Ashley Sack TE 301 (003) Lynne Watanabe Child Study Research Paper Part I: Introduction I am writing to share data

and interpretations regarding the literacy learning and development of Michael Harmon. I am a student in Michigan State Universitys course TE301: Learners and Learning in Context. As a part of this course, I worked with Michael Harmon on ten separate occasions. I also observed him in his learning center classroom on several (twice a week) occasions. The following section lists the sources of data on which I am basing my report. The section following that describes and reports on the data, and the concluding section offers interpretations of the data. Appendices include assessment memos and materials, session planning materials, and post-session notes. Part II: Data Sources This portfolio is based on the following sources of data: 1.) Post-session notes from one-on-one sessions on these dates: 9-22-11, 9-30-11, 10-7-11, 10-14-11, 10-21-11, 10-28-11, 11-4-11, 11-11-11, 1119-11, 11-26-11 (Sessions involved assessments, lessons, and informal reading and writing activities). 2.) Writing samples collected on these dates: 9-22-11- (Family portrait and a picture/sentence free write sample collected) 9-30-11- (No writing sample collected) 10-7-11- (Word list writing sample collected) 10-14-11- (No writing sample collected) 10-21-11- (Picture and sentences free write about favorite part of day collected) 10-28-11- (No writing sample collected) 11-4-11- (Procedural writing word and picture list of favorite dinner foods writing collected) 11-11-11- (Concept wheel procedural writing sample collected) 11-19-11- (Writing words procedural writing sample collected) 11-26-11- (No writing sample collected) 3.) Assessments were administered on these dates: An informal Concepts of Print Assessment administered on 9-22-11. The Test of Phonemic Awareness Assessment administered on 9-30-1. The Letter and Sound Recognition Assessment administered on 10-7-11. The Qualitative Reading and Inventory Fluency Assessment administered on 1014-11. The Qualitative Reading and Inventory of a Word List Assessment on 10-21-11.

The Comprehension of an Expository Text Assessment on 10-28-11. An Authentic Writing Assessment on 11-4-11. The Vocabulary Understanding Assessment on 11-11-11. The Reading Motivation Assessment on 11-19-11. The Qualitative Reading and Inventory on Fluency Reassessment on 11-26-11.

*Data is also based on notes from observations of Michael Harmon in his learning center classroom for nine hours each week for ten weeks. I am a part time employee at this learning center and an assistant teacher in his specific classroom. Therefore, I was able to observe the child in great detail during his academic day on Thursdays and Fridays. Part III: Data A) Introduction of Michael Harmon Michael Harmon is a 4 year old male. He attends preschool at a local learning center where he has been placed in the 4-5 year old kindergarten preparatory classroom. He is very interested in learning and is always asking questions about new things with which he is unfamiliar. Michael lives in the Dewitt area and also attends another school three days a week for special education. Michael has Autism. He has quite a short attention span and needs to be kept busy at all times in order to thrive in his environment. He is energetic and very happy almost every time I see him. Michael is an only child and enjoys socializing with others although sometimes it is difficult for him to initiate socialization with his peers. Some of Michaels favorite things to do are puzzles, cars, coloring, writing in cursive, and playing on the computer. Throughout the day, Michael tends to keep to himself and to not interact during group circle time or whole-class activities. According to his mother and classroom teacher, Michael is slightly above grade level with several areas of academics such as mathematics, science, and some areas of literacy. On several occasions, I have found Michael waiting at his classroom door to come in for recess because he is so excited about our sessions together. Once, he said that he was so excited to read books and draw pictures and do games! B) Summaries of Data from Post-Session Notes (Lessons)

Session #1: Concepts of Print Lesson: Interactive Read- Aloud Michael said he was not nervous. He said he was happy to do the activities I had planned for us. Michael told me all about his family picture as well as who his mom and dad are. When asked a question about something that happened in the book, Michael replied because and then presumed to repeat the comment I had just stated about the story. Struggled with organizing the exact flow and direction behind the storyline as well as the reasons for some happenings throughout the book. He paused and said, I dont know (McKenna and Stahl, 2009;Comprehension Power Point, 2011). Michael was engaged in the activity as long as he was on my lap bouncing back and forth, sitting on a pillow, or moving in some way (A tip that his mother and

classroom teacher gave me to try and use while having him focus for such long periods of time). He struggled to define the meaning of certain concrete vocabulary words throughout the story, even if the meaning was explained repeatedly and shown through examples in the text (Vocabulary Power Point, 2011). Michael said he did not want to do some things because, They were too hard. He read very slowly and took small breaks in between difficult words. Michael asked to draw instead of write for both the warm up and enjoyable activity. He also asked to write his name in cursive instead of plain handwriting. He began to get upset and say No. No when I asked him not to use his cursive letters so he could practice regular handwriting skills as well as to write more than just his name (Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011). We ended up doing the activity verbally because Michael became upset.

Session #2: Phonemic Awareness Lesson: Word Play Activity Michael said he was very excited that we were playing a game instead of reading a book or writing/drawing on paper. When given a choice, he said he would rather be walking than staying in the chair the whole time. Michael identified words such as pretty (P), underwater (U), and tune baya (T) during the word play activity. He also matched any letter of the alphabet with a word that has that letter somewhere in it. It did not matter if the letter was in the front, middle, or end of the word. Michael still identified it (Sound-Letter Knowledge, 2011; Phonemic Awareness, 2011). Michael also excitedly pointed back to the alphabet chart on the classroom wall to explain to me whether or not the specific letter at the time was capital or lowercase in the word that he found (Sound-Letter Knowledge, 2011). Michael said, He really liked the song in the warm-up book Five Little Pumpkins. He wanted to read it two more times. Michael also always preferred to hold the book and to turn the pages himself so he would take it from my hands when we started reading. The he would read me the title, author, and illustrator as best as possible (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). Session #3: Letter-Sound Recognition Lesson: Writing Words Activity Michael easily read three letter CVC words during the activity (Sound-Letter Knowledge, 2011). He struggled with four or more letter words that contained the OU letter combination, especially in words he claimed to have never seen before. Michael was very focused and did not become very outwardly frustrated during this activity, as he has in other activities. He tended to write three- four letter words with simple short-vowel sounds when given the open writing activity (Composition & Writing, 2011). Michael said he is not scared of writing big words. He simply attempts them inventively and with some prompting such as the exaggeration of sounds in a word.

Session #4: Fluency Lesson: Readers Theater Activity He struggled to read past the first two lines in the readers theater (McGee & Schickedanz, 2007). Michael did end up reading those two lines very slowly and very well according to punctuation marks. He then listened intently as I used two different voices for the readers theater characters. He was able to answer questions about the theater afterward (McGee & Schickedanz, 2007). Michael read with little prosody (Fluency Power Point, 2011). He showed off what he knew and understood about words in this reading even though they were overall more difficult than he has ever experienced with me during our lessons (Motivation Power Point, 2011). He said he did not want to sit down in his chair for long periods of time and therefore desired activities such as walking around the room to explore words, sounds, and letters present in the classroom this day. Session #5: Comprehension Lesson: Visualization of Picture Storybook He had very difficult time feeling comfortable, closing his eyes, and listening to the story at the same time. Had to be prompted and reminded several times with examples of how to sit and listen while imagining. Michael said that is was too scary to close his eyes and that he could not see anything so it was too hard to read that way. Michael mostly repeated the exact sentences that I had just read from the book when I asked him what pictures he saw in his mind (Comprehension Power Point, 2011; Heinemann, 1997) Michael said he needed to see the pictures and to be able to follow with the words. He said it was too hard to make them up in his head. He enjoyed writing his name and writing in all cursive. He also smiled as he showed me he knew how to do so. Session #6: Informal Reading Lesson: Listen to A Book Read-aloud Michael said, He likes space, planets, and science books. He also likes, song books and dance books. No other books. Needed prompting to remember to repeat the song after me. Needed prompting to stay on task and to complete the task today for almost every task we did. Became easily upset because he said he, had another idea that he wanted to do and he was not allowed to do that activity. He said, He wanted to play puzzles or with the large puzzle squares instead this. Session #7: Composition/Writing Lesson: Create Authentic Writing Had trouble categorizing certain topics in his mind such as foods to eat for dinner (Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011). Became more focused on foods in general, rather than what to eat for dinner.

 Was very accurate in invented spelling and breaking apart words into smaller chunks of sounds to discover how they are spelled (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011; Sound-Letter Knowledge Power Point, 2011). Showed ample knowledge about the several different sounds one letter can make and how that letter functions at different locations within a word (Sound-Letter Knowledge Power Point, 2011). Showed that he understood concepts of directionality and slightly understood the concept of a list with the way that a list is laid out on paper. His list went from top to bottom and left to right, but was centered in the middle of the page and not completely lined up (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). Session #8: Vocabulary Lesson: Concept Wheel Activity Needed prompting several times to name words that describe kites. Did not use book as a source of help or clues (Comprehension Power Point, 2011). Utilized concepts of print such as directionality, concept of word, and the return sweep (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). Struggled to remember the parts of the story that pertained to our concept wheel activity (Comprehension Power Point, 2011; Genre Power Point, 2011). Got confused by writing one word in a triangle-shaped area such as 1/4th of the concept wheel. He asked me, Where do I write the word if there are no lines? (Comprehension Power Point, 2011; Genre Power Point, 2011). Session #9: Motivation Lesson: Writing Words Activity (Altered) Michael said he liked that he was allowed to write whatever he wanted. He said, I like doing my own idea. Watch. He used invented spelling and sounded out his intended words (Sound-Letter Knowledge Power Point, 2011). When he did not know what to write, Michael asked for help today. Michael used mostly words that described people in his family, toys he had, and words about things he was currently using and seeing in the classroom. He also showed great excitement in knowing the new adult word EBAY (Motivation Power Point, 2011). Session #10: General Literacy Review Lesson: I Spy letter Game Michael correctly identified words with T, L, B, V, I, N, and M in them in all positions within a word: front letter, middle letters, and ending letter (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011). He identified a word that matched with a letter and then sometimes automatically rhymed another word to it as if it were a habit (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011). Michael needed little prompting for this lesson. He searched for the sounds he heard in words sometimes rather than the physically printed letter in the word so he would constantly repeat the sound while looking for that sound in the words around him (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011).

 Michael was enthusiastic during this lesson and did not ever act as though he wanted to be doing something else (Motivation Power Point, 2011).

Part C: Summaries of Assessments Administered Session #1: Concepts of Print Assessment Michael held a small toy to help him stay focused on the book and all parts of the assessment. When asked to find anything last (letters, words, part of book), he was unable to do so correctly. He said he was confused by the word last (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011; Vocabulary Power Point, 2011). Michael did very well on understanding majority of the parts of the assessment and was able to fulfill all but one criterion on the assessment with very few examples or redirections. As one word was read, he was able to point to just that word exactly at the time it was said. He seemed to move his finger along and point to that word as it was stated (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). He correctly showed me where to start reading on each page and in all different areas of the book such as the title page and working around pictures and illustrations on the pages (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). Michael got excited to see new forms of punctuation such as ! and ?. He said one is happy and one is trying to find out (Motivation Power Point, 2011; Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). Session #2: Test of Phonemic Awareness Assessment Michael was very energetic this day and waited for me to arrive at the learning center so we could read, color, and play games together. Michael asked if we could, sit on the bean bags instead of at the table today and I agreed to that being a great idea. Rhymes Michael said that dog-fog, cat-hat, mat-log, dog-dig all rhyme. When I asked him if each pair rhymed separately, he replied, Yes! to each one. When asked what word rhymes with mat, Michael replied ummFAT! (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011). Phonemic Isolation He said that P was the first sound in puppy, L was the first sound in little, and M was the first sound in mommy. When asked what puppy, little, and mommy sound like (one at a time) without their first sound, Michael replied by repeating the same word that I had just said. Michael said puppy, little, mommy, but never said uppy, ittle, ommy. When I changed the question and said, what is the first letter in puppy, etc, he said the correct beginning letter. He did not know what the word sound meant but could identify first letter successfully (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011; Vocabulary Power Point, 2011).

Phonemic Identity Michael just repeated the words that I said as I said them. I said park, pat, pet, pen and child would just say park, pat, pet, pen back to me. When I separated each word and asked what the first letter in each word was, he was able to identify p (Sound-Letter Knowledge Power Point, 2011). Phoneme Categorization In set one, Michael said, mat. In set two, child said zoo! Zoo! In set three, he said, Park. I said, Are you sure? He proceeded to say, yes! I said, why? He then looked at his lunch and said, Can I have more chicken nuggets please(Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011). Blending Michael says, Yes! Cat! When I say, C/A/T. He also exclaimed, benny! When I sounded out B/E/N/N/Y (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011). Phoneme Addition Michael said, Fish, ish, bish, fish (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011). Phoneme Deletion Michael said, cakecake (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011). Phoneme Substitution He said, Cat (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011). Phoneme Segmentation Michael did not understand sounds in a word but when I asked him to spell dog, he said D-O-G. He can spell S-T-O-P but does not put together the sounds of ST. Child can spell P-0-S-T but does not separate sounds into P0-ST (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011).

Session #3: Letter and Sound Recognition Assessment Michael could identify each capital letter correctly with the correct name when I pointed to it. He paused on only the letter V but was eventually able to identify it correctly (Sound-Letter Knowledge Power Point, 2011). Michael correctly identified all lower-case letter names except for a slight pause on the letter a (Sound-Letter Knowledge Power Point, 2011). When identifying letter sounds associated with the lower case letters, he repeated these letter sounds three times each: t, y, h, c, b, a (Sound-Letter Knowledge Power Point, 2011). Michael identified the sound for o as a instead of ah. During Fry Sight Word Inventory, he was able to correctly identify 9/25 words. Correct words were: school, keep, tree, start, earth, eye, light, under, story. Incorrect words wereand the child said Every tell me Near- ner Add- and

Food-tell me Between-ben Own-ahn Below-benwa Country-cooyan Plant-pen Last-lat Father-friener Never-nerve City-cer Thought-true Head-hair Saw-swerve Session #4: Qualitative Reading and Inventory Fluency Assessment Michael was comfortable about this assessment after I explained that I would be listening to him read while writing some things down along the way as he read. He said, I am ready now. The results of his QRI were as follows: Accuracy Rate: 76.2% (64/84 words correct), Reading Rate: #words (60)/ time in sec of reading = 15.36 wpm, Total acceptability: 10/84= 8.4%, Concept Questions =3/9=33%. These indicated frustration levels (Caldwell, 2011). As Michael came to words he was unsure of, he said, I dont know this word or What is this? (Fluency Power Point, 2011). Michael began to shift in his seat throughout the ending portion of the QRI. Michael sometimes got caught up in not saying a word correctly and ended up losing his place on the page while trying to figure it out. He said this made him more confused about the other words. He stuttered on those unknown words and then skipped some (Fluency Power Point, 2011).

Session #5: Qualitative Reading and Inventory of a Word List Assessment As I placed this word list in front of Michael and asked him to identify from top to bottom and left to right what each word was, he sighed very largely and said that he thought there were too many words (Vocabulary Power Point, 2011; Motivation Power Point, 2011). Michael said these words either correctly or incorrectly as indicated by how he said the word instead: Can, I, Of for, Me, The, In end, At, With, A, He here, Go, To, See, Do, On, Was wit, She sit, Make mike, Same mase, Like ike, Doing dog, Were, My, Work, Write white, Play, Just, Some same, They the, People purple, Look, Too, Other, Place, Where nix, Under, Help His total correct was automatic= 20/37= 54 % and Total number correct= 23/37= 62%. These indicated frustration levels (Caldwell, 2011).

As Michael came to a word he was unsure of, he did not ask for help. He just said what he thought it was and moved on to the next word (Vocabulary Power Point, 2011; Motivation Power Point, 2011).

Session #6: Comprehension of an Expository Text Assessment When asked, What is a lake? Michael replied with little depth and small amounts of description, A lake is a lake. It has water like a lake. When asked, What kinds of animals have you seen by a lake or by water before? Michael only replied by repeating what I had already stated in the question, I have seen animals and water and lakes and trees and water one time (Comprehension Power Point, 2011;Vocabulary Power Point, 2011). Michael was successful in telling me with detail that there was, a rock, a turtle, a shell, water, waves, and a head and tail on the turtle in the picture on top of his text. When asked to predict what animals the story might talk about, he stated several animals and not just animals associated with bodies of water when he said, animals, birdies, turtles, cows, horses, and ducks. When asked, what kinds of fish he may see in a lake, Michael used varying details as he answered, big fish, little fish, jumping fish. When asked, what he knew about turtles and why turtles like the sun, Michael replied, Turtles bite and wear rocks on their back and swim in the water with the sun (Vocabulary Power Point, 2011). When asked, if hes ever seen baby ducks following their mommy, he replied with a comparison to his own life, baby ducks follow mommy. Michael follows mommy at the store(Comprehension Power Point, 2011). When asked what were peoples favorite lake animals, he replied by only considering his own favorite as he said, My favorite animal is a monkey. When asked to list what animals he remembers from the story, he replied by naming several animals from the story yet adding in other animals not associated with the text as he said turtles, fish, cows, ducks, babies (Comprehension Power Point, 2011).

Michael required little to no prompting during this session. He was engaged and paying attention as well as pointing to the picture at the top of the text several times throughout reading the text.

Session #7: Authentic Writing Assessment Michael was very excited to use crayons and construction paper to draw his favorite foods. He did not want to write out their names, but complied eventually. Michael said, that he did not know anything to write and was quite frustrated at the start of the assignment (Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011; Genre Power Point, 2011). Michael calmed down as we put our crayons down and just brainstormed out loud first (Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011). Michael turned the construction paper so that is was horizontal instead of vertical the way I handed it to him. Michael wrote the digits 1-10 all around the whole of his paper at first until I told him that his paper was only for our list and not for practicing large numbers that were not in list form. He said, he just wanted to show me his letters on another paper then (Motivation Power Point, 2011). During this assessment, Michael required several redirections. Michael drew a box for rice krispies and wrote BOX under it. He drew an apple and wrote APPLE. He drew a square and wrote PEZUROLS for pizza rolls (Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011; Genre Power Point, 2011). Session #8: Vocabulary Understanding Assessment Before reading the book, Michael answered this way for each vocabulary word. 1.) Sticks are on busy trees, have leaves, and are by tree trunks. 2.) Old means that benny is old. 3.) Kites are up in the sky. 4.) Heavy means too big. 5.) Contest means I dont know (Vocabulary Power Point, 2011). After reading the selection, Michael answered this way for each vocabulary word. 1.) Sticks are brown from the leaves and on trees. 2.) Old means mommy and daddy and granny house. 3.) Kites are up in the sky. 4.) Heavy means I dont know. 5.) Contest means I dont know (Vocabulary Power Point, 2011; Morphology Power Point, 2011). Michael seemed discomforted and frustrated while trying to define these words (Vocabulary Power Point, 2011; Comprehension Power Point, 2011; Morphology Power Point, 2011). After reading the text, most of his definitions stayed the same and he did not use the text to help him expand. Michael said that these were words he had heard before but did not know what they meant. Michael was unable to use examples and characteristics of the words to define them (Comprehension Power Point, 2011). Michael required many redirections during this assessment and much prompting in defining the words.

 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.)

Session #9: Reading Motivation Assessment During this assessment, Michael answered these questions this way: How do you feel when you read a book on a rainy Saturday? Dislike How do you feel about reading for fun at home? -Content How do you feel about getting a book for a present-Bored How do you feel about reading instead of playing? -Dislike How do you feel when the teacher asks you questions about what you readContent How do you feel about doing reading worksheets-Excited How do you feel when you read aloud-Content He said that he wants to read books after recess with me and at night with mom. Michael also said that he did not know who that animal on the page (Garfield) was or why he had a funny face. Michael was not easily distracted, but engaged and focus on the questions being asked of him. Michael also said that from the motivational assessment, he learned that books could be presents. (Motivation Power Point, 2011). Session #10: Qualitative Reading and Inventory Fluency Reassessment During todays QRI assessment, Michaels score was as follows: Number of total miscues (total accuracy)= 13/35 miscues. Number of MeaningChanging miscues (total acceptability)= 4/35 meaning changing miscues. Total Accuracy ended up being 4+ miscues and indicated frustration with the text. Total acceptability indicated 3+ miscues and also indicated frustration with the text (Fluency Power Point, 2011; Caldwell, 2011). Michael also answered some concept questions: What is a frog? Hes jumping on log. What is a bug? On a rug. What is a pig? Pink. He says oink. Where was the frog? Right there on a log(Comprehension Power Point, 2011). Michael needed little to no redirection today during the QRI. He was engaged and listening. Michael also said that he knew about frogs and that they were slimy. Michael seemed to be calmer than his last QRI and more aware of what was going on.

Part D: Summary of Data from Classroom Observations Michael does not participate in most whole-class activities. He is allowed to go off and do independent activities such as puzzles, cars, and matching games during circle time. He likes the same routine each day. He sleeps in same place at naptime, sits in same chair at snack and lunch each day. Michael does not like to be around a lot of people at the same time. He gets easily stressed and frustrated when told to join his classmates. Michael does not socialize very much during recess or center time. He likes to play alone or he likes to be in charge of the activity if he is playing with a friend.

 He has to be told numerous times to clean up things such his bed after naptime and his toys after playtime, because most of the time he would rather be doing something else. Part IV: Interpretations 1.) Firm Understanding of Concepts of Print Michaels lessons, assessments, and writing activities indicate that he has a strong understanding of the concepts of print. The concepts of print are the conventions that surround how books are printed and how we read them (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011; McKenna & Stahl, 2009). According to the Common Core Standards for concepts of print, a kindergarten student must be able to display the following: 1.) Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page-to-page 2.) Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters 3.) Understand that words are separated by spaces in print 4.) Recognize and name all upper and lower case letters of the alphabet 5.) Recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence (Common Core Standards, 2010). Michael astonishingly achieves on a kindergarten grade level with the concepts of print even though he is only in preschool (Common Core Standards, 2010). Michael is confident in demonstrating his knowledge of concepts of print such as book orientation, left-right directionality, top to bottom progression, word boundaries, and the concept of a letter, which is evident in the results of the Concepts of Print Assessment on September 22nd (Caldwell, 2011; Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). According to McKenna and Stahl, concepts such as the knowledge of the first part of a story, where to begin reading a book, and what certain basic punctuation marks mean, are all first grade level concepts (McKenna & Stahl, 2011). Yet as a preschooler, Michael has mastered them. All of the above concepts are also vital for Michael to build upon in order to expand his own literacy learning (Caldwell, 2011; GLCE, 2011; Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011; McKenna & Stahl, 2009). It is extremely beneficial that Michael is already ahead of his grade level expectations with the concepts of print because they are the basis for all further literacy learning, and now he has a head start into more difficult aspects of literacy learning and education in general (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). Knowledge of these concepts assists Michael with developing more skills in phonological awareness as well as sound-letter knowledge (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011; Sound-Letter Knowledge Power Point, 2011). All of these themes of literacy also build upon each other to enhance fluency and comprehension throughout the learning process (Fluency Power Point, 2011; Comprehension Power Point, 2011; McKenna & Stahl, 2009). Throughout all of his lessons and assessments, Michael demonstrates knowledge of the concepts of print as if they are an innate habit, solidifying the truth that the concepts are truly engrained in his mind. As a part of his Authentic Writing Assessment, Michael automatically turns the paper horizontally so he can write his words and sentences in longer segments, displaying his knowledge of directionality when writing on a page and the realistic length of many words connected together in a sentence (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011; Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011). During all

reading activities with Michael, he prefers to tell me the title, author, and illustrator as well as to hold the book and turn the pages by himself. This indicates that Michael is comfortable with book orientation and holding books in his possession (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011; McKenna & Stahl, 2009; Motivation Power Point, 2011). For many young learners, books can be intimidating and scary. Not only does he want to hold the book because his personality tends to want to control situations so he feels safe in them, but also because he is comfortable and knowledgeable about the layout and structure of books as well. This is key to Michaels literacy progression because he is motivated through comfort and feeling knowledgeable about a topic. Michaels knowledge in the concepts of print provides him with feelings of comfort and success later on in more difficult assessments such as the overwhelming interactive read-aloud and exhausting readers theaters. Sometimes the concepts of print were all that he knew how to do during the lesson or assessment, which is probably why he always highlighted his abilities in the concepts of print as much as he did. They are one of his avenues of self-esteem in reading and writing. Michaels mastery of the concepts of print gives him a more positive attitude because he is motivated to display his knowledge of the concepts (Motivation Power Point, 2011). Throughout some of the sessions during the ten weeks, Michael was engaged in situations with which he was uncomfortable about the lesson expectations and struggled to maintain focus during activities that were more difficult for him. During these particular lessons, Michael was also less motivated to continue or complete the activity or assessment (Motivation Power Point, 2011). So, when Michael excelled in all but one criterion on the Concepts of Print Assessment on September 22nd with little prompting and few redirections and was always excited to demonstrate his knowledge of these concepts during lessons, it became clear that he is not struggling with these concepts nor is he frustrated with them. One concept of print that Michael is very familiar with is the concept of a letter and a word (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). When I asked Michael to tell me what this letter is during an assessment on sound and letter recognition, he was successful in identifying the name of every capital and lowercase letter of the alphabet with only a slight pause on the letter V (Sound & Letter Recognition Power Point, 2011). His accuracy indicates that he is very familiar with what a letter is and what each letter in the alphabet looks like as well (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011; Caldwell, 2011). During many lessons, Michael was well able to identify letters and words around his classroom environment as well as from his prior knowledge. In one particular word play activity on September 30th, Michael repeatedly pointed back to the classroom alphabet chart to exclaim to me whether or not the specific letter of mention was capital or lowercase and how to tell between the two kinds of letters (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). In addition, his ability to recognize that single letters and combinations of letters make certain sounds, is beneficial in more advanced tasks such as inventive spelling and decoding difficult words in narrative and informational texts (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011). Michaels proficiency in all of the aspects of letters, words, and spelling knowledge is evident through his accurate inventive spelling during sessions 1,3,5,7,8,9 and specifically in the Test of Phonemic Awareness on September 30th (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). Although strong, Michaels concepts of print can be expanded by introducing him to more genres of writing and reading (Genre Power Point, 2011; Composition & Writing

Power Point, 2011). Expanding and varying Michaels exposures to different genres and pieces of writing would most likely improve his fluency and comprehension in reading more varieties of genres. This is because he will be more familiar with what they look like, how they are laid out, and how the text and illustrations are organized (Writing & Composition Power Point, 2011; Genre Power Point, 2011). At this time, Michaels knowledge of the concepts of print are a key tool in helping him experience more in the world of literacy as well as in building his schema of knowledge to help him further in his educational journey in general.

2.) Strong Sense of Phonological Awareness Phonological Awareness is the conscious attention to the sounds of spoken language (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). Throughout Michaels lessons, assessments, and writing activities, it has become evident that Michael has a strong sense of phonological awareness. According to the Common Core Standards for Phonological Awareness, A kindergartener should be able to: 1.) Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes) 2.) Recognize and produce rhyming words 3.) Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words 4.) Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words 5.) Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in threephoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.) 6.) Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words (Common Core Standards, 2010). Evidently, as a preschooler, Michaels knowledge of topics within the subject of phonological awareness is on the high end of the learning spectrum for his current grade level. Michael displays knowledge of phonological awareness through the results of his assessments, lessons, and writing pieces. Throughout all of the word play, writing words, and I- spy word activities, he was consistently successful in identifying a word based on a specific given letter or sound, which displays his concrete understanding of how letters function as sounds in words (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). Michael is keenly aware of the fact that language is produced through sounds and that certain sounds are represented by certain letters (Sound-letter knowledge Power Point, 2011; Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). In session twos word play activity, he identified words such as pretty, underwater, and tune baya based on certain letters or sounds that I asked him to locate within words around the room. He excitedly stated his answers and never wanted to stop playing because these activities catered to his desired style of learning: getting up and moving around while doing hands on activities. No letter of the alphabet is off limits for Michael because he is very learned when it comes to all of the sounds that the letters in the alphabet make and how some letters make different sounds at different points within a word (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). Sometimes, as Michael was given a letter to find in a word, he searched for the sound of that letter instead of the printed letter itself by repeating the sound out loud over and over (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). His ability to recognize and produce the sounds that

letters make brings him to a higher level of proficiency in phonological awareness and therefore can lead him to a higher level of reading achievement if he applies this awareness to the words and texts he attempts to decode and comprehend (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011; McKenna & Stahl, 2009). Throughout the sessions, the lessons and assessments for phonological awareness were constantly changing, which allowed Michael to display his ability to go with the flow of a changing learning environment and to display his knowledge in different ways. This is extremely important for his future educational success because no teacher or classroom environment will ever be the same. In addition, Michaels success throughout changing activities indicates that he is thoroughly knowledgeable about aspects of phonological awareness because he can display his knowledge at any time and in any way. In session twos Test of Phonemic Awareness Assessment, Michael correctly identified rhyming words 75% of the time and successfully created his own rhyming word sets as well, which is something he did during many other lessons such as in the I Spy game. In session tens I spy game, when Michael spied a word, he automatically rhymed that word with another word (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). According to McKenna & Stahl, rhyming is one of the greatest indicators of later reading comprehension and is therefore extremely crucial to the childs literacy learning process (McKenna & Stahl, 2009). Although it is difficult sometimes for Michael to isolate, delete, or identify certain phonemes when asked to do so in a formal assessment, he is actually able to do this in more informal assessments such as writing activities (McKenna & Stahl, 2009). According to his Test of Phonemic Awareness Assessment, Michael was not able to display knowledge of these three aspects of phonological awareness during this particular assessment, but was able to in his authentic writing piece. One such piece is his Favorite Foods For Dinner piece, in which he used these skills to sound out the words he wanted to use (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). He isolated the sounds to determine the desired letter to use and deleted other letters to form new similar words (Caldwell, 2007; Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). For his grade level, Michael is an accurate inventive speller. When spelling, he repeats words over and over again until he has figured out all of the sounds he hears in the word and has written them down in order, as evident in his dinner foods writing piece and his concept wheel about kites. He continues breaking the words apart sound by sound until he has completed them (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). During his Phonemic Awareness Assessment, Michael was able to blend C/A/T into Cat and B/E/N/N/Y into Benny. Although there were points that Michael was confused when I asked him to tell me each individual sound in the whole word, it could have been because these words did not closely follow or resemble the CVC (Consonant Vowel Consonant) word pattern that kindergarteners are expected to be familiar with (Common Core Standards, 2010; Resnick & Hampton, 1999). In addition, these words included the phoneme segmentation ST. Michael was able to spell each word as I said them aloud, but was not able to break them apart into three separate sounds because he is still under the impression that one letter is correlated to one sound and that two letters can not make just one sound (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). This aspect of phonemes can be learned through further instruction and explanation when Michael is a kindergartener

and possibly even when he is starting first grade. Michael also claims that he is not scared of writing big words and attempted larger words such as Apple, Pizza Rolls, Tail, and Kite several times throughout the sessions, which indicates his higher level of comfort when it comes to trying to spell new words. His higher level of phonological awareness allows him to achieve scores such as a 9/25 from Fry Sight Word Inventory on level three (Caldwell, 2007). Although the score seems low, some issues cannot be overlooked during a simple reading/spelling test such as the fact that more exposures to wide varieties of genres in reading could have led to a greater knowledge of more vocabulary words as well as how they are spelled (Genre Power Point, 2011; Vocabulary Power Point, 2011). In addition, a larger understanding of morphology and the meanings of the parts of words may have assisted Michael in identifying more words correctly during the assessment (Morphology Power Point, 20011). Clearly, Michael would have been able to excel in level one or even possibly level two, so his ability to correctly identify words such as school, keep, tree, start, earth, light, under, and story indicates that he accepts challenges and does not back down from things that he is unsure of in his educational process. Although he struggled through this list, his success in those nine words is a large indicator of his reading progress because of the types of letter combinations and sounds he was identifying as well as his ability to sound out words that he does not know or has never seen before (Fluency Power Point, 2011; Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). Although he is strong in concepts of phonological awareness for a preschool age student and is meeting most kindergarten standards for this area of his literacy, a deeper understanding of exactly what he is doing when he substitutes, adds, or deletes letters and sounds and why he is doing these things, would greatly improve his understanding of language (Phonological Awareness Power Point, 2011). In turn, this would make him feel comfortable and motivated about doing it habitually on his own without as much prompting (Motivation Power Point, 2011). Additionally, Michaels lower levels of fluency can be greatly improved if he gains an even deeper understanding of phonological awareness and sound-letter knowledge while expanding his vocabulary and genre exposure at the same time (Fluency Power Point, 2011). Fluency is a combination of accuracy, automaticity, and prosody and as a result of Michael expanding his skills in phonological awareness; his fluency is most likely going to improve (Fluency Power Point, 2011; McKenna & Stahl, 2009). Knowing the sounds of words, how to create and decode words, and how to identify words through all of the skills of phonological awareness is going to automatically improve Michaels accuracy in reading words. As a result, this will speed up his automaticity in reading words, leading to higher levels of reading comprehension (Fluency Power Point, 2011; Comprehension Power Point, 2011). 3.) Fluency Negatively Affects Comprehension Skills Michaels lower level of fluency seems to have an adverse affect on his comprehension of texts. Fluency is a childs ability to read with accuracy (correctly decoding and saying words), automaticity (reading and recognizing words without a conscious effort), and prosody (using the appropriate emotions according to the text)

(Fluency Power Point, 2011). Comprehension is the ability to construct the meaning of a text through skills such as predicting, questioning, imagining, clarifying, summarizing, making inferences, and integrating prior knowledge (Comprehension Power Point, 2011). According to the Common Core Standards for Fluency and Comprehension, a kindergartener should be able to: 1.) With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. 2.) With prompting and support, retell familiar stories including key details 3.) Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text 4.) With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text 5.) With prompting and support, read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding (Common Core Standards, 2010). Due to a build up of issues such as Michaels understanding of some aspects of phonological awareness, his small vocabulary background, his limited knowledge of morphology, and his sheltered exposure to different genres and texts, Michaels fluency does not reach the standards of his grade level (McKenna & Stahl, 2009; Fluency Power Point, 2011; Comprehension Power Point, 2011). Some people may say that the previously stated issues are smaller issues in the whole scheme of a childs literacy, but they absolutely have a great impact on Michaels ability to fluently read and comprehend texts, which in turn effects their education as a whole (Fluency Power Point, 2011; Comprehension Power Point, 2011). At this point, Michael is so caught up in just reading the words and grammatical marks in the text without messing up, that he has no time to focus his attention on the meaning of the texts information, prohibiting him from internalizing and categorizing that information effectively (Comprehension Power Point, 2011; Fluency Power Point, 2011). Michaels limited vocabulary is a large issue for his fluency as evident in the interactive read-aloud and the Fluency Assessments during sessions 4,5, and 10 (Vocabulary Power Point, 2011; Fluency Power Point, 2011). Michael said he did not want to do some things because they were too hard and his attitude toward the interactive read-aloud displayed his negative emotions. During these activities and assessments, Michael read slowly and took small breaks in between words because his lack of automaticity with the vocabulary was exhausting him (Fluency Power Point, 2011). During the readers theater, Michael struggled to read past the first two lines partly because of the difficultly of the vocabulary and partly because of his exhaustion from the previous QRI assessment. In addition, the text was slightly more difficult than his grade level, but Michael was even miscuing on words that he does know because he has been successful with them before (two, field, find, and old) (Fluency Power Point, 2011). Additionally, Michaels pre-test and posttest from his Vocabulary Understanding Assessment indicate that he is not looking back to the text or using the text to enhance his knowledge of definitions (Caldwell, 2007). Most of his definitions stayed the same and were not expanded after reading the story. Michaels limited background in vocabulary as well as his underdeveloped skills for defining and expanding his vocabulary words is an extremely large issue negatively affecting his fluency level (Vocabulary Power Point, 2011). Michaels limited fluency directly correlates with difficulties in comprehension (Comprehension Power Point, 2011). In Michaels Qualitative Reading Inventory of a Word List Assessment, his automaticity was 54% and his total correct was 62%, which indicates that his reading was frustrated (Caldwell, 2007). In

his Qualitative Reading and Inventory Fluency Assessment, he scored 76.2% accuracy. Michael began to shift in his seat, was caught up in not saying words correctly, ended up losing his place on the page, and skipped some words entirely out of stress (Fluency Power Point, 2011). He was also unable to answer simple questions about the seasons of spring and fall because he had not really retained any information due to the amount of the work he was putting into reading the actual words (Fluency Power Point, 2011). In his re-assessment, his total accuracy was 13 miscues with his acceptability being 4 miscues, both indicating frustration levels again. Although still a low score, this was still a slightly higher score than his first Fluency assessment. During this particular re-assessment, he was engaged and paying attention as well as required few re-directions. His slightly higher fluency can be directly correlated with an ability to answer comprehension questions such as these: What is a bug? What is a Frog? What is a pig? What do you know about Frogs? (Fluency Power Point, 2011; Comprehension Power Point, 2011). I have also found that when a text is read to Michael, he is well able to talk about it, generalize the information, and recall details such as in his phenomenal answers for the Comprehension of an Expository Text Assessment (Caldwell, 2007). Additional factors affecting his fluency are the limited varieties of genres and subjects of texts that he is reading on a weekly basis in school and at home. In his young age and in such an early stage of his schooling, Michael has not been introduced to a wide variety of literature yet. So, he only prefers the types of literature that have been introduced to him so far such as sing song books that rhyme and have large illustrations. He does not appreciate texts without illustrations about topics such as the seasons of spring and fall. Michael says, he likes to read space, planets, and science books. During activities such as the Interactive Read Aloud in session one, Michael was unable to answer with any more depth than using the word because when he was asked about certain happenings within the book. He struggled to organize the exact flow and direction of the storyline and to determine why things occurred throughout the story. At first, it was also difficult for him to create his concept wheel about kites because he could not remember anything he had read from the Bernstein Bears story about making a kite. Several issues can be extracted as reasons for these happenings, but one of the main reasons why is because Michael desires only to do things that he is comfortable with, which means only reading genres that he has seen before, and writing/drawing in ways that he is used to writing/drawing. During activities and assessments in which the text did not resemble something that Michael had seen before or had been exposed to, he tended to feel overwhelmed and was disinterested (Genre Power Point, 2011; Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011). Literacy factors such as Michaels limited vocabulary and knowledge of morphology, restricted experience with different genres, and slight confusions with some aspects of phonological awareness all add up to his struggle in reading fluency (Fluency Power Point, 2011). Additionally, his comfort level with an assignment or assessment as well as his interest in the text also has a lot to do with his ability to read texts fluently. This is why it is so vital that Michael practice these said concepts that build up to fluent reading in order to improve his literacy (Fluency Power Point, 2011; Comprehension Power Point, 2011). Reading Fluently is the key to

comprehension because without being able to successfully read a text, Michael will never be able to fully comprehend texts on his own (Comprehension Power Point, 2011). Limited Genre Knowledge Affects Composition and Writing Michaels limited genre exposure and knowledge of varying writing genres has an adverse effect on his composition and writing skills. Genres are the different types of texts based on many different types of social contexts; additionally, genre is the idea that the features of a text are formed based on the social context for which they are used (Genre Power Point, 2011). Composition and Writing is the act of creating a piece of writing using all of the knowledge of language, writing processes, and general literacy (Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011). Writing is also the communication of ones thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and knowledge through text (Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011). According to the Common Core Standards for Composition and Writing, a kindergartener should be able to: 1.) Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is . . .). 2.) Write a brief informational piece such as a page for a class book using drawings, words, word-like clusters, and/or sentences 3.) With teacher assistance, consider the audiences reaction as they plan narrative or informational writing 4.) Brainstorm to generate and structure ideas for narrative or informational writing 5.) Draft focused ideas using semi-phonetic spelling to represent narrative and informational text when writing, incorporating pictures, and drawings 6.) Respond to individual and multiple texts by finding evidence, discussing, illustrating, and/or writing to reflect, make meaning, and make connections. 7.) be enthusiastic about writing and learning to write. 8.) Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/ explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. 9.) Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened (Common Core Standards, 2010). According to Michaels sessions, lessons, assessments, and writing pieces, he struggles with creating writing pieces, mainly because he has not been exposed to many different genres of reading and writing yet. One of the main issues during our sessions has been Michaels disinterest in writing. He claimed several times that he would rather draw pictures than write. In session one specifically, Michael was adamant about only writing his name in cursive instead of doing the illustrative assignment to follow the book we just read. This forced the focus away from the written activity and it was done verbally instead, which only deepened his pattern of limitation in writing even more (Composition & Writing, 2011). Sometimes, Michael has an exact idea in his mind about what he wants to do and becomes frustrated when the session plan does not follow this idea, and this verbal activity is a prime example of one of those particular times. In addition, Michael becomes easily frustrated with things that he does not already know exactly how to do. He likes to focus only on the things that he has mastered, which unfortunately prevents him from learning and mastering anything else (Motivation Power Point, 2011). Therefore

Michaels limited knowledge of a story book response drawing and his frustration with not being able to recall parts of the story became a barrier in his ability to create a writing piece about the story (Genre Power Point, 2011; Composition &Writing Power Point, 2011). Michael also revealed several times that he would rather play a game than read or write, which tells me that his enthusiasm about writing and learning how to write has not fully formed yet either (Common Core Standards, 2011). Michaels limited exposure to the genres of illustrated informational text in session fives visualization of a storybook, also decreased his abilities to receive as many benefits from the book because he was so confused by the layout of the book and the type of information it presented (Genre Power Point, 2011). Although Michael was stressed out by the idea of closing his eyes, sitting still, and imagining the illustrations in a story, he was also unfamiliar with the type of text, which seemed to be a cause for more anxiety. This informational text was full of imagery and description and was about learning how to do things such as tie a shoe, zip a coat, and put on snow gear. Yet, Michael was unfamiliar with texts that did not have characters or a plot line; so, he was unable to focus on what the text was about because he was so caught up in what it did not have. In session six, during the lesson on interactive read-aloud, Michael explained to me that he likes space, planets, and science bookssing song books and dance books. No other books. His rejection of reading material in addition to anything beyond these subjects tells me that he does not find them interesting, or that he has not been exposed to enough different kinds of reading to know what benefits are available to him through different genres of text. His opinion against reading other kinds of texts is crippling to his learning process (Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011). While attempting to create an authentic writing piece in session 7, Michael had trouble categorizing certain topics in his mind in order to make them a list (Composition & Writing, 2011). Because he had never had to make a list before, he was unable to understand aspects of a list such as bulleted or numbered points, short phrases, and specific words that are easy to connect with longer meaning. When it came time to creating the concept wheel, Michael was confused by the idea of writing one word in each pie piece of the pizza. He asked, Where do I write the word if there are no lines, only parts? He kept asking, if he could make sentences because he did not know what a list was. Although he was able to display directionality and top to bottom progression for the list, his list was slightly centered in the middle of the page and then off to the side at times as well, which could have been easily avoided had Michael been exposed to lists and what they look like (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). At the start of the assignment, Michael was very excited to be coloring, yet only wanted to draw pictures of his favorite foods instead of write a list. His mind is limited to drawing instead of writing for each piece he creates, which is detrimental to the expansion of his literacy education (Genre Power Point, 2011). Also, Michael became quite frustrated because he did not know what to write on his paper, revealing that his brainstorming and planning skills when it comes to composition are not up to the level in which they should be yet (Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011). In addition, during the concept wheel activity, Michael was unable to recall any information from the text about kites in order to create his wheel (Comprehension Power Point, 2011). It took several prompts and much support to have Michael come up with descriptive words for a kite. He also did not think to look back to the book for help, which is a skill of comprehension that needs to be

fostered in order to ensure future comprehension success (Comprehension Power Point, 2011). Throughout all of the writing pieces that Michael worked on, a major inhibiting factor to the ease and success of the composition piece was Michaels inability to understand how the piece was going to be laid out, organized, or what it was supposed to include. Because the topics of these composition pieces were geared toward kindergarteners, there is a slight amount of slack for Michael, but not enough to excuse the extent to which he was so confused by different genres of reading and writing. Michaels motivation tends to rise and fall based on his ability to display knowledge for recognition or based on what he believes he can achieve so it is extremely crucial that all necessary parts of Michaels literacy such as genre exposure are fostered (Motivation Power Point, 2011). Michaels education and future in general depend on his ability to thrive in composition and writing because this will be one of the main gateways to his communication with the world (Composition & Writing, 2011).

Motivated Extrinsically and Through Self-Efficacy

Motivation is the drive within a person toward accomplishing a certain goal (Motivation Power Point, 2011). There are four types of Motivation: Competence Motivation (persons desire to do something well), Self-efficacy Motivation (limitations one puts on themselves based on what they believe their abilities are), Intrinsic motivation (motivation unaffected by outside sources), and extrinsic motivation (motivation based on external factors such as grades, reward, and recognition by others) (Motivation Power Point, 2011). Throughout Michaels sessions, lessons, assessments, and activities, one common pattern seems to be that Michael is mainly motivated extrinsically and through self- efficacy (Motivation Power Point, 2011). Michael is motivated extrinsically because he desires to show off his own work and abilities to others in order to gain praise and recognition, as most early learners do. At such a young age, learners desire this positive attention in order to know that they are doing the right things and are able to form more of a self worth about their educational process (Motivation Power Point, 2011). During the warm-up in lesson one, Michael was very excited to draw a picture of his family because he wanted to tell me all about his picture afterward. When I presented the assignment, I said that he would be explaining his drawing choices to me afterward, and this made his facial expression very happy. Michael enjoys explaining to others what he has done successfully. During word play games such as the one in lesson two, Michael became overly excited to point back to the alphabet chart and to determine whether certain letters were capital or lowercase letters. He was so excited to show off his knowledge of capital and lower case letters as well as the sounds they made because he knew that I would praise him with my words. Additionally, Michael liked to hold the books and turn the pages himself throughout all of our lessons, which can also be attributed to his desire to show off his book handling skills as a big boy in preschool. Throughout certain word play assignments such as the I-spy letter game,

Michael also identified difficult words while excitingly rhyming with them, to outwardly display his knowledge of deeper phonemic awareness (Phonemic Awareness Power Point, 2011). In addition, during the Test of Phonemic Awareness Assessment, Michael tried to answer a section of questions very quickly because he wanted more chicken nuggets, which indicates that he has been extrinsically motivated with food or treats before and that it works for him. Michael is also motivated through self- efficacy, which is motivation through the limitations that one puts on themselves based on what they believe their abilities and limitations are. Meaning, that Michael limits himself to certain tasks based on how well he thinks he can accomplish them. In lesson ones read- aloud, Michael said he did not want to read the book or look at the vocabulary words because it was too hard. He also became frustrated during the warm-up activity when I asked him to use his regular handwriting instead of cursive because he needed to practice his regular handwriting. The vocabulary words and the regular handwriting are two things that Michael struggles with and tends to avoid doing (Motivation Power Point, 2011). Michael became quite upset when I did not let allow him to write in cursive, because that meant he was unable to show off his newly learned skill. Michael was enthusiastic and focused during lessons in which he was comfortable with the material such as the I spy game and Concepts of Print Assessment. In addition, because he knew most of the Test of Phonemic Awareness Assessment, he stayed excited and ready to answer any and all test questions. He needed several redirections and much prompting to pay attention and finish activities and assignments such as the Qualitative Reading and Inventory Fluency Assessment in session 4 and the Qualitative Reading and Inventory of a Word List Assessment in session 5. During his authentic writing assignment in session 7, Michael became frustrated because he did not know what to write and believed he was unable to complete the assignment, until we broke it down and brainstormed ideas for words to use in his composition (Motivation Power Point, 2011; Composition & Writing Power Point, 2011). Michaels motivation assessment indicates that he enjoys reading for fun at home, and feels content when the teacher asks him questions about his reading. In addition, he likes to read aloud and wants to read books with Miss Ashley after recess and at night with mom, indicating that Michael enjoys reading and enjoys being around books as much as he enjoys playing and doing other activities. Therefore, when Michael can display what he knows about literacy, or any topic in general, he will be more motivated to practice and perfect that certain skill and to show it to people over and over again (Motivation Power Point, 2011). On the other hand, when Michael does not understand something or thinks that it is beyond his capabilities, he becomes easily discouraged and wants to sweep the entire topic under the rug (Motivation Power Point, 2011). If Michaels teachers and the adults in his life attempted to alter the ways in which he is motivated by introducing new sources of motivators to him, his future learning would benefit greatly as a result. Attention Span Requires Constant Interaction and Movement One of the most prominent behavioral traits about Michael in educational settings is his inability to do the same activity for long periods of time and his inability to do certain activities at all because of the amount of stillness and

concentration they require. This trait can be viewed positively because Michael is always ready and excited for hands on activities such as the word play and I-spy games in sessions two and ten. In addition, Michael thoroughly enjoyed the Five Little Pumpkins rhyming warm up book because it involved learning hand motions and singing a song, which is generally a type of book that expands aspects of phonemic awareness. Furthermore, Michaels desire to always hold the book when reading is a wonderful way to get literature out of the hands of the teacher and into his hands so he can explore its parts as much as possible (Concepts of Print Power Point, 2011). This learning habit can also be a negative aspect of his learning behaviors because it very much limits the types of activities for which Michael will remain focused. Many of the planned lessons, assessments, and activities for Michaels sessions had to be altered or discarded based on his ability to endure them, such as in the Readers Theater activity during session four. Instead of being able to read a story through voices and acting out lines, Michael assumed that the activity was reading a piece of paper and refused to sit down in his chair to read it. In addition, Michael was unable to sit still and close his eyes during the visualization of a storybook in session five, which inhibited the lesson greatly. He was unable to experience the world of imagining illustrations because of his need for action. Although walking around the room to explore words, sounds, and letters is developmental for phonological awareness and possibly vocabulary, it was not extremely helpful in tasks where information needed to be recorded or read from a book, such as in the Qualitative Reading and Inventory Fluency Assessments. Those assessments require timing, great concentration, and accuracy in scoring just as any assessment would (Caldwell, 2007). Therefore in this aspect, Michaels attention span became a negative factor because it limited the depth to which our sessions could go. Throughout Michaels literacy learning process, there will be several situations in which holding a toy or bouncing on a teachers lap will no longer be available or appropriate, especially when gets older, so relying on these things to move a child through a lesson or assessment is unreliable. Michaels literacy learning process is so fragile, so creating effective activities that cater to Michaels attention span needs as well as ones that slightly stretch his boundaries, are going to be the most effective for his literacy learning process and in throughout his education as a whole.

Works Cited Council of Chief State School Officers and National Governors Association (2010). The common core state standards for English language arts & literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards. Michigan Department of Education. (2006). The English language arts grade level content grade level expectations. Retrieved from http://michigan.gov.mde. Leslie, Lauren. Caldwell, JoAnne Schudt. (2011). Qualitative reading inventory-5. Fifth Edition. Boston, MA. Pearson Education. McGee, L. M. & Schickedanz, J. A. (2007). Repeated interactive read-alouds in preschool and kindergarten. The Reading Teacher. (pg. 60, 742-751). McKenna, M.C., & Stahl, K.A.D. (2009). Assessment for reading instruction. (Second ed. Vol. 1) New York: The Guilford Press.

Resnick, L.B., & Hampton, S. (1999). Reading and writing grade by grade. (Revised Edition ed., Vol. 1). Washington D.C.: International Reading Association. Watanabe, L. M. (2011). Running record cheat cheet. Worksheet presented in TE 301, Michigan State University. Watanabe, L. M. (2011). Writing words activity. Worksheet presented in TE 301, Michigan State University. Watanabe, L. M. (2011, November). Comprehension PowerPoint. PowerPoint presented in TE 301, Michigan State University. Watanabe, L. M. (2011, November). Motivation PowerPoint. PowerPoint presented in TE 301, Michigan State University.

Watanabe, L. M. (2011, November). Concepts of print PowerPoint. PowerPoint presented in TE 301, Michigan State University. Watanabe, L. M. (2011, November). Informal reading inventory and reading record PowerPoint. PowerPoint presented in TE 301, Michigan State University. Watanabe, L. M. (2011, November). Fluency PowerPoint. PowerPoint presented in TE 301, Michigan State University. Watanabe, L. M. (2011, November). Composition and writing PowerPoint. PowerPoint presented in TE 301, Michigan State University. Watanabe, L. M. (2011, November). Phonological awareness PowerPoint. PowerPoint presented in TE 301, Michigan State University.

Watanabe, L. M. (2011, November). Letter-sound knowledge PowerPoint (1) (2). PowerPoint presented in TE 301, Michigan State University. Watanabe, L. M. (2011, November). Vocabulary and morphology PowerPoint. PowerPoint presented in TE 301, Michigan State University.