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lndlvldual SLudenL10/23/11
l am currenLly ln a flrsL grade classroom aL 8obeson LlemenLary School lor Lhls asslgnmenL l
chose Lo observe a sLudenL named Caleb Pe ls an only chlld and wenL Lo 8obeson lasL year for
klndergarLen so he ls famlllar wlLh a loL of Lhe sLudenLs ln Lhe classroom Pe en[oys worklng by hlmself
buL llkes Lo read wlLh parLner or wlLh groups versus readlng lndependenLly Pls favorlLe Lypes of books
Lo read are all of hls books LhaL he recelved ln 8eadlng 8ecovery whlch lnclude slmple repeaLed LexLs
Pe does noL Lhlnklng LhaL readlng ls lmporLanL Lo hlm buL says LhaL lL ls klnd of someLhlng he llkes Lo do
LlsLenlng Lo readlng on Lhe compuLer ls hls favorlLe acLlvlLy durlng ually llve
Pe comes Lo school every day and on Llme however occaslonally he does noL come prepared
Lo school wlLh Lhe homework LhaL ls due Pe does noL always seem happy whlle ln school because he
puLs hls head down a loL durlng lnsLrucLlon and rarely ever seems moLlvaLed Lo do any of hls school
work My cooperaLlng Leacher once spoke wlLh hls moLher afLer school as she came Lo plck up Caleb
and broughL up Lhe facL LhaL he always puLs hls head down and seems sad someLlmes Pls moLher dld
noL seem very surprlsed and Lold us LhaL when he seems llke LhaL aL home she [okes wlLh hlm and Lells
hlm noL Lo smlle whlch ln Lurn makes hlm smlle
Pe ls currenLly geLLlng 1ler 2 lnLervenLlon Lhrough 81l ln whlch he goes Lo 8eadlng 8ecovery
wlLh Mrs Chambers once every day When Lhe readlng recovery Leacher dld a u8A wlLh hlm she noLed
LhaL he dld well on Lhe level A buL had many errors on Lhe level 1 book LhaL he read 1hls u8A was done
durlng Lhe flrsL week of school Pe came ln Lo llrsL grade aL a level 2 on Lhe u8A so my cooperaLlng
Leacher used a level 2 book wlLh hlm on hls u8A She dld Lhls wlLh hlm on SepLember LwelfLh and she
noLed LhaL he read lL wlLh a 94 accuracy l belleve Lhe dlscrepancy of Lhls comes from Lhe facL LhaL
Lhese were done aL dlfferenL Llmes and Caleb had had much Llme Lo meeL wlLh Mrs Chambers ln
beLween hls u8A wlLh her and hls u8A wlLh my cooperaLlng Leacher
ln my cooperaLlng Leacher's classroom Lhe sLudenLs spend mosL of Lhelr mornlng dolng ually
llve whlch ls Lhe framework of her llLeracy lnsLrucLlon We usually have four LwenLy mlnuLe rounds ln
whlch Lhe sLudenLs are dlrecLed Lo read Lo self read Lo someone llsLen Lo readlng on Lhe compuLers
llsLen Lo readlng ln Lhe llsLenlng cenLer work wlLh words work on wrlLlng or meeL wlLh Leacher l have
observed Caleb ln each of Lhese caLegorles whlch has glven me an ldea of how Caleb approaches
dlfferenL elemenLs of llLeracy
uurlng read Lo self Lhe sLudenLs are supposed Lo flnd a place ln Lhe classroom where Lhey wanL
Lo read and should be readlng Lhe books LhaL are ln Lhelr book box MosL of Lhese books are
approprlaLe Lo Lhe readlng level of Lhe chlld excepL for one book LhaL Lhey are allowed Lo choose and are
able Lo swlLch ouL Lo geL a new book each day l have observed Caleb mulLlple Llmes durlng read Lo self
Whenever l look ln hls dlrecLlon he ls usually preoccupled wlLh someLhlng else such as a pencll and ls
usually [usL lylng down on Lhe rug l have had Lo redlrecL hlm mulLlple Llmes durlng hls read Lo self Llme
so LhaL he can focus on pracLlclng hls readlng skllls lnsLead of wasLlng hls Llme l belleve Lhe reason for
Lhls ls because he ls unmoLlvaLed Lo read l Lhlnk Lhls lack of moLlvaLlon comes from hls lack of
confldence ln hls ablllLy Lo read l belleve Lhls because when l Lell hlm LhaL he should be readlng durlng
Lhls Llme he says LhaL he cannoL read however Lhe books ln hls book box are all slmple repeaLed LexLs
Cnce durlng hls read Lo self Llme l read wlLh hlm AL flrsL he sLarLed wlLh hls usual Lalk on how
he cannoL read l feel as Lhough he says Lhese Lhlngs because he ls afrald Lo Lake rlsks ln readlng and has
low confldence ln hls ablllLy Lo read l gave hlm some encouragemenL and Lold hlm LhaL l would help
hlm as he read Pe was readlng a level A book LhaL he had read before lL was a repeaLed LexL and he
was able Lo read lL l noLlced LhaL he dld noL look aL each word as he read lL whlch made me Lhlnk LhaL
he was recalllng Lhe LexL from hls memory lnsLead of acLually readlng lL 1hls ldea was supporLed by my
observaLlons of hlm readlng Lhe nexL book wlLh me 1he nexL book was also a level A book and was
agaln a repeaLed LexL Pe read Lhe book very qulckly and dld noL look aL Lhe words as he read Lhem
uurlng one page he closed hls eyes durlng lL and seemed very proud Lo Lell me LhaL he could read lL wlLh
hls eyes closed l had hlm polnL Lo each word as he read Lhem and he dld okay wlLh LhaL buL was noL
exacLly clear on hls polnLlng Lo Lhe words as he someLlmes polnLed ln Lhe mlddle of words or off Lo Lhe
slde of Lhe word lf he sLruggled wlLh a word ln elLher book he used Lhe plcLure Lo help hlm flgure ouL
Lhe word whlch shows me LhaL he has developed LhaL sLraLegy for readlng a LexL My observaLlons also
show LhaL he uses Lhe predlcLable paLLerns of repeaLed LexLs Lo help hlmself read Lhe books
Pe seems Lo really en[oy hls Llme when he ls on elLher llsLenlng Lo readlng aL Lhe llsLenlng cenLer
or aL llsLenlng Lo readlng on Lhe compuLers uurlng llsLenlng Lo readlng aL Lhe llsLenlng cenLer Lhere are
Lwo oLher sLudenLs wlLh hlm and Lhey agree on a book Lo llsLen Lo as Lhey all follow along on Lhe book
Whenever he ls ln Lhls cenLer he runs Lhere Lo make sure he ls ln Lhe mlddle seaL whlch ls Lhe seaL LhaL
Lhe book ls ln fronL of 1hls shows me LhaL he ls lnLeresLed ln books and en[oys belng read Lo l Lhlnk he
also en[oys Lhe facL LhaL Lhls ls a group acLlvlLy and LhaL when he ls ln Lhe mlddle he ls ln charge of
Lurnlng Lhe pages of Lhe book Pls exclLemenL when he hears LhaL he ls aL llsLenlng Lo readlng on Lhe
compuLer sLrengLhens my ldea LhaL he ls lnLeresLed ln readlng
uurlng work on wrlLlng Lhe sLudenLs are Lo grab a sheeL of paper ln Lhe wrlLlng cenLer whlch has
a blg empLy box Lowards Lhe Lop of Lhe page and llnes Lowards Lhe boLLom of Lhe page 1he sLudenLs
are Lo free wrlLe a sLory on Lhe llnes and Lhen draw a plcLure of whaL Lhey wroLe ln Lhe box As l
observed Caleb dolng work on wrlLlng l noLlced LhaL he was [usL drawlng and colorlng a plcLure lnsLead
of wrlLlng 1o me lL seemed llke he was drawlng plcLures so LhaL he could avold Lrylng Lo wrlLe because
he felL LhaL he mlghL fall aL hls aLLempL When l approached hlm and Lold hlm LhaL he needs Lo wrlLe
flrsL and Lhen draw he Lold me LhaL he can'L and LhaL he does noL know how Lo wrlLe Lhe words l
remlnded hlm LhaL he can look aL Lhe Word Wall or aL Lhe hlgh frequency word llsL LhaL my cooperaLlng
Leacher gave Lo all of Lhe sLudenLs l also Lold hlm Lo sLreLch ouL Lhe words and wrlLe down any sounds
LhaL he hears Pe sLlll seemed unmoLlvaLed so l saL wlLh hlm and helped hlm gaLher hls LhoughLs on
whaL he wanLed Lo wrlLe Pe evenLually wroLe down some leLLers LhaL he heard ln words he was Lrylng
Lo wrlLe and creaLed hls sLory ln Lhls manner
When l spoke wlLh Caleb's readlng recovery Leacher she gave me some greaL lnslghL lnLo
Caleb's sLrengLhs and weaknesses ln llLeracy She lnformed me LhaL he knows all of hls leLLers buL geLs
h q d L and l confused wlLh oLher leLLers When she gave hlm a llsL of words Lo read Lhe only word
LhaL he sald he could read was 'yes' whlch shows me LhaL he needs words Lo be ln conLexL aL Lhls polnL
of hls developmenL ln readlng When she Lold hlm Lo wrlLe any words LhaL he could wrlLe he only wroLe
'Mom' and 'Caleb' whlch Lells me LhaL he needs more opporLunlLles Lo pracLlce hls wrlLlng and more
opporLunlLles Lo work wlLh hls hlgh frequency llsL uurlng Lhe ConcepLs abouL rlnL LesL LhaL Lhe readlng
recovery Leacher dld wlLh Caleb he was able Lo ldenLlfy some concepLs such as Lhe fronL of Lhe book
where Lo sLarL readlng whlch way Lo go and how Lo reLurn sweep Lo Lhe lefL Pe was also able Lo locaLe
one leLLer or Lwo leLLers LhaL she asked hlm Lo ldenLlfy buL could noL locaLe words LhaL she asked hlm Lo
ldenLlfy
All of Lhese dlfferenL observaLlons and assessmenLs LhaL l have of Caleb have really helped me
geL a clear undersLandlng of hls readlng ablllLles and needs 1he lnLervlew wlLh my Leacher and wlLh
Caleb gave me a good place Lo sLarL on my pro[ecL because l was able Lo see whaL oLher people Lhlnk of
hlm as well as whaL he Lhlnks abouL llLeracy My fleld observaLlons gave me auLhenLlc lnformaLlon Lo go
off of because l was able Lo see acLually how he behaves whlle performlng Lasks lnvolved ln llLeracy l
Lhlnk lL was helpful LhaL l waLched hlm over a 4 day perlod because l was able Lo see helped how he acLs
ln dlfferenL slLuaLlons and on dlfferenL days because each day ls dlfferenL ln how he feels whlch can
affecL how he engages ln acLlvlLles ln school 1he assessmenLs LhaL boLh my cooperaLlng Leacher and
Lhe readlng recovery Leacher gave me provlded me wlLh useful lnformaLlon on Caleb's sLrengLhs and
weaknesses 1hese helped gulde me on flndlng ways Lo lmprove on hls weaknesses
l belleve LhaL areas LhaL Caleb really needs Lo lmprove on are hls ldenLlflcaLlon of hlgh frequency
words and hls confldence as well as hls moLlvaLlon ln readlng l belleve LhaL he needs Lo be aware of
Lhese words and Lhe conLexL of how Lo use Lhem 1hls wlll help hlm be able Lo ldenLlfy Lhe words when
readlng LexLs and use Lhem when wrlLlng l Lhlnk LhaL wordsLudy acLlvlLles would really help Caleb
become aware of Lhese words and Lo really examlne Lhem lor example he can plck a word from hls
hlgh frequency word llsL and creaLe a 'word map' of LhaL word ln Lhls word map he can wrlLe Lhe word
ln a box ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe page and Lhen draw several llnes around Lhe box ln whlch he wlll wrlLe
Lhlngs LhaL wlll help hlm remember Lhe word Cne of Lhe llnes can go Lo a caLegory of words LhaL have
Lhe same rlme as Lhe word 1hls wlll help hlm remember how Lo say Lhe word whlle also becomlng
famlllar wlLh Lhe oLher words LhaL he puLs down whlch have Lhe same rlme Pe can draw plcLures of Lhe
words LhaL have Lhe same rlme and wrlLe Lhe word wlLh Lhe help of me Mrs Llay or hls classmaLes
around hlm AnoLher caLegory LhaL he can make one of hls llnes go Lo ls senLences uslng Lhe word ln lL
l can frame Lhese senLences for hlm by wrlLlng a senLence ln whlch l leave ouL Lhe word he ls focuslng
on Pe wlll Lhen have Lo wrlLe Lhe word ln Lhese senLences and l can help hlm read Lhose senLences
l Lhlnk Caleb could also beneflL from havlng hls hlgh frequency word llsL spllL up lnLo more easlly
ldenLlflable caLegorles lnsLead of [usL ln alphabeLlcal order 1hey can be ordered by sounds such as Lhe
caLegorles used ln Lhelr word sorLs for Words 1helr Way 1hls wlll help hlm ldenLlfy Lhe word because lL
wlll be ln conLexL wlLh slmllar soundlng words l know LhaL Mrs Chambers also does a loL of work wlLh
Caleb on hlgh frequency words so Lhrough hls 8eadlng 8ecovery he should lncrease hls knowledge of
Lhese words
1o lncrease Caleb's moLlvaLlon l wlll focus my aLLenLlon on encouraglng Caleb Lo overcome hls
emoLlonal obsLacles such as belng afrald of Laklng rlsks and geLLlng frusLraLed wlLh hlmself lL ls
lmporLanL Lo emphaslze hls sLrengLhs and remlnd hlm of Lhe Lhlngs he does know when he says LhaL he
can'L read l Lhlnk LhaL lL ls lmporLanL for hlm Lo only have books ln hls book box LhaL are aL hls level
because lf he aLLempLs aL readlng Lhe more challenglng books he wlll become dlscouraged even more
Lhan he already ls My cooperaLlng Leacher has lnformed Lhe sLudenLs of chooslng '!usL 8lghL' books so
he should have some background on Lhls concepL buL l wlll make sure hls cholce book ls aL hls level as
well l also belleve LhaL Caleb's moLlvaLlon wlll lncrease lf my cooperaLlng Leacher and l engage ln
conversaLlons wlLh Caleb abouL whaL he ls readlng so he ls able Lo express hls ldeas and oplnlons of lL
1hls can help gulde us ln chooslng books LhaL flL hls lnLeresLs and help moLlvaLe hlm Lo read more
l belleve LhaL Lhese ldeas wlll Lruly help Caleb ln hls readlng ablllLy hls confldence ln readlng
and hls moLlvaLlon ln readlng l hope Lo see hlm showlng more lnLeresL ln readlng afLer he ls able Lo
read more of Lhe hlgh frequency words and ls readlng books of hls lnLeresL AfLer he ls able Lo read
more of Lhose words l hope Lo see hls confldence ln readlng and hls moLlvaLlon lncrease l also hope
LhaL by hlm hearlng more encouraglng words of hls sLrengLhs wlll add Lo helplng hls lnLeresL ln readlng
as well as hls moLlvaLlon and confldence My cooperaLlng Leacher has seL goals of where she wanLs
Caleb Lo be aL Lhe end of Lhe year whlch are for hlm Lo read aL a level Len and for hlm Lo wrlLe Lhree full
senLences l belleve LhaL wlLh Lhe ald of Lhe 8eadlng 8ecovery Leacher Lhe lnsLrucLlon from my
cooperaLlng Leacher and my help Caleb wlll make progress aL meeLlng Lhose goals
1he sLandard LhaL Lhls arLlfacL addresses ls Lhe flrsL sLandard ln Lhe Language ArLs sLandards whlch
focuses on uslng a varleLy of llLeracy Lechnlques and sLraLegles ln order Lo help sLudenLs develop Lhelr
ablllLy Lo read wrlLe speak and llsLen l chose a lesson LhaL l dld wlLh a small readlng group as my
arLlfacL lor Lhls lesson l plcked a small group of sLudenLs LhaL were aL abouL Lhe same readlng level
and deLermlned whaL sLraLegy ln readlng LhaL Lhey needed Lo work on l noLlced LhaL based on Lhelr
resulLs from Lhelr uevelopmenLal 8eadlng AssessmenL all of Lhe sLudenLs were lacklng on Lhelr ablllLy
Lo sequence sLorles ln order Lo reLell Lhem l chose Lo use Lhls lesson as my arLlfacL because l belleve lL
flLs wlLh whaL Lhe flrsL sLandard ln Lhe Language ArLs sLandards uurlng Lhe lesson l had Lhe sLudenLs
read parLs of Lhe sLory wlLh me l also had Lhem wrlLe ouL Lhe sequence words and draw evenLs of Lhe
sLory ln order of when Lhey happened 1hen Lhe sLudenLs reLold Lhe sLorles Lo Lhelr nelghbors once
Lhey flnlshed Lhelr drawlngs All of Lhese acLlvlLles helped Lhe sLudenLs work on Lhelr readlng skllls Lhelr
wrlLlng skllls as well as Lhelr oral skllls
1he arLlfacL LhaL l chose relaLes Lo many componenLs of sLandard 1 of Lhe Language ArLs sLandards l
deLermlned Lhe llLeracy needs of Lhe group of sLudenLs LhaL l worked wlLh and creaLed my lesson wlLh
Lhose needs ln mlnd l acLlvaLed Lhelr prlor knowledge on Lhe LexL LhaL l read Lo Lhem by remlndlng
Lhem of Lhe oLher books Lhey have read LhaL are from Lhe same auLhor l also acLlvaLed Lhelr prlor
knowledge of sequences and sequence words by relaLlng lL Lo paLLerns LhaL Lhey are dolng ln maLh 1he
sLudenLs worked on Lhelr llLeracy skllls durlng parLner work lndlvldual work and whole group
lnsLrucLlon durlng Lhe lesson l gave Lhe sLudenLs a purpose for llsLenlng Lo Lhe sLory by Lelllng Lhem
LhaL Lhey were golng Lo sequence Lhe sLory afLerwards 1hey also had a purpose for sequenclng Lhe
sLory because Lhey had Lo reLell Lhe sLory afLerwards
1hls arLlfacL helped me grow and develop as a Leacher because l now undersLand Lhe lmporLance of
uslng dlfferenL Lechnlques and sLraLegles when Leachlng so LhaL you can help Lhe sLudenLs fully
undersLand whaL you are Leachlng l made sure Lo have acLlvlLles LhaL had Lhe sLudenLs use Lhelr oral
language Lo show Lhelr undersLandlng as well as Lhelr wrlLlng skllls and readlng skllls 8y dolng Lhls l
saw LhaL some sLudenLs dld really well on showlng Lhelr undersLandlng ln one area whlle oLher sLudenLs
felL comforLable ln all Lhree areas l also undersLand how lmporLanL lL ls Lo acLlvaLe sLudenLs' prlor
knowledge on Lhe LexL you are golng Lo read Lo Lhem as well as Lhe sLraLegy you are abouL Lo Leach
Lhem 1hls helped Lhem undersLand Lhe sLory more and Lhey were able Lo undersLand Lhe sLraLegy l
was Leachlng Lhem beLLer