6422 Bauguess C Final Case Study Assignment

1
READ 6422 Final Case Study
Case Study
Courtney C. Bauguess
READ 6422 Section 641
Spring Semester
Feedback received by Dr. Ticknor on April 22nd, 2014
Table of Contents
Edited Initial Student Profile and Plan
Pages 3 through 21
Photo Journal
Pages 22 through 27
Photo Journal Narrative
Pages 28 through 29
Lesson Plans and Reflections
Pages 30 through 50
Final Assessments and Discussion
Pages 52 through 59
Home School Partnership Part A and B
Pages 60 through 66
Final Reflection
Pages 67 - 69
Edited Initial Student Profile and Plan

Narrative:
Abby is a fifth grade student in my classroom. Abby struggles with reading
comprehension, which is why I chose her for this case study. I was able to obtain information
that was previously unknown to me during my roam the known lessons. Her birth father has been
in prison throughout most of her life. He was released two years ago and was able to be in
contact with Abby but now has been placed back into custody. Her mother had a stroke two years
ago and is currently disabled. Her stepfather works and uses the family car which has prevented
her mother from being able to meet with me or bring Abby to the public library to meet me.
When I inquired about Abbys public library visit experience, she stated that her grandparents
used to take her on Saturday mornings but havent taken her to the library in over a year due to
their health issues. Abby also has 2 younger brothers both of which attend the same elementary
school. Abby also has been diagnosed with ADHD. This is the third school Abby has attended in
two years. She has stayed within our county but has switched schools and districts three times
and was held back a grade level in Kindergarten. While I am unsure if any of this background
relates to Abbys reading and comprehension of what she reads, I felt that it was important to
document.
In the first few roam the known lessons, Abby was given a few interest inventories that
helped me see what her interests and passions are. I was also able to meet with Abby in our
school library to discover books that were interesting to her. From the interest inventories and
meetings with Abby I have found that she is most interested in books from the mystery genre,
books about horses and books about animals in general. Abby would like to be a veterinarian
when she grows up so she likes reading non-fiction books about all types of animals. While
listening to Abbys responses on her interest inventories and seeing her written responses, one
idea continued to permeate throughout them all. Abbys goal is to learn to read more challenging
books and she feels that the only way for her to truly focus on a book or text is if she likes it. She
responds several different times that she wants to get better at reading but also needs books that
she likes. Abby sometimes responds in our one on one sessions and interviews that she thinks
reading is boring and she really doesnt enjoy it. Both Abby and her mom have stated in
interviews and inventories that Abby reads very little at home. While there are many books
available to her, her mom stated that she is bored with them, already read them, not interested in
them, or simply doesnt have time to read them when shes at home due to other responsibilities.
When discussing these topics and concerns with Abbys mother, she was very willing to
answer my questions and is very positive in her hopes for Abby. She apologized many times
during my phone interview with her about not being able to meet in person or at the library.
Again, Abbys family only has one family vehicle and her stepfather has two jobs and has the car
most of the time. Abbys mother also cannot drive due to a stroke she had two years ago. She is
disabled and doesnt have the ability to drive herself. In spite of all of this, she seemed very
willing to encourage Abby at home and do whatever she needs to in her role as Abbys mother.
She kept repeating that she supported whatever I thought would help Abby the most with
reading.
The first assessment I administered to Abby was the Words Their Way Spelling Inventory.
Abby was able to correctly spell thirteen out of the twenty-five words given to her. Abby appears
to be in the middle to late syllables and affixes stage of development. At first I would have said
she was middle to late within word stage due to the 5 out of 7 words she spelled correctly in the
other vowels category. I administered those words to her again just to see if she could spell them
a second time (and because the next two areas she was proficient) and she achieved 7 out of 7 of
them. This brought us to the first feature that she scored low in which was unaccented final
syllables. This assessment helped support the reasoning that Abbys fluency doesnt affect her
comprehension. Her ability to read and spell words is not the issue with her comprehension.
When administering the QRI-5 Word Lists, I started with the second level and went to the
6th level. On the second grade list Abby scored 100% and was on an independent level. On the
third level she scored 70% and was at an instructional level. On both the fourth and fifth level
lists she was also at an instructional level with 75% correct and 70% correct. The first list that
Abby had a frustrational level of 55% was on the sixth list. These lists helped me begin to select
the passages that I would administer to Abby from the QRI 5.
I began with the level three passages to assess Abby with. I made the decision to start
here based on her word list assessments being instructional on level three. Our first assessment
together was a level three expository passage titled Wool: From Sheep to You. Abby scored
100% on the background information, read 120 words per minute but due to her retell (13 out of
42 ideas) and her questions after the passage, this passage was frustrational. Abby only answered
4 of the 8 questions correctly. I was somewhat surprised due to her background knowledge of the
topic. This tells me that background knowledge isnt affecting her comprehension. I then decided
to administer a level three narrative passage titled The Trip to the Zoo. The narrative passage
was on an instructional level. She had good background knowledge of the passage and was able
to answer 6 of the 8 questions correctly this time. She also recalled around half of the ideas
during retell. Her words per minute were 121. I will note that I also administered both a narrative
and expository level four and both were on a frustrational level for Abby. Abby had little
background knowledge on both of the passages, could retell only 16 to 19 items and scored 3 and
5 questions correctly on the passages. All of the assessments thus far have pointed to Abby being
on the third level for an instructional level basis.
Based on my assessment and observation, I believe that Abby is an early reader on an
instructional level of around 3rd grade. I based my decision to acknowledge Abby as an early
reader based on the definition from Guided Reading: Good First Teaching for All Children.
(Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S.) Abby does well with tracking print up to a novel text, she selfchecks her reading using her knowledge of letter to sound relationships, rereads to confirm or
self-correct, and uses words that she knows in order to help learn words she doesnt. (Fountas,
I.C. & Pinnell, G.S.) Abby does have some characteristics of a transitional reader but falls short
in areas such as sustaining interest and fluency with longer texts and self-correcting at the point
of error instead of at the end of the sentence going back to that error. (Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell,
G.S.) Based on the assessments I will provide instruction to Abby that involves the use of
informational or expository texts, as this seems to be where she needs the most support. While
background knowledge doesnt seem to affect her comprehension, it is limited with expository
texts. She comprehends more when reading narrative texts. Abby needs support in retelling and
recalling events from an expository text and monitoring her own comprehension while she reads,
which is what our focus will be during our one on one sessions
There are many things that I think could be responsible for Abbys reading difficulties.
Her home situation has been a constant distraction from school. Up to this point, Abby has
experienced life altering emergency situations and an incarcerated parent. These are very
stressful events for a child to endure. Due to these emergencies and situations, Abby has missed
several days of school the last two to three years. Her absences were numerous and because of
that I think Abby may be missing critical components of reading instruction and skill instruction
of self-monitoring reading strategies. Being diagnosed with ADHD also plays a part in Abbys
struggle. She finds it hard to focus and concentrate on a text unless it is something of high
interest to her. While her fluency does not suffer as much, her comprehension is affected by these
events and issues.
Assessment Information/Data
10
11
12
Initial Tutoring Plan

Based on assessment data and other information obtained during the roaming the known
sessions, I have formed a preliminary plan for my one on one sessions with Abby. Abby struggles
with retelling or recalling information from the text, especially expository texts. Abby also needs
support in learning to monitor her own comprehension. Abby also finds reading uninteresting so
she doesnt enjoy reading at this time. Incorporating expository texts that Abby will find
interesting is important. Horses and mysteries are of interest to her so we will implement those
into the lesson plans.
My one on one sessions begin by focusing on ways to help Abby monitor her own
comprehension. I found this logical to begin with so that she can carry these strategies
throughout our lessons. The second area I will focus on will be finding the importance of
expository/non-fiction text and teaching the features of these types of texts. Abby has a hard time
comprehending expository text so building her foundation and knowledge of the features of this
text is important. After those lessons I will work on helping Abby summarize and synthesize
what she reads in order to be able to recall and retell information that she has read.
SESSION #
Session 6
TEXT TO USE
SKILL FOCUS
STRATEGIES
TO USE
Horse Heroes: True
Monitoring
Before: Bring in
Stories of Amazing
Comprehension
own
text
to
Horses
demonstrate
the
(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007) breakdown in my
(Petty, 1999)
own
reading.
Create a T-chart
13
with why meaning

breaks down for
readers and what
we can do about it
(Harvey&Goudvis,
2007 pg. 79) Show
Abby how to use
sticky notes to
make tracks in
her own reading.
During: Read horse
heroes and use
sticky notes to
track thoughts and
responses as she
reads.
Session 7
After: We will
discuss the text and
any
difficulties
from the T-chart
Abby may have
experienced, reflect
on how we handled
them, and how we
can in the future
with other texts.
Horse Heroes: True
Monitoring
Before: I will begin
Stories of Amazing
Comprehension
my modeling my
Horses
own thinking of an
(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007) article, how I stop
(Petty, 1999)
to think at certain
points, and write
notes
in
the
margins as I read.
(Harvey
&
Goudvis, 2007 pg.
78)
During: Abby will
reread the text
14
from yesterday and

I will ask her to
write down her
reactions to what
she reads in the
margins of the text
(she has a paper
copy) and then
when she is done
she will tell me her
thinking and why
she chose to write
the things she did
in the margins.
Session 8
After: Abby will

write down one
thing from the text
that she thinks is
important
to
remember, why she
thinks
talking
about what she
read can help her
understand
what
she read and also
any questions she
still has about the
text.
Time for Kids Non Determining Importance Before: I will have
Fiction
Reader:
of a Non-Fiction Text
Abby brainstorm a
Unsolved!
list of features that
Mysterious Places! (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007) she knows are
often found in
(Greathouse, 2012)
expository books
or texts.
During: We will
look through the
text for today and
create a mini book
of non-fiction text
15
features for Abby

to make as we look
through the book
and locate certain
features. Features
to be included in
the book with the
name of the feature
and an example
are:
Caption,
Photograph,
Glossary, Diagram,
Chart,
Comparisons,
Headings,
and
Bold
Writing.
(Harvey&Goudvis,
2007 pg. 159)
Session 9
After: I will create

an anchor chart
that shows the
features we found
in todays lesson.
Today we will only
fill in the features
we found and
tomorrow we will
write on the other
side of the T chart,
what the purpose
of the feature is.
Time for Kids Non- Determining Importance Before: Abby will
Fiction
Reader:
of a Non-Fiction Text
browse through the
Unsolved
book
from
Mysterious Places! (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007) yesterday and point
out features that we
(Greathouse, 2012)
found and wrote in
her
booklet
yesterday.
During: Abby will
16
read the book

aloud, monitoring
her comprehension
with sticky notes,
stopping to discuss
any features we
come across and
why they are used.
(Harvey
&
Goudvis, 2007 pg.
159)
Session 10
After: We will
complete the Tchart and fill in the
purposes for each
of the features
listed.
Horses by Seymour Determining Importance Before:
Before
Simon
of a Non Fiction Text
reading this book
we will go through
(Simon, 2006)
(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007) the book and write
down any headings
we see throughout
the book onto a 2
column notes page
setup.
During: We will
begin
reading
Horses by Seymour
Simon and when
we read a section
of the book under a
specific
heading
we
will
write
details down that
we read and are
important
under
that
heading.
(Harvey&Goudvis,
2007 pg. 167)
Session 11
17
After: After we
have finished the
book and the notes
and details we will
add
another
column
for
personal response
onto our think
sheet. Here, Abby
will
write
her
personal reactions,
thoughts,
and
responses to these
sections that she
read and wrote
details from.
Magic Tree House: Summarizing/Synthesizin Before: We will
Horse Heroes
g
create a KWL
about the topic of
(Osborne, 2013)
(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007) horses. The K can
be filled in with
information Abby
remembers
from
the
previous
lessons
and
expository texts we
have read about
horses. She then
will fill in things
she wants to learn
about horses. At
the end of the book
we will fill in the
final column.
During: Today we
will begin to read
the first chapter of
this text. Today
Abby and I will
take turns reading
18
aloud the first

chapter and she
will write one word
notes about what
she is reading. I
will model this
strategy in order to
help her see it.
(Harvey&Goudvis,
2007 pg. 181)
Session 12
After: Abby will

use her one word
notes to retell in
her own words
what the chapter
was about.
Horse Heroes
g
discuss the word
summary and what
(Osborne, 2013)
(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007) it
means
to
summarize. I will
model reading a
few
paragraphs
from the chapter
we will be reading
today and then
writing about the
paragraphs in my
own words.
During: Abby will
read aloud Chapter
Two of the text and
after
several
paragraphs she will
write on sticky
notes
and
paraphrase
what
she has just read.
(Harvey&Goudvis,
2007 pg. 182)
Session 13
19
After: We will
compile my notes
and Abbys notes
in order to write a
summary of the
chapter for today.
Making sure to
include the who,
what, when, where,
and why of the
chapter.
Horse Heroes
g
create a compare
and contrast chart
(Osborne, 2013)
(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007) that compares and
contrasts
the
expository text we
read
about
Seymour
Simon
with what we are
currently reading.
During: Abby will
use the strategy
from yesterday to
paraphrase
her
reading
with
chapter three of the
text.
Session 14
Magic Tree House: Summarizing/Synthesizin

Horse Heroes
g
After: Abby will

retell events she
has read in todays
chapter and then
verbally give me a
summary instead of
writing
like
yesterday.
Before:
Before
reading Chapter 4
we will discuss
20
(Osborne, 2013)
(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007) background

knowledge
of
horses that she put
in her KWL at the
beginning of the
book. After reading
through
several
chapters we will
put any extra or
additional
information
that
she has learned
thus far in the new
text.
During:
During
Abbys reading of
her next chapter
today we will work
on a two column
notes think sheet
labeled
content
(facts) and process
(thinking). I will
demonstrate
stopping after the
first page and we
will write any facts
we read and what
Abbys
thoughts
were when she
read those facts.
Then I will ask
Abby to do the
same as she reads,
making notes after
several paragraphs
or
pages.
(Harvey&Goudvis,
2007 pg. 192)
After:
We
will
Session 15
21
discuss
what
Abbys
thoughts
were that she wrote
down and discuss
whether or not they
were
questions,
restating
information,
connections to self,
world, or other
texts etc. Giving
her the opportunity
to respond and
explain
her
thinking aloud will
be the goal of this
lesson.
Magic Tree House: Summarizing/Synthesizin Before:
I
will
Horse Heroes
g
explain to Abby
about
GIST
(Osborne, 2013)
(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007) reading.
Getting
the gist of what
you are reading is
important as you
read.
I
will
demonstrate this to
her with text she
read
yesterday
from our book.
After
reading
several paragraphs,
I will stop and
write in around 20
words what the
three
to
four
paragraphs
were
about. Explaining
that chunking text
to summarize helps
you get the gist
of reading.
(Harvey&Goudvis,
22
2007 pg.187)
During: Abby will
read in her text and
do
GIST
summarizing every
3-5 paragraphs. I
will give her sticky
notes to write her
short
summaries
on.
After: We will
compile her GIST
summaries
and
create a chapter
summary together.
I will ask Abby
what the most
important
things
she wrote were and
we will look for
things like who,
what, when, where,
and why when
writing her final
summary.
Photo Journal
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Photo Journal Narrative
One of the first activities Abby and I worked on during our roam the known sessions was
her photo journal. Before we started meeting one on one, I sent home a letter asking that Abby
take pictures of things that were important to her. Luckily, her step father has an IPad and Abby
was able to take pictures using the IPad and submit them to me via email. Due to the fact that
Abby is comfortable using an IPad and she would rather use one than make a paper copy of her
photo journal, we used an app called Story Maker.
Before I asked Abby to talk with me about her photos, I showed her some photos I had
brought from home that were important to me. I brought pictures of my family (mother, father,
sister, nephew, husband, niece) my dog, my home, and my friends. I wanted to establish a
connection with Abby and help her feel comfortable talking and sharing with me.
After Abby sent me her photos we sat down to sort through the ones she wanted to place
in her photo journal. She was very excited about sharing her photos with me. Before we started
with the journal we went through each photo and she told me about the photo, who was in it,
why it was important to her and anything else she wanted to tell me. It was a laid back and
casual conversation about her photos.
Next Abby began to place pictures in her photo journal. It took a few minutes for her to
figure out the app but overall the process was very simple. Abby wrote below each photo why
it was important to her or what the photo was. As she worked we talked through the photos. I
learned a lot about who Abby is and what her life is like. I also was able to learn about her
interests before ever giving her an interest inventory.
30
Through the photo journal I learned about Abbys home life. She discussed her mothers
health issues and her father not being in her life very much. She seemed to really need to talk
about some of those issues and had a lot of photos that centered on the two issues. Things that
her father had given her were some of her most talked about photos. I also learned that family
is important to Destiny. Many of her photos related to her family. Her interests and passions are
with horses and animals which was also evident in her photos.
The photo journal was a powerful experience for me. It set the tone for the rest of our
meetings and helped us both feel more comfortable working together. The information I was
able to get from the photo journal has helped me understand more of what makes Abby who
she is and what motivates her. Without this activity has part of my roam the known lessons I do
not think I would have the insight into Abbys learning that I do now. Instead of treating her as
another student she has truly became a person that I know and can relate to with some of her
interests.
Lesson Plans and Reflections

Roaming the Known Lessons 1-5
Lesson One:
Goal: To become familiar with Abby and help her feel comfortable meeting together.
31
The purpose of the first lesson was to explain to Abby what we would be doing and why we
would be meeting. I explained to Abby that I wanted to help her get better at her comprehension
of texts that she reads. After I explained the purpose of our meeting, I read the book Diary of a
Worm to her. I chose this book because I thought it was a fun book to read with Abby that
would make us both laugh and feel more comfortable with one another. After reading this, I took
Abby into the school library and had her show me some books that she thought would be
interesting to read. I made note of what types of books she chose. She pointed out books about
horses and several mystery type books as well. I explained the photo story to Abby at the end of
session and what we would be doing with that and gave her the camera and letter to take home.
She also took home an interest inventory to complete.
Reflection: This first lesson helped to ease the tension and fear of the unknown for both Abby
and I. My goal for the lesson was to help Abby feel comfortable working one on one with me but
also to begin to find some interests that Abby has. I was somewhat disappointed to begin with
that Abby and I would not be meeting at the public library. I felt like it would be a good
experience for her to visit a larger library in which to find books that cater to her interest. Due to
her mother not being able to take her to the public library, I settled for the school library. I now
feel that was the best decision. Abby was very comfortable in the school library and very quickly
was able to find books that interested her. The next lesson I have planned will further assess how
well Abby can find and locate books in the library.
Lesson Two:
32
Goal: To assess Abbys knowledge of the library and her ability to locate and find books on her
interest level.
This session was conducted in the school library. I had invited the mother to bring Abby to the
public library to meet with me after school on a Friday but the mother doesnt have
transportation that allows her to do this. Instead, Abby and I went to the school library during my
planning period. I started the lesson by showing Abby some books I am interested in and how I
would find them. We looked at the card catalog on the computer and also talked to the librarian.
After telling Abby I was interested in weather, we searched for books about weather that I could
read. Abby was great at locating books. She has had practice with the card catalog and online
book search and very easily helped me find books I was interested in. After modeling how to find
books, I modeled my own reading. We sat and read Weather by Seymour Simon together. Next, I
asked Abby to pick a book that she liked. She picked one she had previously read called Ralph S.
Mouse by Beverly Cleary. She read part of the first chapter to me and when asked why she liked
the book she said because it is fun and not boring like other books. After reading with Abby, I
gave her an interest inventory and she began to work on her photo story. She brought back the
digital camera and we uploaded and emailed her photos. We decided to use an app on the IPad to
do her photo story which she was very excited about.
Reflection: This lesson went very well and helped me to see where Abby was with her
knowledge of the library and how to locate books she is interested in. Abby knew more about
how to find books than I did! She even helped me find books on weather that I told her I may be
interested in. I think that having Media/Library as a 50 minute class once every 6 days has
33
helped Abby become familiar with the tools she has within the library. I had another lesson
planned for the next day about locating and finding books but immediately seen that this would
not be needed. Abby knows how to find anything in the library. We began to work on her photo
story instead.
Lesson Three:
Goal: To complete the word study inventory, reading attitude assessment and photo journal.
The goals of this session were to complete the Word Study Inventory from WTW, Reading
Attitude assessment and finish Abbys photo story. Abby chose 24 photos for her photo story.
We used the app Story Maker and Abby used the app with much ease. She had photos of her
family, pets, friends, and special objects. I learned a lot about Abby during this session and she
was very proud to share the photo story with me when she was finished. After she completed the
photo story I administered the Reading Attitude Survey and the WTW Spelling/Word inventory.
Reflection: The photo story experience was a powerful one as far as getting to know Abby is
concerned. During this roam the known lesson I discovered things about Abby that I did not
know before. Things that make her who she is. It almost felt like a therapy session at times.
Abby would talk about how much she missed her biological father, who is incarcerated. She also
talked about her mother being sick a lot. Everything that she had in her photo journal centered on
her family or things that someone in her family had given her. Family is important to Abby and
this was evident throughout her story. I also was able to pick up on interest and love of horses
34
which has helped me begin to choose texts for Abby to read during our one on one lessons. The
results of the Words Their Way spelling inventory pointed to the syllables and affixes stage
(Words Their Way, Bear & Invernizzi 2011). Abby could spell most words correctly on her
assessment. Her reading attitude survey score was expected. As Abby was taking this survey she
talked to me about it. Nothing about reading really makes her feel like a happy Garfield she said
once. I laughed at this but I begin to really feel the pressing need to make reading become more
enjoyable for Abby. Through this case study my goal is to help Abby become a better reader with
comprehension skills to help her understand what she is reading. My underlying goal however, is
for Abby to develop a love of reading and feel like the happy Garfield. I also hope to help
Abby find readable texts in order to develop her love of reading. After all, Readability is an
important factor when readers choose books if our goal is to get better at reading. (Harvey &
Goudvis, 2007).
Lesson Four:
Goal: The goal of this session was to meet with Abbys mother to discuss her concerns with
Abbys reading, share Abbys photo story, and describe the goals for working with Abby
The goal of this session was to meet with Abbys mother to discuss her concerns with Abbys
reading, share Abbys photo story, and describe the goals for working with Abby. Abbys mother
however does not have transportation during the day due to the family only having one vehicle.
Instead, we conferenced over the phone about the case study, what we would be working on with
Abby and any concerns that she had about Abbys reading. The main concern that Abbys mother
had about her reading is that she doesnt feel that she reads enough at home or at school. She told
35
me that Abby hardly ever reads at home unless it is required for homework. She would like to
see Abby pick up books on her own to read and try to enjoy reading more. She talked about the
print sources at their home and relayed to me that they have book cases full of books that no one
ever really reads. I told her that hopefully Abby will begin to enjoy reading things of interest to
her and those books can be read at their home. She was very open and asked me to keep in touch
with her via phone (as she cannot come to school). After the phone conference Abby and I began
the QRI 5 word list assessments.
Reflection: After conferencing over the phone I began to think of a way that we could somehow
meet with Abbys mom. After thinking myself and then Dr. Ticknor suggesting the same thing I
had thought of, I came to the conclusion that we could web conference with Abbys mother.
Abby really wanted to be able to share her photo story with her mother in person and now she
can. The mother has access to an IPad at home. I have sent home directions on how to use
Google Hangout, which is similar to Skype. We will be using this method as well in our Home to
School Partnership. I think it is important for Abby to share her progress, her skills, and her work
with her mother and feel as though she is doing this in person. Talking about what she reads with
her mother is another goal I want to establish in our methods. Our text discusses talk as being
meaningful for understanding. We work hard to increase the amount of purposeful talk in our
classrooms, because there is no better way to understand what we read than simply to talk about
it. (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007, pg. 53)
Lesson Five:
36
Goal: To complete the QRI 5 word list assessments and passages.

The goal of this session was to complete the QRI 5 word list assessments and passages. This
session took us the longest and it happened to work out that many of my kids were working
independently on finishing some social studies contracts during this time. Abby was already
finished so we had ample time to complete the assessments. When administering the QRI-5
Word Lists, I started with the second level and went to the 6th level. On the second grade list
Abby scored 100% and was on an independent level. On the third level she scored 70% and was
at an instructional level. On both the fourth and fifth level lists she was also at an instructional
level with 75% correct and 70% correct. The first list that Abby had a frustrational level of 55%
was on the sixth list. These lists helped me begin to select the passages that I would administer to
Abby from the QRI 5. I began with the level three passages to assess Abby with. I made the
decision to start here based on her word list assessments being instructional on level three. Our
first assessment together was a level three expository passage titled Wool: From Sheep to You.
Abby scored 100% on the background information, read 120 words per minute but due to her
retell (13 out of 42 ideas) and her questions after the passage, this passage was frustrational.
Abby only answered 4 of the 8 questions correctly. I then decided to administer a level three
narrative passage titled The Trip to the Zoo. The narrative passage was on an instructional
level. She had good background knowledge of the passage and was able to answer 6 of the 8
questions correctly this time. She also recalled around half of the ideas during retell. Her words
per minute were 121. I will note that I also administered both a narrative and expository level
four and both were on a frustrational level for Abby. Abby had little background knowledge on
both of the passages, could retell only 16 to 19 items and scored 3 and 5 questions correctly on
37
the passages. All of the assessments thus far have pointed to Abby being on the third level for an
instructional level basis.
Reflection: I have so many reflections from this lesson. One of the first things that surprised me
was that her background knowledge didnt seem to affect her comprehension of the expository
passages. She had good background knowledge but it didnt help her connect when it came to
answering questions about the passage and retelling events from the passage. I realized after
these assessments were complete that Abby needs support with expository texts. I know that my
lessons will focus mostly on expository texts and summarizing and retelling information. My
goal for a many of the lessons is to help Abby extract important information, concepts, and ideas
from expository text (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007, pg. 159).
Lesson 6:
Goal: To teach Abby how to monitor her own comprehension and also understand why her
meaning may break down while reading.
We started this lesson by creating a T-chart and brainstorming reasons why our meaning may
break down during reading and what we can do to fix it. I began by giving Abby a few examples.
One of the examples of why our meaning breaks down is because we may be sleepy. I asked
Abby what we could do to fix that. She replied that we should get our rest at night and maybe get
up and stretch or get some water if we become sleepy. Abby then began to brainstorm on her
own. She mentioned being hungry which could be helped by having a snack and making sure to
eat a good breakfast and lunch. At the end, she told me that she knew why her meaning breaks
down most of the time. She said that while she is reading she sometimes thinks about other
38
things especially if the book reminds her of something. The rest of the lesson was supposed to be
about monitoring her comprehension by using tracks but I felt that we should expand on a
lesson I had read about called Distracting Connections (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007, pg 95). It was
coincidence that I had read about this lesson the night before. We changed directions in the
lesson and talked about connections we make while reading. I used Abbys reading book to
demonstrate this. This week we are reading a story called Zathura in our reading text book. I
began to read on a page and I told her I would be thinking aloud as I read modeling what my
thinking is when I make distracting connections. When I began to read about the board game I
allowed myself to go off on a tangent about monopoly and playing games with my family and
that one time that I won the game of Candy Land and so on. She laughed and said, yes! Thats
me! We then began to discuss what a meaningful connection was. I explained to her that
meaningful connections help us understand what we read. The ones that I made did not do that.
Instead of letting our minds wander we should make connections that can help us understand
something. Comparing the board game Zathura to a board game you own is meaningful but none
of the other details are. We ended the lesson after our discussion due to time constraints.
Reflection: This lesson helped me understand once again that my plans cannot be set in stone. I
had to let Abby lead the lesson after her realization of why her meaning breaks down. I think that
Abby realizing her meaning breaks down due to her thinking about other things that remind of
her the text was a pivotal moment in her learning. Due to the fact that she realized that, I had to
change our lesson to fit that realization that she had. I wanted her to understand why those
connections she makes arent always meaningful and can sometimes allow her mind to wander
39
far off from the text. I think our lesson focusing on this will help her become more cognizant as
she reads from now on. Tomorrow I will focus on the strategy I didnt get to yesterday.
Lesson 7:
Goal: Teach Abby how to make tracks in her own reading and monitor her comprehension while
she reads.
To begin this lesson I chose to model my inner conversation (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007 pg. 78)
by using a book we recently read in class, Number the Stars. I chose to read aloud part of the
book where a Nazi Soldier comes in to search the familys home. I modeled my inner
conversation by writing on sticky notes. Some of the things I wrote were:
I wonder how Annemarie and
Ellen felt when they heard the
knocking at the door. I would
have been terrified!
It was a very smart idea to tell

them that she was the older
sister who passed away in the
photo! Very clever!
Breaking the necklace was a

hard choice to make but I am
glad they did it. Otherwise the
soldiers would have known
she was Jewish.
This family is very brave and

courageous. How long will
they be able to pull off their
secret?
I explained that Abby could write down things on her sticky notes that confuse her, things that
she doesnt understand, important ideas that she reads, or questions she has about the book. Abby
then read the first section of Horse Heroes (Petty, 1999) and used sticky notes to monitor her
inner conversation as she read silently. When Abby was finished with the section and writing her
40
thoughts on her sticky notes we looked at what she wrote. Things that she wrote were important
dates, horse names, and she wrote one question that was, where do Palomino horses come from?
I then asked her to retell what she read and Abby was able to retell most of what she read.
Reflection: I found it very interesting that most of what Abby wrote on her sticky notes was
important factual information. She did write one question she had but she didnt follow my
examples as much as I thought she would. Her sticky notes reflected more of what she felt was
important to remember instead of what she was actually thinking. This wasnt an issue that was
negative. The sticky notes did help her retell and summarize her reading. I think Abby chose to
write more factual, important things than any inferences or questions she had because this is how
students think they should read now. They read for information and for assessment purposes at
school so much that this way of thinking can be evident. I am hoping in our lessons, Abby can
begin to see that she can read for fun and also allow her inner conversations (Harvey and
Goudvis, 2007) to come out as she reads and monitors her comprehension.
Lesson 8:
Goal: To show Abby how to annotate a text and write in the margins of her text to help monitor
her comprehension.
I began this lesson by modeling my own thinking of the passage Horse Heroes (Petty, 1999). I
modeled how I would read a paragraph and then stop and write notes about what I read in the
margins. I also circled or underlined parts that I felt were important and wrote a short note in the
41
margin of why this might be important. I asked Abby to read the next section of the passage and
do the same. As she read to herself I watched to see what she made notes of. In her margins there
were notes about the stable being the setting, the movie Adventures of Robin hood is the movie
the horse starred in and a note about the horse becoming attached to Roy Rogers. Abby also
circled several dates in the section. She circled the name Roy Rogers and drew a line to her
margin that said important person because he bought the horse Trigger for himself. At the end
she circled the word tricks and wrote that the tricks were important because it made Trigger a
special horse that could do many things. When Abby was finished reading and writing I allowed
her to talk through the section and tell me why she wrote some of the things that she did. She
told me most of the things she wrote about were important facts from the section that she needed
to remember. She talked a lot about the horse and Roy becoming attached. I ask her why she felt
like she should talk more about that and she said that it seemed to be what the section was mostly
about. She told me about Roy teaching the horse tricks and how this was important because it got
the horse roles in movies and also helped him become Roys companion. After Abby talked
through her margin notes I asked her why she thought talking about your reading is important.
She said that having others respond or question you can be helpful and also that retelling things
she has read helps her understand it more. Saying it out loud is helpful.
Reflection: I feel that this lesson went very well. In our classroom we practice annotating text
often and so I think this was a review of that for Abby. I think what made this lesson better is that
she had the opportunity not only to write notes but talk about them afterward. Abby is a student
who loves to talk so giving her this opportunity to talk about what she has read was beneficial
and something she was very comfortable doing. I think Abby is doing a good job at monitoring
her comprehension and because we do so many of these strategies in class my next group of
42
lessons will focus on expository text features. Abby needs support with expository texts and this
foundation should be laid before we begin implementing strategies for summarizing or retelling.
Lesson 9:
Goal: To locate and describe features of a non-fiction text.
Before starting this lesson on expository text features I asked Abby to brainstorm some features
that she knows are found in expository or non-fiction texts. She had trouble getting started with
this task at first. Her first response was facts. I agreed that facts are found in expository text
because it is true. To build on that, I asked what kind of things you would see in a book that is
true and she then said real pictures. From there her knowledge of non-fiction text snowballed and
she was able to tell me about glossary, index, and maps. Next we looked through the book Time
for Kids: Unsolved! Mysterious Places! (Greathouse, 2012) and pointed out the things Abby had
already brainstormed and remembered. I then told Abby we would begin reading the book and
make a small Expository Text Features booklet to put features in while we read. Features that we
located in the book while we read today were photograph, glossary, diagram, chart, and
comparisons. As she came across these things she would draw a picture as an example of each.
Sometimes it was the example in the book and other times she created her own. Time ran out and
to end todays lesson we started a T-chart that had the text features we found on the left side. We
then tried to identify why those text features were important or what their purpose was and wrote
it beside of the feature on the right side. Abby understood that photographs show what the
section or writing is about, the glossary is like a dictionary and features important words from
that text and their definition, a diagram is a labeled picture, a chart houses important information
43
for the reader that will stand out to them and comparisons compare two or more things in the
text. She then wrote the purposes in her book as well. This lesson will be continued tomorrow.
Reflection: Todays lesson started out kind of slow. Abby had a hard time getting started when
asked to brainstorm non-fiction text features. Instead of telling me features she was telling me
what non-fiction meant or what it was. Once I gave her an example she was able to tell me
several. Abby has good background knowledge of these text features and can also tell you what
most are used for without being told or reminded. This actually surprised me. Abby needs
support with expository texts but her knowledge of text features isnt hindering her
understanding of the text. I think that the issue is her focus and being able to make meaningful
connections. I do not feel the need to spend much more time on expository text features. I will
finish up the text features lesson we started today and then will probably begin to teach Abby
summarizing and retelling strategies.
Lesson 10:
Goal: Continued to locate and describe features of non fiction text
Abby began todays lesson by looking back through her text features booklet she began making
yesterday and telling me what each of the features is used for. Today we finished reading the
book and writing features into her booklet and our T-chart. Features that Abby found today in her
book were headings, italic writing, bold writing, and index. Headings was the one feature that
Abby didnt point out and so I made sure to talk about these with her and help her see their
importance. In the t-chart we wrote that headings tell what the section is going to be about, bold
writing is dark heavy writing usually for words that are important, italic writing is thin and
44
slanted writing that is usually for an important word or phrase and the index is used to find
specific topics in the text with their page numbers. Abby was not able to identify headings or
able to tell me what their purpose was so tomorrow we will focus on headings and what they can
do to help us understand our text.
Reflection: Abbys knowledge of non-fiction text features is good. The only feature she wasnt
able to point out was a heading and she also couldnt put into words what the purpose of a
heading was. This seemed like one that would be easier to know but nonetheless Abby didnt
know about it. This did surprise me after hearing the ones that she did know about. Tomorrow we
will work on looking at different headings in a book and using those headings to help us find
important facts and details from the text. On another note, at the end of the lesson I asked Abby
if she liked the texts we had been reading so far. Abby likes horses and mysteries so the books
we have used so far have been based off of Abbys interests. Abby told me she did enjoy the texts
but she likes made up stories about horses and mysteries better. As I think back to the definition
of an early reader from Good First Teaching for All Children (Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S.
1996) this makes sense. She is not where she needs to be when it comes to sustaining her interest
in a longer text. Its hard for her to keep her understanding in check when she isnt as interested
in what she is reading. I chose expository texts because this is an area that Abby needs support
with but I also feel that Abby needs a book she is interested in when learning some of the
strategies I am teaching. Abby recently brought a book to show me that she checked out from the
library about Horses. The book is a Magic Tree House Series book and is a mixture of fiction and
non-fiction. I plan to use this book later in my lessons in order to perhaps hook Abbys interests
more.
45
Lesson 11:
Goal: To determine the importance of a heading in an expository text
One non-fiction text feature that Abby had trouble understanding the meaning or purpose of
yesterday was headings. It seemed natural to follow with a lesson on headings individually. By
separating this text feature from the others I felt that Abby could really understand why we use
headings and how they can help us pull meaning from a text. Before we began reading today I
asked Abby to go through the text and write down five headings that were in the section we
would be reading today. Abby was able to connect the word heading to the headings in the book
and easily found them throughout the text. We recorded the headings in a two column notes
format. I explained to Abby that as we read these sections we will write details into the column
side opposite the heading. I modeled the first heading to Abby. I read the section and then wrote
details that I thought were most important from that section. Abby read the next heading and
section aloud and write down 4 things that were important from that section. I was pleased that
the things she wrote were things I also would have written to be important. On the next few
sessions I asked Abby to read silently and then write her details. She did well on this too. After
she wrote details about the sections we made a third column labeled personal reactions. This
column allowed a place for Abby to go back and write any connections or personal thoughts that
she had about each of the sections. Her connections were the best part of this lesson. She
connected what she had read in this text to several texts we had used earlier during our sessions.
In her reactions she compared a lot to what she already knew or had read.
46
Reflection: This was one of the best lessons I have had with Abby thus far. Abby told me when
we finished the lesson that she liked this idea best of any we had talked about. She liked how the
headings break up the text easily into sections so that she doesnt have to guess where to stop and
summarize or chunk the text. She said, The heading is kind of like a title for that section. Light
bulbs definitely went off in her head that day. I feel that this activity really allowed her to grasp
the main ideas of a section and it was one of her best comprehension lessons yet! We will move
on to summarizing and synthesizing information next because I feel that after the last few
lessons, Abbys knowledge and comprehension of expository text features has improved greatly.
Lesson 12:
Goal: Abby will learn to use and utilize one word notes in order to help her summarize or retell
what she has read.
Before we started todays lesson we created a KWL to help Abby connect her prior learning to
what we will be reading today. Abby brought a book to me recently, Magic Tree House Horse
Heroes and asked if we could read this in our small sessions. This book wasnt originally on my
plan but I decided to incorporate it due to Abbys interest level. This book is a fictional book with
fictional characters but does involve the concept of horses which interests Abby. I wanted to
make sure she connects the background knowledge we have built about horses to this fictional
text, thus the idea for the KWL came about. In the K column Abby recorded things she had
learned from our previous reading about horses. She was successful and remembered so much
that she even ran out of room. In the second column Abby made a list of things she still wanted
to know about horses. I explained that although our text is fiction we still may learn information
47
about horses. She wants to know more about jobs that involve horses past and present as well as
what shoeing a horse involves. We left the L column blank and I explained to Abby that when we
finish reading the book we will come back and see what new information we learned. For the
second part of this session we began reading the first chapter of her book. I explained what one
word notes were and modeled my own reading and one word notes with the first page of the
chapter. In order to show the column effect of one word notes, we wrote one word notes from the
passage onto long, slender, bookmark like strips of paper. I explained that the words we wrote
down are words that are important. Non examples would be words like and, the, or words that do
not hold importance. After I modeled, Abby modeled and did extremely well! I noticed a pattern
in her notes. She wrote down names, places, events, settings. When she finished, I asked her to
look at her notes to help her retell what she read. She was able to tell me so much! She didnt
leave out very much. We only had time for the first couple of pages so we will finish tomorrow.
Reflection: I feel so confident in Abbys ability to write one word notes. She understands what
things are important to write down and what things arent. At times she would look to me for that
affirmation that she was writing a good word and not an unimportant one. When it was time
for her retell she was very lengthy in her summary. While, I loved that her retell was much more
detailed than when we started our case study, I do feel that she needs to understand summarize
a little more. Retell is great, but summary is still vague. I want Abby to see that a summary is
condensed or minimized from what you actually read I am skipping a lesson I had in my plans
about paraphrasing. I may come back to it but I want to do the lesson next on what summary
means and using sticky note summaries.
48
Lesson 13:
Goal: Abby will summarize her reading by writing a short paragraph about what she read.
We started today by writing the word summary. I asked Abby what a summary was and she
really didnt have an answer. She looked at me with that I really dont know stare. I explained
that a summary is a shortened version of what we read. I related this to me telling Abby about my
vacation last summer. I asked her how bored she would be if I told her every single detail that
happened that whole week and instead what if I chose only the most exciting or important events
to tell her about. She understood immediately when I gave that example and said Oh yeah, its
like a paragraph that tells what the book or story is mostly about or the most important things
from the text. We began by reading aloud the rest of chapter one from her book we started
yesterday. I began reading and modeled how I would stop after every 2 to 3 paragraphs and write
on a sticky note what the section I read was mostly about. She asked if this was similar to one
word notes in that you pick out the most important things from what you read. I was glad to see
her make that connection to a previous lesson. She began to read aloud and do this as well. To
begin with she was stopping after every paragraph. I suggested that she may not have to do that
after each paragraph. She may want to chunk 2 to 3 together and then summarize them together.
She took my advice and began doing this. When she finished the chapter she had 7 sticky notes.
We then took the sticky notes and I asked Abby to read them and try to put them together in her
own words. I first asked her to do this verbally. She was able to condense what she wrote into a
few spoken sentences. Her events were sequential and she did a good job choosing what she
talked about and what she left behind. She made sure to include names and places. Next, I asked
Abby to write a summary. I asked her to try and shorten her 7 sticky notes into 5 sentences. She
49
looked at me and said I dont want to leave anything out. I explained that sometimes we dont
have to tell every detail, only the most important ones. She was able to do this but as I watched
her write and erase over and over I realized she struggled more with writing a summary than
telling me aloud. She did manage to write a 5 sentence summary in the end but it took her several
tries before she was satisfied and would let me read it.
Reflection: I think that retelling and verbally communicating is Abbys best way to learn, express
information, and recall important details. I have noticed in several lessons that she does much
better when asked to do things verbally or just simply talk through something with me. Even
though she had just summarized to me in her own words out loud she still felt frustrated when it
came to writing it down into words. I am not sure why this is but I feel that support with her
writing is what I should offer her. Helping her understand her writing is simply her written words
or thoughts may help her. I plan to incorporate more writing into my next sessions.
Lesson 14:
Goal: Abby will write a summary of what she was read.
After much thought I decided Abby needed more practice writing a summary. Today we read the
next chapter in the Magic Tree House book and continued to paraphrase and chunk the text onto
sticky notes after every 2 to 3 paragraphs. While Abby read and paraphrased today, we talked a
lot about writing a summary and I explained to her the 5 Ws. A good summary will have a who,
what, when, where, why and how. Including those things in a summary can help to get all of your
ideas organized and written. I think that is what turned the light switch on for Abby. She wrote
the 5 Ws at the top of her paper after she finished reading and I saw her labeling her sticky notes
50
with who, what, when, where, why, and how. I watched her arrange her sticky notes and
rearrange and then finally write. Her summary was flawless. She did great today and never
erased!
Reflection: I think Abbys understanding today came solely from figuring out how to organize
her thoughts into a summary. I do not think it was necessarily the I dont know what to write
yesterday but it was more of an issue with how do I organize all of these thoughts? Once she had
a framework to use for summarizing, I could see a clear flow of thoughts written on her paper.
The next and final session before I assess will go a step further with summarizing and we will
build upon summary writing in order to chunk the text and get the gist.
Lesson 15:
Goal: To be able to chunk several paragraphs of text and tell in around 20 words what the gist or
main idea of the section was about.
To start todays lesson I explained to Abby that sometimes we need to get the gist of something
which is similar to the main idea of what we are reading. I demonstrated reading several
paragraphs of text in the book we have been reading and then stopping to write around 20 words
what the 4 to 5 paragraphs were mostly about. Not necessarily the most important details but
what the paragraphs were about. Abby then followed suit and began to chunk and write the gist
of what she was reading. At first she was confusing writing important details with the gist. I
stopped and told her we werent necessarily pulling all of the details out but we were basically
telling what big things are happening. What is the big idea in the text or what are these
paragraphs mostly telling us about. Is it an event happening? A situation? Etc. After having this
51
discussion her gist writing got better. At the end we compiled her gist statements from the
chapter and wrote a one sentence statement stating what the chapter was mostly about. At first
she was skeptical. I then asked her, if I asked you what is this chapter mostly about what would
you tell me? Again, she told me perfectly but I asked her verbally. I said, Okay, you just told me
verbally so write those exact words you just told me. I think it may help her to say it to herself
THEN write it.
Reflection: Realizing that verbally telling or recalling first for Abby is key was important during
this session. I realize that she may need to quietly whisper or mouth what she needs to write first.
It is almost like she freezes when she is asked to write. Having her stop and realize that her
words can also be written was my goal with this session. I feel that we are at a good stopping
point to assess and see how far Abby has come with her comprehension of expository texts. We
have benchmark testing coming up next week as well so this will also be a great tool to measure
any progress from fall benchmarks to the present benchmarks.
Final Assessments and Results
*Below is the Pre Assessment Passage Calculations
52
*Below is the Post Assessment Passage Calculation Sheet
53
Reading Attitude Survey (Pre)

Reading Attitude Survey (Post)
54
55
During my pre assessments I used several different passages to help me decide where to
begin instruction with Abby. We started with level two passages which Abby was on an
independent level with. Next I administered level three expository and narrative passages noting
that Abby scored higher with narrative text and expository was much lower. The narrative level 3
text was instructional while expository was frustrational. This guided my planning of lessons. We
worked mainly with expository text. Abby struggled to comprehend, summarize, and retell
expository text. These passages and assessments also helped me gauge what types of texts and
what levels I should be pulling to use during our sessions.
The assessments that I conducted at the end of our 15 working sessions were also very
beneficial for understanding how far Abby has come with her reading comprehension. I
administered both a level three expository and a level four expository text due to the fact that we
worked with expository text and not narrative. Abby was on an independent level with the third
level expository text and on an instructional level with the fourth level text. We tried the fifth
level expository text but Abby had no background information about the topic and also struggled
through the reading. Abby has increased one level on expository assessments in the last two
months. As my case study is over, I will still continue to work with this student because I feel
what we are doing is beneficial. She still needs to work on synthesizing information and
summarizing but I feel that due to her increase in expository assessment passage scores we will
continue doing some of the same things with narrative texts as well.
56
Assessment Findings and Discussion:

Assessment informs us of many things; our students learning and progress, past
instruction, and future instruction. (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007 pg 39) The base for this case study
was built on pre assessments and the lessons that followed were created based on those
assessments as well as information and knowledge acquired about my case study student
throughout those lessons. When I was assessing Abby prior to beginning the case study I noticed
many things. Abbys self-confidence with reading was low. Not only did she not feel confident
about her reading but she also disliked reading. Abby felt that the only reading that she did was
what was required of her. Throughout the reading attitude survey Abby was less than enthusiastic
about most of the answers. As time progressed and we worked toward building her repertoire of
skills, strategies and interests I noticed her confidence begin to build. She began to lean on me
less and less for support and become independent in her selection of strategies that she used
while reading in our sessions and out of them as well. She was able to remember things we had
discussed and learned and apply them to her daily tasks regarding reading. Application is of
importance because we can teach a student anything but having them know when to apply it
independently can sometimes be daunting.
I have also seen Abby become more willing to choose texts of interest to her. Before we
began meeting together Abby didnt enjoy going to the school library and rarely checked out new
books. She chose books that were easy or far below her reading level simply to take reading
counts tests. Towards the end of our sessions, Abby would bring books that she had recently
checked out and asked that we work with those texts. The gradual release model slowly came
57
into play. I chose most of the texts that we read for our sessions but by the end Abby was
choosing the texts that we worked with. Due to her interest peaking and her choosing of books,
she was more willing to work with the texts and with me.
Most definitions of literate are the ability to read and write. Abby is a literate fifth grade
student. She can read fluently and can also write. Factors that affect being strongly literate are
what Abby needed and still needs some support with. Having background knowledge and
connections about a text, knowledge of comprehension monitoring strategies, and recalling and
summarizing key details are the areas that I was able to identify in my pre assessments that Abby
needed support with. Through this case study Abby has made incredible gains in these areas. She
is applying those strategies outside of our sessions as well. An example of a trend I began to see
throughout the past few weeks and most recently has been with her regular class assessments. I
have witnessed Abby applying strategies that help keep her focused and monitoring her own
comprehension. On a recent reading benchmark assessment, Abby was given blank paper to use
(in order to make the assessment seem comparable to the end of grade testing). When I collected
Abbys paper she had many strategies visible on the paper such as one word notes, paraphrasing,
chunking and summarizing text and text notes and connections. This trend has carried throughout
many of her classroom tasks and assessments. This assessment was able to show me the gains
she has made in this case study with monitoring her comprehension and helping to keep her
focus on the text or task at hand. Due to Abbys ADHD this has been a positive gain in her
reading comprehension and knowledge of a text.
The post assessments that I used to document Abbys progress also were indicative of
gains in comprehension, monitoring of comprehension, and summarizing and retell of expository
58
text. Abby increased from a third level expository passage to a fourth level expository passage
being instructional. Her word list accuracy went from being fourth grade to fifth grade and even
her spelling inventory increased. Abby is now in the derivational relations word stage (Words
Their Way, 5th Edition).
59
Home/School Partnership Part A

Parent Meeting Plan/Schedule
*Note meetings must take place via phone or web conference due to family transportation issues.
Date and Time of
Meeting
February 17th
Meeting was via phone
after school
Strategies to Share
We discussed ways to get

Abby interested in
reading. These included
finding books or
magazines that Abby is
interested in. I shared
some of the information
from Abbys interest
inventories as well. Other
strategies discussed were
talking about her reading
with her mom in order to
help get everyone
involved and reading
aloud to Abby.
During this meeting I
shared the results of
Abbys spelling inventory,
QRI-5 word lists, QRI-5
passage assessments, and
Reading 3D assessment
data
Assessments to Share
March 19th
Meeting will be via
Google Hangout with
Mother, Abby, and myself
during my planning
During this meeting we
discussed some of the
strategies that Abby has
learned for monitoring
her comprehension. Abby
showed her mother on
Google Hangout how to
make tracks in her
reading, how to use sticky
notes to show her inner
conversation, how to
write in the margins and
annotate text.
April 4th
Meeting will be via
Google Hangout with
during planning
will share strategies for
summarizing and
synthesizing that Abby
has learned such as two
column notes, one word
notes, paraphrasing using
sticky notes, verbal
summaries and content
and processing charts.
data
data
Lexile/SRI Assessment
Results
QRI-5 passage
assessment data (I plan to
reassess at the end of 15
lessons)
Any progress or strengths

of Abbys will be
discussed here as well
Instructional Materials
to Share
I shared interest
inventories with Abbys
mother and how she can
use these to find reading
material Abby is
interested in. I also talked
about resources our
library has that can be
useful to them when
trying to find books or
magazines to read.
I will talk about how

things like highlighters,
pens, and sticky notes can
be used to help Abby. I
will also share the texts
we have been reading and
will also share a compiled
list of books that may be
of interest to Abby to read
at home.

of Abbys will be
I will share think sheets
with all of the strategies
we discussed today.
Copies of examples of
two column notes and
content/processing charts
will be sent home.
60
Reading Tutor Meeting Plan/Schedule

*Note meetings must take place via phone or web conference due to family transportation issues.
Date and Time of
Meeting
February 17th
Meeting was before
school
Strategies to Share
During this meeting Abby

talked to the reading tutor
who she meets with three
times a week about her
interests in reading. She
showed the tutor what
types of books she is
interested in as well. This
meeting was to establish
Abbys interests and show
the tutor what types of
things Abby likes to read.
data (Tutor has copies of
these assessments as well)
to Share
I shared the QRI-5

assessments and word
lists with the tutor and
suggested the use with
other students as well. I
also shared the texts that
we would be using in our
one on one sessions so
that they could perhaps be
utilized with the tutor as
well.
March 19th
Meeting will be before
school as soon as Abby
arrives
will share some of the
will show the tutor the
things she has learned
such as annotating text,
making tracks, and using
sticky notes.
April 4th
Meeting will be before
school as soon as Abby
arrives
summarizing and
data
data
Results
QRI-5 passage
lessons)

of Abbys will be
with the tutor in addition
to what we read in class
or during one on one
sessions.

of Abbys will be
will be given to the tutor
to use during her sessions
Copies of my lesson plans
will be given to tutor as
examples of what we are
focusing on in class and
what can be practiced
with the tutor
61
Home/School Partnership Part B

*Note* Schedule from Part A is also included and an additional column for agenda and reactions
is included
Date and Time of
Meeting
February 17th
Meeting was via phone
after school
Strategies to Share
We discussed ways to get

Abby interested in
reading. These included
finding books or
magazines that Abby is
interested in. I shared
some of the information
from Abbys interest
inventories as well. Other
strategies discussed were
talking about her reading
with her mom in order to
help get everyone
involved and reading
aloud to Abby.
data
March 19th
Meeting will be via
Google Hangout with
during my planning
will share some of the
will show her mother on
Google Hangout how to
make tracks in her
reading, how to use sticky
notes to show her inner
conversation, how to
write in the margins and
annotate text.
April 4th
Meeting will be via
Google Hangout with
during planning
summarizing and
data
data
Results
QRI-5 passage
lessons)

of Abbys will be
to Share
I shared interest
inventories with Abbys
mother and how she can


of Abbys will be
I will share think sheets
with all of the strategies
we discussed today.
62
Meeting Agenda
use these to find reading

material Abby is
interested in. I also talked
about resources our
library has that can be
useful to them when
trying to find books or
magazines to read.
During my first meeting
with Abbys mother (via
phone) we first discussed
the need for our sessions.
I discussed Abbys need
for comprehension
support with her reading
and also shared with her
mother some of the
assessment data that I had
gathered from the QRI 5
assessments, word lists
and spelling inventories. I
let Abbys mother know I
would follow up after
fifteen sessions and
discuss post assessment
results and we would
discuss Abbys progress
then and the next steps.
During this meeting I also
discussed the interest
inventories I had given
Abby and Abby was able
to share some of her
interests with her mother
which included horses,
mysteries, and animals.
Suggestions about how to
find materials that Abby
is interested in and
various texts that were
available in the library
were discussed and I sent
home a list of interests
and possible texts that I
thought would be of
interest to Abby to read at
home.

at home.
will be sent home.
We began this meeting by

talking about Abbys
reading 3D assessments
her lexile growth. Abbys
fluency continues to
improve but her recall and
retell with these
assessments has been at a
standstill. I explained that
I felt this would change
when we progress
monitor in ten days and
that I was hopeful that our
sessions would improve
her abilities to retell
information from a text.
The next part of our
meeting on google
hangout involved Abby
showing her mother some
of the strategies she had
been learning to monitor
was equipped with blank
paper, texts we had
previously worked with,
highlighters, and sticky
notes. She demonstrated
to her mother strategies
such as one word notes,
making tracks in her
reading/annotating, and
monitoring her inner
conversation on sticky
notes. Abbys mother was
very intently listening as
Abby showed her the
things she had learned to
do. She kept telling her
mother that she can stay
more focused when she
does these things and she
was almost beaming as
In this meeting I was able

to share that Abbys
reading 3D assessments
were improving. Her
retell and comprehension
scores had grown by 5
points and her lexile from
the previous assessment
had risen 52 points as
well. This meetings
original agenda was
altered somewhat due to
our change in lessons.
After sharing positive
gains in assessments
Abbys mother began to
tell me how she was
seeing progress at home
as well. Abby was now
reading nightly at home
and logging minutes in
her reading log that I gave
her. She had set a goal to
read 1000 minutes in two
weeks and was very
determined to reach her
goal. Her mother stated
that once Abby reaches
her goal she will reward
her by subscribing to the
American Girl magazine
that she has been wanting.
I told her that I thought
that was a great incentive
as it would further her
interest and reading. After
sharing positive gains
Abby began to share what
she had learned about
summarizing text. I
explained to her mother
that Abby feels more
comfortable giving verbal
63
Parent Reactions
Abbys mother stated

early in the conversation
that she wanted Abby to
love reading. She told me
that Abby currently
doesnt read for fun or
pleasure at home and she
wants her to do that more
willingly. She also felt
that her ADHD hinders
her comprehension and
she would like to be able
to gain some insight on
some strategies or ways
that she can help Abby
focus more on her
reading. Abbys mother
accepted the invitation to
do our next meeting via
google hangout and she
she showed these

strategies to her mom.
Her mom smiled
throughout the entire
meeting and such a
positive undertone was
visible as we met. Abby
thought it was neat that
she could video chat with
her mom while at school
and would have continued
to chat about her reading
had we not run out of
time. After Abby showed
examples of how to do
each of those three
strategies I told her
mother that items such as
highlighters and sticky
notes are very useful for
Abby and Abby enjoys
using them while she
reads. I also mentioned
some books that she could
add to the list I had sent
home earlier that Abby
seemed interested in and
also some texts that I
found online through the
International Childrens
Digital Library.
Abbys mother seemed so
excited to be able to meet
with google hangout
because she said she felt
like she was actually with
us. She mentioned that
seeing Abby so
enthusiastic about
showing her something
with her reading was not
an experience she had
previously had with Abby.
She was very focused and
listened intently. I also
noticed her taking notes
as Abby talked and she
told me at the end of the
meeting she had written
down the things Abby had
shown her and would try
summaries but we are

working hard on being
able to write a summary
as well. Abby
demonstrated how she
chunks the text by reading
several paragraphs and
then writing in her own
words what the text was
about. She also
demonstrated writing one
word notes and then using
those notes to help her
retell and summarize.
Abby told her mother that
writing was harder for her
but she is learning that
writing is really just what
she is saying but written
down. I told Abbys
mother that I would send
home (and did send that
day) detailed instructions
for one word notes and
chunking the
text/paraphrasing.
After Abby presented to

her mother the strategies
she had learned for
summarizing, she
discussed with me several
concerns she had. She felt
that talking came
naturally for Abby. She
loves to talk and can talk
about things she is
interested in for hours.
She knew that writing
seems frustrating or
daunting to Abby but she
wants to be able to help
her. I talked to her about
what a summary was and
how Abby and I discussed
summarizing and who,
what, when, where, and
64
asked me to email her

directions on how to get
google hangout on her
Ipad so that we could
meet in person instead
of via phone. Her mother
was very eager to do all
she could to help Abby
with her reading and
thanked me several times
for taking time to work
with her daughter.
Final Meeting:
and get Abby to do some

of these strategies at
home when she reads for
classwork. After Abby
went to P.E. she and I
discussed progress she
was seeing with Abby at
home. She said she still
wasnt reading like she
wanted her to but she had
noticed on weekends that
she was reading more and
was asking if her
grandmother could take
her to the public library.
She also mentioned that
recently her aunt had
taken her to an Ollies
store in a nearby town
and Abby had picked out
and had her aunt buy her
two graphic novels that
were mysteries. She
explained that when her
children go with their
aunt they always bring
home a toy or clothes and
she was surprised that
Abby had chosen a book.
She said that Abby talks a
lot about me at home and
the conversations that she
and I have during our one
on one sessions. She feels
that I am positive
influence and she said
Abby really knows that I
care about her. This
meeting was very positive
and I felt that Abbys
mother has taken an
interest in her reading and
her progression in her
skills.
why of a text. She stated

that she had never thought
of a summary that way
and had often had trouble
explaining to Abby what a
summary really was. She
asked that I write that
down as well so she can
help her with writing
summaries and being able
to tell about her reading in
her own words. She also
stated that she was very
eager to learn of Abbys
post assessments and
knew that we would see
growth. She wanted me to
know that even if there
wasnt a lot of growth,
she could tell that Abby
was reading more at home
and seemed more
confident in her reading.
She also mentioned at the
end of our meeting that
she has caught Abby
playing school with her
brothers at home and
teaching them how to do
some of the strategies she
has been learning.
65
Abby, her mother and I were actually able to meet after school in person for our final session. We
had planned the meeting for this date previously and her mother was able to work out
transportation and came after school. When she arrived she hugged me and told me that I meant
a lot to both she and Abby and she knew that this had truly helped her daughter. To begin the
meeting I shared the post assessment results which showed gains in Abbys spelling inventory,
word recognition, fluency, retell, and passage comprehension. I also showed her the reading
attitude survey and how Abbys answers had shifted and her attitude towards reading had become
more positive. Her mother started to cry when I shared the reading attitude survey and reminded
me of how she told me in our first phone conference that she just wanted Abby to want to read
more. She said that was her main concern and focus for our sessions and we had succeeded.
Abby has been reading most every night for at least 15 to 20 minutes. I talked to her about how I
have seen her confidence grow and her interest in books come alive. She was also pleased that
not only did her interest grow but her assessments had also improved. I shared with her Abbys
benchmark scores and we discussed the gains she had made from Fall to Spring with these as
well. During this meeting Abby shared books that she was reading in class and also shared her
book recommendations she had placed on our classroom tweet book board. She shared her
reading log she had been keeping in class to log her minutes and also showed her mother her
toolkit that houses her highlighters, sticky notes, pens, and bookmarks. This meeting was more
of a celebration than a meeting and allowing Abby to share her gains was great. Abbys mother
discussed her concern of middle school next year and things becoming more difficult for Abby. I
explained that we were going to continue to work on supporting Abby with strategies and that
once learned Abby can carry them with her throughout school. I made the comparison of having
a toolkit of information with her when she gets to middle school and also suggested that they
66
practice and read daily this summer to help keep ideas and strategies fresh. They both agreed and
Abby basically summed up our meeting when she stated that she didnt want to get behind and
she knew she had to keep reading. I also sent home a summer reading list that compiled books I
had found for Abby as well as books that Abby seemed to be interested in. I also gave Abbys
mother a flyer I received from the public library about summer book clubs and camps available
for middle school aged children and adolescents and was very receptive and hopeful and felt that
would be a good thing for Abby to participate in. She thanked me again and again and felt that
Abby would continue to go upwards in her progression with reading.
Final Reflection
There is nothing more powerful than a literacy teacher sharing her passion for reading,
writing and thinking (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007). As I have worked through this case study I
began to understand what my role as a literacy teacher consists of. Being able to convey my own
passions and interests to my students and more specifically my case study student was the basis
for all that took place, all that was taught, and all of the lessons that I taught. My case study
student worked diligently for me because of the groundwork I built upon the importance for
reading and also the interests that can be utilized for finding and selecting literature and various
texts.
Supporting my case study student, Abby, began by tapping into her interests with various
interest inventories. Knowing what types of texts would engage Abby and peak her curiosity and
interest was the first step in supporting her. Abby became part of the process of choosing what
texts we would work with and we worked on finding texts that were of high interest to her
67
throughout the process. According to Stephen Krashen in his book The Power of Reading,
Reading that is self-selected is effective in achieving gains in reading and comprehension
(Krashen, 2004).
Through the photo journal experience I was able to obtain knowledge of Abby, her
personality, her life outside of school and her interests which further helped me to establish a
personal relationship with her that would further aid in the support I was able to give her. From
interviews with Abby and her mother I was also able to learn what struggles she had with reading
which helped me to address needs and support techniques in reading comprehension. Abby felt
that she was not able to focus while reading and this became a starting point for supporting her.
We worked explicitly at first on monitoring comprehension. Helping Abby learn new strategies
that would keep her focused on her reading and monitoring what she knew and read throughout
the text was very successful. Strategies were used from Strategies that Work such as following
the inner conversation, making tracks in your reading, and read, write, talk (Harvey & Goudvis,
2007).
The use of formative assessments at the beginning of the case study, such as the spelling
inventory from Words Their Way (Bear, Ivernizzi, & Templeton, 2011) and various assessments
from the QRI-5 such as word lists and leveled passages helped me to formulate lessons in the
beginning. I used passage calculation forms to help me gather materials and texts that would be
usable according to her reading level and passage level scores. Monitoring Abbys understanding
of our lessons through conversations with Abby, interviews with her mother, and my own
observations helped to guide our session goals.
68
There were many changes made to my initial plan due to the fact that Abby became the
guide. At the end of many lessons, I changed what we would do for the next session based on
what feedback I was able to obtain from her. If more support was needed in an area we would
continue to work on that area and find new lessons to help her gain the understanding she
needed. This was especially evident with summarizing and synthesizing information and the
many lessons that were needed to help support Abby.
I also used observations and data from various other formats such as our school wide
benchmark testing, Scholastic Reading Inventory lexile score and classroom reading
assessments. Progress was seen in all of these classroom assessments which helped me to check
for progress in our sessions as well. Strategies that were learned in our sessions began to be
evident in most of Abbys classroom work, assignments, and assessment. Most importantly
formative assessments helped me to see Abbys learning and progress, the past instruction I had
provided and also what the future instruction must be.
Through this case study not only have I gained knowledge about supporting my case
study student but also my students in general and students who are struggling with reading.
Creating a tool kit for reading and support is important as well as building the framework in
which students will begin to find an interest in reading. I have learned that language,
conversations and explicit instruction of many different instructional techniques is essential in
teaching any struggling reader. Designing instruction that will keep these students engaged and
also aligns with what they need to learn is what the focus must be. Sharing my own thinking and
how I make sense of a text can help a student learn the necessary skills and strategies needed to
69
become a skilled reader that understands and comprehends a wide variety of texts (Harvey &
Goudvis, 2007).
References
Bear, D. R., & Invernizzi, M. (2012). Words their way: word study for phonics, vocabulary, and
spelling instruction (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Greathouse, L. (2012). Unsolved! Mysterious Places!. Huntington Beach, C.A.: Shell Publishing.
Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: teaching comprehension for
understanding and engagement (2nd ed.). Portland, Me.: Stenhouse Publishers ;.
Krashen, S. D. (2004). The power of reading: insights from the research (2nd ed.). Westport,
Conn.: Libraries Unlimited ;.
Osborne, M. P., & Boyce, N. P. (2013). Horse heroes: a nonfiction companion to Magic Tree
House #49: Stallion by Starlight. New York: Random House.
Petty, K. (1999). Horse heroes: true stories of amazing horses. New York: DK Pub..
Simon, S. (2006). Horses. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
70

6422 Bauguess C Final Case Study Assignment

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

6422 Bauguess C Final Case Study Assignment

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

Edited Initial Student Profile and Plan

Photo Journal Narrative

Lesson Plans and Reflections

Final Assessments and Discussion

Home School Partnership Part A and B

READ 6422 Final Case Study

Edited Initial Student Profile and Plan

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

Initial Tutoring Plan

READ 6422 Final Case Study

with why meaning

READ 6422 Final Case Study

from yesterday and

After: Abby will

READ 6422 Final Case Study

features for Abby

After: I will create

READ 6422 Final Case Study

read the book

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

aloud the first

After: Abby will

READ 6422 Final Case Study

Magic Tree House: Summarizing/Synthesizin

After: Abby will

READ 6422 Final Case Study

(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007) background

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

Photo Journal Narrative

READ 6422 Final Case Study

Lesson Plans and Reflections

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

Goal: To complete the QRI 5 word list assessments and passages.

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

READ 6422 Final Case Study

It was a very smart idea to tell