whitney whitehair case study professor eastman

Whitney Whitehair Case Study Professor Eastman 12-10-09

READER CASE STUDY

Background of Reader

The reader in this study comes from a mid/low socio-economic background

whose parents are both married. She lives out in the country in the small town of Lagro,

Indiana. The reader is currently eleven years old and has a younger brother who is

almost thirteen. She also lives with her pets which are a dog, fish, snake, and some

rats.

After working with the fifth grade girl with below-average reading skills, the

researcher discovered that she enjoys playing outside and jumping on the trampoline.

Two of her favorite sports are soccer and volleyball. When asked if she enjoys reading,

the child replied that it is her “favorite subject”. The reader’s favorite series of books is

Junie B. Jones.

Assessment Database

The special education teacher believes that this particular student is a not fluent

reader, and also struggles with comprehension. The STAR Reading Test, Indiana

Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus (ISTEP+), and the Northwest

Evaluation Association (NWEA) are standardized assessments that have already been

given to this reader. The STAR reading test is given on a computer and assesses

students’ reading progress in grades 1-12. As for the ISTEP+, it is an annual testing

regimen designed by the Indiana Department of Education to encourage students to

master basic language and science skills, particularly reading, writing and mathematics.

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The scores of both of these tests will be used for this reader in this study. The NWEA

assessment helps a teacher better evaluate students’ skills and offers a “plan of action”

for each student based on their ability.

Along with the assessments that have already been given prior to the case study,

the researcher decided to use an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) to assess in the

analysis of the reader’s skills (fluency and comprehension). A running record will be

uses as an outcome based assessment to record reading level progress and will show

the reader’s progress for the beginning and end of the study. As for progress

monitoring, the student will be given questions to progressively assess the

comprehension of the lesson 2, 4 and 6. They will check for student understanding and

show progress of the student.

These assessments were chosen because they best meet the needs of the

student. The student struggles with comprehension, so the progress monitoring will

help teach and provide results that the student is making over this period of time. The

goal of the assessments is to improve and become more detailed according to the story

over time.

NAME GRADE HOW TO USE IT

WHEN TO USE IT

INFORMATION PROVIDED

REFERENCE INFORMATION

ISTEP

Fifth grade

Screening device

At least two times a year

see where the reader scored in relationship

to other fifth graders

• http://www.doe.in.gov/istep/

• cooperating teacher

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NWEA

Fifth grade

Screening device

At least two times a year

see where the reader scored in relationship

to other fifth graders

• http://www.nwea.org/

• cooperating teacher

Vocabulary

“Catch a Wave”

Assessment Classroom Workbook

Grade 5

Progress monitoring

tool

Student is struggling in vocabulary; needs help

showing progress over time

Where the

reader needed help decoding high frequency

words

• Informal Reading Assessments by Dr. Fry

Running Records

Fifth grade

screening and

outcome based

assessment

Record reading level

progress

Showed the reader’s

progress over the course of the lessons

• http://www.teachervision.fen.com/silent-

reading/graphic-organizers/48545.html#

STAR Reading

Test

Grades 1-12

screening

and outcome based

assessment

help educators to decide the

reading level of students

Determine individual as well as class growth, and

predict how a student will perform on

standardized tests.

• http://www.renlearn.com/sr/ • cooperating teacher

Informal Reading Inventory

(IRI)

Fifth grade Informal reading test

determine the reading

levels attainable by

students

Diagnose some of the student’s specific reading

problems

• http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/srutledg/iri.html

+

Phase II Administration and Planning

After speaking with both the reader’s classroom teacher and special education

teacher, it was determined that the tutoring sessions will take place during her “Wild cat

reader” time in the special education class room. Setting up the tutoring sessions during

the pull-out sessions in the special education room will allow the student not to miss any

instruction during the student’s school day. This is also time in the special education

room where the student is usually working on reading strategies.

The researcher chose to do a pre-session assessment to see where the student

was approximately in the area of reading. The purpose of the running record was to

check the number of errors and self corrections the student makes while reading to

determine if the level of the book difficulty to the student. During the first running

record, the student read 225 words and made 10 errors with 1 self correction. This

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means that overall; the student scored a 91% which falls in the instructional range of 90-

94%. From this running record, the researcher can tell that often the reader will guess at

a word and just keep going, even if the word she says does not make sense. After

analyzing the results of the first assessment and standardized testing scores from her

classroom and special education teacher, the researcher has identified specific

problems the reader is having while reading. The reader needs to work on

comprehension strategies.

The first lesson the researcher administered was given on a different day so the

reader would not become too frustrated or overwhelmed. Once reader starts to better

understand the words she is reading, then she will be able to comprehend the story

better. The reader’s teacher had also mentioned the reader needs to work on fluency,

so the reader’s over all lessons will use lessons cover both of these areas. For the first

lesson, the student will read through the vocabulary words and write the definitions of

each using the dictionary. Next, the researcher will ask the student to explain each of

the words in her own words. The words for the first session are broached, conducted,

dignified, inflammable, rowdy, seldom, and shatter. These words are from the fifth

grade vocabulary book from her classroom. Since the student is not at a fifth grade

reading level, the researcher will focus more of the meaning of the words and making

connections with the words so that the student can complete the daily classroom

vocabulary worksheets. While the student reads the passages, the researcher will

include teaching the reader how to flag words she does not know. This will be done by

the researcher explicitly modeling what to do when she comes to an unknown word on

the first few pages of a familiar book. The researcher will use a think-aloud to show the

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student what type of questions she should be asking herself about the words she does

not know. The blanks used on both pages 110 and 111 will help remind the student that

she needs to come back to the word and find the missing vocabulary word.

Once the unknown vocabulary word is figured out, the reader will try to come up with a

sentence for the word with the support of the researcher.

For the next lesson 2, the researcher will ask the student to practice using the

vocabulary words from lesson 1. At the beginning of lesson 2, the researcher and

student will review over the vocabulary words quickly with the reader. Hopefully she has

been practicing these words. After doing the vocabulary words, the researcher will pay

special attention to using context and picture clues to help the reader figure out the as

she reads the story, My Home is Shipshape , found on pages 112-118. Using the story,

the researcher will point out the lesson 1 vocabulary words and certain pictures on

every few pages. This story was chosen because the researcher felt that it would be

easier for the reader to understand the story since it familiarizes with the vocabulary

words from lesson 1. The reader’s task will be to answer each question found on the

story’s pages. The researcher will start by modeling a few pages by modeling a think

aloud. The purpose of this lesson is to show the reader that using context or picture

clues can help. Also, the researcher hopes this will boost the confidence level of the

reader and she will be more willing to try this strategy when she reads by herself.

As for the next lesson 3, the researcher will ask the student to explain each of the

words in her own words given the worksheet on pages 120-121. The words for the third

session are adjust, debris, internal, pesky, recoil, residents, specimens. These words

are from the fifth grade vocabulary book from her classroom. Since the student is not at

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a fifth grade reading level, the researcher will focus more of the meaning of the words

and making connections with the words so that the student can complete the daily

classroom vocabulary worksheets. While the student reads the passages, she will flag

words she does not know (as learned from the previous 2 lessons). The student should

be asking herself about the words she does not know, as taught in the previous two

lessons. The blanks used on both pages 120 and 121 will help remind the student that

she needs to come back to the word and find the missing vocabulary word.

Once the unknown vocabulary word is figured out, the reader will try to come up with a

sentence for the word with the support of the researcher. The researcher will be used as

an outside resource for the student to ask questions. The student will be doing the work

book page with little help from the researcher. The purpose is for the researcher to

guide the student into using the vocabulary strategies with only helping the student

when needed.


vocabulary words from lesson 3. At the beginning of lesson 3, the researcher and

student will review over the vocabulary words with the student leading on the lesson.

Hopefully she has been practicing these words and the researcher will not have to

spend time going back over the words. After doing the vocabulary words, the reader will

pay special attention to using context and picture clues to help the reader figure out the

as she reads the story, Rock Hounds on the Sounds , found on pages 122-128. Using

the story, the student this time will point out the lesson 3 vocabulary words and certain

pictures on every few pages. This story was chosen because the researcher felt that it

would be easier for the reader to understand the story since it familiarizes with the

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vocabulary words from lesson 3. The reader’s task will be to answer each question

found on the story’s pages. The researcher hopes this will boost the confidence level of

the reader and she will be more willing to try this strategy when she reads by herself.

The next lesson 5, the student will explain each of the words in her own words

given the worksheet on pages 130-131. The words for the third session are bellowing,

betrayed, escapades, outcast, and reputation, unfathomable, withered, and yearning.

These words are from the fifth grade vocabulary book from her classroom and will be

used for the final assessment on this vocabulary lesson. While the student reads the

passages, she will be expected to flag words she does not know without any help from

the researcher (as learned from the previous 4 lessons). The student should be asking

herself about the words she does not know, as taught in the previous four lessons. The

blanks used on both pages 130 and 131 will help remind the student that she needs to

come back to the word and find the missing vocabulary word. Once the unknown

vocabulary word is figured out, the reader will try to come up with a sentence for the

word with the support of the researcher. The researcher will be only as the researcher

and observer of the lesson. The student will be doing the work book page with no help

from the researcher. The purpose is for the researcher to assess the student’s

vocabulary strategies.


vocabulary words from lesson 5. At the beginning of lesson 5, the student will review

over the vocabulary words with the student leading on the lesson. Hopefully she has

been practicing these words and the researcher will not have to spend time going back

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over the words. After doing the vocabulary words, the reader will pay special attention to

using context and picture clues to help the reader figure out the as she reads the story,

Salty on the Seas , found on pages 132-138. Using the story, the student this time will

point out the lesson 5 vocabulary words and certain pictures on every few pages. This

story was chosen because the researcher felt that it would be easier for the reader to

understand the story since it familiarizes with the vocabulary words from lesson 5. The

reader’s task will be to answer each question found on the story’s pages. The

researcher hopes this will boost the confidence level of the reader and she will be more

willing to try this strategy when she reads by herself. The student will also complete the

Kidspiration chart about the main character, Salty using the star as the center or main

character, and the surrounding boxes as a place to write supporting facts from the story.

The researcher will use this as a final assessment to see how the student

comprehended the main character and purpose of the story.

The final assessment given will be a running record with the last story in lesson 6

to see if the student is improving on her comprehending of the story on page 132. The

researcher has the goal in mind that the reader will be using the new skills starting in

lesson 5 and 6 so that they can determine the purpose of the story. Each of the lessons

include important parts of what good readers do while they are reading, look up

vocabulary words that they do not know, and ask questions when reading. The

implementation of these strategies will lead the student to perform these skills on a

more independent level. The overall goal is to have the student replicate these skills on

her own to improve her comprehension.

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Dear Parent/Guardian: I have been working with your child to determine areas she needs extra help in through

suggestions from her classroom teacher. Her STAR and ISTEP test scores in fluency

and comprehension have shown that this is an area of weakness for her.

We will be working a lot on her vocabulary words from her unit reader. Flashcards have

been created as a source to help her review from the beginning of the year to current.

Overtime, the goal is to improve her test scores by increasing her knowledge with the

vocabulary flashcards. This will help show her progress in the areas of her fluency and

comprehension.

Thank you for allowing me to work with your child. I will keep you updated weekly as

we continue to teach your child. I am looking forward to making great progress with your

child and improving her comprehension and fluency in reading. If you have any

questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Sincerely, Miss Whitney Whitehair

Miss Whitney Whitehair

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Information page:

• Title: My Home is Shipshape

• Author: Susan Blackaby; Illustrator: Doug Bowles

• Copyright: Harcourt School Publishers

• A fifth grader’s family is going on a trip with his family. He decides that there is

so much to offer on the ship and so many new sights to see. The boy’s father is

a professor, so his family gets to meet other kids who have parents who are

professors. The boy could not believe how calm the sea was and how much

different the school classes where, there was so much more to see while on the

ship! The boy keeps a daily log and writes down everything he encounters

during the trip, even the storm that soaked all his classmates’ daily logs.

• I have created a KWL web chart for each book to help the student predict, decide

what they want to know, as well as telling what they learned. These KWL charts

are designed only for the student to help prepare themselves for review on this

lesson.

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KWL Chart Name______________________________________________________________Date_____

Directions: Before you begin to read, list the details in the first two columns. Fill in the last column after completing your final chapter.

My Home is Shipshape

What I Know

What I Want to Know

What I Learned

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• Title: Rock Hounds on the Sound

• Author: Susan Blackaby; Illustrator: Ute Simon


• Amy Fowler and her friend Jen are taking part in a summer camp that visits the

Sound, a body of water, located in Northwest Washington. The students at the

camp have the opportunity to learn about the habitats located at the Sound. The

camp counselor teaches the students that the Sound was a lot different years

ago, mostly habitats for animals, which is now covered with towns. The campers

get the opportunity to search for creatures that are left in the protected area of

the Sound.




lesson.

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Rock Hounds on the Sound

What I Know

What I Want to Know

What I Learned

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• Title: Salty on the High Seas

• Author: Susan Blackaby; Illustrator: Jill Newton


• Salty is a sailor who likes to travel. He has a high reputation for being bigger

than life! Salty was an outcast because there was no ship that could hold him.

He decided to have a ship made just for him so that he could sail the seas. One

trip, Salty and his crew start to worry because there is no land to take them

across the seas. Little did his crew know that Salty had a plan! He would

sneeze and create enough wind to take them across the sea. His plan finally

works and ends up splitting the continents of the Americas into North America

and South America.




lesson.

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Salty on the High Seas

What I Know

What I Want to Know

What I Learned

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Phase III Tutoring: Carry out the Action Plan

Lesson 1

The student had a hard time pronouncing the words. After looking up the words, the student found it easier to understand the meaning of the word. The researcher used the vocabulary word in sentences that related and connected to the student. The student seemed to really like having the sentences connect to her daily life. She was able to relate to “shattering” the glass at her house with a baseball for example. The researcher also found it very effective to have the student write the definition or meaning of the word under the vocabulary word. The researcher did not focus on the spelling of the definition so that the student would be able to read and understand the definition of the words when she came back to study them in her free time. With the help of the researcher and the process of eliminating the words that did not fill the blanks, the student completed the worksheet on page 110-111 with 100 percent accuracy. She found it “helpful to underline words that helped give clues to the word in the missing blank.”

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Lesson 2

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This lesson in the beginning helped the researcher see that the student became more confident in her answers towards the end of the story. The answers are more detailed and the sentences are much longer. The researcher notes that the student was encouraged to write more details towards the end of the story. Next time the teacher will emphasize the importance of details when answering questions so that another person can better understand the story.

Lesson 3

The student did not seem to remember the words. The words that were checked were remembered by the student. The researcher had to re-explain the meanings of the words. The student did however connect to the postcards in this lesson. She has previously visited a

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summer camp and participated in some of the same activities. The previous knowledge helped her connect and find the missing words.

Lesson 4

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For this lesson, the student was directed in using the story to make correct spellings in her answers as well as using the context clues in the story to find the answer. The researcher noted that next time in lesson 6, the student will have no assistance in her answers to help show her progress. The student said “it was easier to find the answers because all I had to do was go back and re-read the parts of the story where I remember reading about the answer.”

Lesson 5

The student was assessed on this lesson for accuracy of the answers without the help of the researcher. The student corrected all 8 blanks with 100 percent accuracy. The student noted

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that this lesson was much easier because she compared the vocabulary words with her “friends”. She pretended like she was “Salty” and used the vocabulary words to unlock her feelings. The researcher noted that the student found this lesson the “easiest so far”. The researcher thinks that the student has been spending extra time going over the vocabulary words and applying them to prior knowledge.

Lesson 6

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The student completed this assessment part of the lesson on her own. The researcher noted that the answers were correct; however there was little or no detail. The student was becoming more dependent on herself finding out the answers without the help of the researcher. If this lesson was to be taught over again, the researcher needs to encourage the student even though your answers are correct, details are important.

The researcher decided to change the assessment up and use the Kidspiration chart at the end of the lesson without using the story as a resource. Once the student was given no questions to answer or story to look back at, she was able to provide many details to connect to the story on her own. She remembered “key” details such as “he is just as big as a grizzly bear.”

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Phase IV Reports and Reflections

ISTEP SCORE- NOT PASSED in 07’-08’ and 08’-09’ school years. Most current score last fall in Reading 421 (needed 429 to PASS)

ISTAR SCORE- below grade 5 level- reading at a 2.6

NWEA SCORE- 192 in Reading (needed to be below 199 to be referred for school Reading program)

INITIAL RUNNING RECORD

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FINAL RUNNING RECORD

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Assessments/Analyzing Work Samples/Observed Changes in Reading Behaviors

The scores of the student previous to testing from the standardized testing shows

that the student qualified for the reading program in the special education room at the

school. The student’s main area of weakness is in reading (mostly fluency and

comprehension as noted by the teacher and test scores). For the first running record,

the student read 225 words and made 10 errors with 1 self correction. As for the final

running record, the student read 102 words and made 4 errors.

The assessments and lessons that were created were designed in improving the

student’s comprehension levels. The main focus was set up into defining unknown

vocabulary words and becoming more familiar with reading those vocabulary words in

context so that they can build on comprehension strategies. The text that was being

used provided questioning for the student to respond to the text as well as the

researcher used think-aloud methods to show the process of Metacognition or thinking

about your thinking. Over the course of the six lessons, the students improved in

vocabulary understanding by not depending on the researcher for help.

The student was able to use the words in the final lesson assessment without the

assistance of anyone but herself. She was able to connect the sentences to her prior

knowledge. Her strengths were that she was able to connect the vocabulary and text to

her own life experiences so that she could better comprehend the story. By looking at

the answers to the questions in each formal assessment in the lessons, it is clearly seen

that she uses more accurate answers and provides more accurate detail by using the

text as a resource when reading to find the answer.

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The one weakness that stood out to the observer at the end of the reader case

study was that the student was still having trouble spelling words. If the researcher was

to complete another study, spelling would be another good focus to create lessons. The

student can visually read the words but has trouble re-writing the words to match the

correct spelling.

As for the new reading behaviors as noted by the researcher, the student is now

able to use resources to look up words that she might not know as well as use context

clues and pictures to help define the meaning of unknown words. The student has also

improved in her questioning skills when reading and comprehends the story at a much

better pace when asking questions to her own self while she reads. The teacher

believes that she is going to “use these new tricks to help her in other books she reads.”

Growth of Researcher during the Reader Case Study

As for the researcher, they have grown in the ability to research different

assessments needed to assess learners in reading. Planning the entire instruction for

the student needs to reflect the results of these assessments as well as the interest of

the student. The lessons should be set focused on one area of reading that the reader

is most struggling in.

Setting goals for the student both personally and academically will help the

reader and the researcher have a smoother transaction in the whole process and

purpose of this reader case study. It is important for the researcher in this study to

provide the purpose of this study at an appropriate level, so that the student

understands what is expected of them. The researcher needs to set firm behavior rules

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for the student so that the student knows what is also expected of them. It is also

important to teach the student the behaviors expected to help them become better

themselves as readers. The researcher needs to practice analyzing and interpret data

from another resource if they are unfamiliar in doing so. It is much more difficult to

analyze data when the researcher is unfamiliar with the assessment purposes. Work

samples are very important in this study so that the researcher has proof of the

student’s growth or needs of improvement after this reader case study.

Overall, the researcher needs to practice their ability to design effective reading

instruction so that meets all needs of the area of focus in the study. It is the

researcher’s job to find and re-teach the lessons or behaviors that are not learned

before moving on to the next lesson. There are many goals that the researcher needs

to have for this case study, but is most important to take notes for parts that did or did

not work as effectively in the study. The ability to create effective reading instruction

starts with the ability to be flexible and make changes when goals are not being met.

The researcher will find that the more effective the instruction is, the better the results

are going to be for the student. If there is no known solution for a problem in the case

study, you must research to become successful in your studies.

whitney whitehair case study professor eastman

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