd grade sight words correctly.

2. Need: Fluency

The results of the Read Naturally Fluency chart assessment show that the student reads

31 words correct per minute (wcpm). The results of this assessment identify fluency as a

need for this student. According to Honig, Diamond, and Gutlohn (2013), this student’s
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score is lower than 10% of the wcpm score for 4th grade students. This comparison shows

that the student is struggling with reading fluency.

Need: Reading Comprehension

Based on the results of the Read Naturally reading comprehension assessment the student

is at a 2nd grade reading comprehension level. According to her reading assessment, after

reading a story at the 2nd grade level she answered 3 of the 4 comprehension questions

correctly. In addition to this assessment, the student’s teacher shared the results of a

Brigance Reading level test in which she scored in the 2nd grade level.

TWO INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

1. Partner Reading for Fluency. To help this student read more fluently, the Partner

reading strategy should be used. Partner reading is a “motivational fluency-building

technique” (Honig, Diamond, & Gutlohn, 2013, p. 384). This student should be paired

with a higher-performing student, then a text would be provided at the lower student’s

instructional reading level. The higher performing student reads first. I would model for

the students how to identify and correct mistakes. The stronger reader would read first,

and then the student in this case study would read as the stronger reader corrects

mistakes.

2. Explicit (Direct) Teaching for Sight Vocabulary. Explicit (Direct) teaching for Sight

words will help this student with her sight vocabulary. According to Zarrillo (2017), “It is

best to follow a Whole-to-Part approach” (p.53). First, I would select the words to be

taught. Then I would write each word in a sentence, and underline the target words. Next,

I would read aloud the sentences, pointing to each word as it is read. The student would

then read the story aloud with me. Then I would write each target word on the board and
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point to one word at a time, pronouncing it, asking the student to spell it and then say it. I

would also write the words on flash cards to be used for review later.

HOW EACH STRATEGY HELPS

1. Partner Reading. The Partner Reading strategy will improve the student’s Fluency

rate and accuracy. This strategy models reading fluency for the student, as their partner

first reads fluently. The corrective feedback given in this strategy will help the student

correct words said wrong, words she gets stuck on, words she skips, and extra words she

adds. This helps with fluency because the more accurate she reads, the faster she will

read. This strategy motivates and build fluency.

2. Explicit Teaching. The Explicit Teaching strategy will improve the student’s sight

word vocabulary by directly teaching sight words and giving them context. This strategy

uses whole-to-part instruction by putting the target word in a sentence. This strategy

works because the student is able to see and hear the word as the teacher points to the

word as it is read, and asks the student to spell it and say it. This strategy also helps the

student remember the word by later practicing with flashcards.

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References

Honig, B., Diamond, L., Gutlohn, L. (2013). CORE: Teaching Reading Sourcebook: For All

Educators Working to Improve Reading Achievement (2nd ed.). Novato, CA: Arena

Press.

Zarrillo, J. J. (2017). Ready for Revised RICA. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.