Zebadiah Jones

D163 – Task 2 v1.0

A. Identify two strategies, one for each student in the attached “Student Profiles,” that you could use in the lab
to help improve reading comprehension.
1. Explain how your two chosen strategies could help the students improve their reading comprehension.

A strategy that I would use with Sophia would be a combination of approaches. First, since I teach math, I
would ensure that she has ample amounts of visuals to go with any reading or instruction to enable to make
connection with what is being described. Second, since previous instructors have had success with
scaffolded instruction, I would continue in that approach and try to provide simplified reading that still
provides that correct content and topic material but in simplest terms possible. Additionally, I would try to
provide her with good audio resources such as DeltaMath and You Tube videos so that she was provided
with additional visual references and examples, but also audio that corresponds to what she is looking at.
The videos can be watched over and over, and she can repeat specific sections without having to watch the
entire video, saving time. Finally, several times a week, Sophia would be benefited by some reading and
comprehension practice from a scaffolded text that falls into her zone of proximal development. Reading
material that is content related and non-content related would both be beneficial and allow her to expand
her vocabulary and comprehension skills. Specific to my content, I would provide her with some content
related vocabulary terms that she could focus on learning with definitions and visual reference in order to
strengthen her comprehension during classroom instruction and note taking.

For Matteo, he would benefit from some deliberate Tier Two level support both in and out of the classroom.
First, given the language barrier, he needs general English language support outside of a general classroom
to strengthen his overall ability to read and comprehend English. In this support, I would ensure that he is
provided with key content related terms that should be focused on to help support his efforts within the
general classroom. Then, in the general classroom, I would make an effort to provide him with some Italian
translations on specific content related vocabulary along with visual reference and definition so that he has
more familiarity with these key words before encountering them in independent readings. As he works to
improve his comprehension, scaffolding his work within the content would also be appropriate. For
example, limiting the number of word problems that he is required to do, and instead focus on more
mechanical math in line with the specific skill or skills being targeted. I would also alter his assessments
and provide either inclusion instructor support or auto-text reading so that he receives audio support, and
also include visual references as well.

B. Describe two specific reading strategies that could be used to scaffold instruction for Sofia, who is
described in the “Student Profiles” attachment, for the reading requirements associated with the attached
“Homework Assignment.”

In order to assist Sophia with the homework assignment, I would provide here with a graphic organizer to
help organize her thoughts on what she is reading. I would include some prompts on key points that she
needs to be looking for and have her record contextual clues that would help her to gain understanding of
the material. I would also have her list any terms that she experiences struggle with so that I could go over
those with her the next day. In addition to the graphic organizer, I might also include a pre-identified list of
content related vocabulary with definitions, and if possible visual references. I would try to review this list
of terms with her before the reading assignment, so that she already has some familiarity with them before
hand and is less prone to get hung up on them when she encounters them in the reading. Also, rather than
having her read the entire wiki reference page, I would simplify her assignment and have her focus on one
specific area in order to balance the amount of effort that she has to put forth with the total amount of work
required which should help reduce any stress or anxiety about the assignment. I would also encourage her
to try and work with a friend, sibling, or parent/guardian to have them read aloud from the passage as well,
alternating between her reading and someone else reading. Since we know that she does well with
comprehension from listening, this should help her to pick up key points.

C. Provide two reading assessments for Matteo, who is described in the “Student Profiles” attachment, to
monitor his progress.
Zebadiah Jones
D163 – Task 2 v1.0
1. Describe the support methods you will use to monitor Matteo’s progress.

With a student like Matteo, I would use formative and informal reading assessments in order to minimalize the
stress placed on the student and allow him to focus on improving his reading and comprehension skills. Since
his main issue is actually just a language barrier, the focus really needs to be on general reading in English
language, and some content focus in order to help him better recognize key terms and understand their
meanings as it relates to the specific content. A read-aloud informal assessment where Matteo reads a short
passage of generic content, but that is at grade level would provide a good measure of where his basic
language skills are progressing. This could be done either in class with a regular instructor, or out of class with
a specialized language instructor. Things to note would be any repeated errors of pronunciation and
recognition of terms. Then, for a formative assessment, Matteo could be given work that is content specific and
on grade level in a general classroom. This assessment should include reading that uses key content
vocabulary, but also work that is more basic or mechanical in nature. This would allow me to assess his
progress in both mathematical skill terms and progression in understanding of the language of math. In
Matteo’s case a summative assessment would not be appropriate until he had demonstrated sufficient skill and
progress on the formative and informal assessments.