Emily Fitzgerald

TEDU 566

Case Study Report

Student Background

__________ is in the fourth grade in a Richmond Public School. She is 9 years

old, and has attended this school for four years. She primarily lives with her mother

and younger brother, who is in the first grade. The examiner learned from the

interview that Regan likes to use her imagination to create stories that she acts out

at home. She also enjoys drawing and playing tag with her friends. In class, Regan

likes playing math games and reading stories about animals.

Regan was identified for this remedial tutoring in reading and writing based

on last year’s assessments. Overall, Regan has a positive attitude about reading, and

enjoys reading recreationally, as well as academically.

Regan’s percentile ranks for the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey are

72% in recreational reading nationally, 95% in academic reading nationally, which

brings it to 89% in full-scale percentile on a 100-point scale nationally. The data

indicates that Regan enjoys completing reading assignments, tests, and likes when

her teacher asks her questions about what she has read. She also enjoys receiving

books as presents and really enjoys going to the bookstore. The scores show that

Regan enjoys reading recreationally, as well as academically.

Writing Skills

Ideas and Content

Organization Voice Word Choice Sentence Fluency

Conventions

4:ProficientEvident main idea with some support, which may be general or limited.

3:DevelopingAttempts at organization, may be a list of events. Beginning and ending not developed.

3:DevelopingVoice may be inappropriate or non-existent. Writing may seem mechanical

3:DevelopingWords may be correct but mundane. No attempt at deliberate choice.

2:EmergingOften choppy. Monotonous sentence patterns. Frequent run-on sentences.

3:DevelopingLimited control of conventions; frequent errors do not interfere with understanding.

Stuck to a central main idea

Supportive details.

Beginning and ending not developed.

More of a list.

Voice not developed.

Imagery not developed.

Run-on sentences.

Little variety.

Lack of punctuation.

Regan was given a picture prompt, and was asked to write about whatever

came to mind when she looked at the picture. Regan completed a pre-writing web,

and had a number of observations about the picture. Regan was able to complete a

writing sample in five minutes and showed great interest in the picture prompt.

Regan’s writing stuck to one main idea, which can be seen throughout the writing

sample and the following example. “I see to giraffes they are big and small they have

cdors of them they are brown and white” Regan stayed on the topic of giraffes

throughout the writing sample. In all, Regan scored 18/36, using the 6+1 trait

rubric.

In the Ideas and Content section, Regan scored a 4 because she stuck to a

main idea, and added supportive details. In the Organization section, she scored a 3

because the beginning and end of her writing were not developed, and the writing

was more like a list. “they have long neks there noes look funny and there eyes look

close there is also a spoon a knife and a fork and bowls” is an example of a section

showing that her organization was more list-like. In the Voice section, Regan scored

a 3 because the voice of the writing was not developed. In the Word Choice category,

Regan scored a 3 because there was no deliberate choice and imagery was not

developed. In the Sentence Fluency category, she scored a 2 because the paragraph

was one run on sentence and there was no variety. Lastly, Regan scored a 3 on the

Conventions category because of the lack of punctuation. During the writing sample

assessment, the student had a little bit of trouble getting started. She completed a

web for prewriting, but began to get stuck as she began to write. The student looked

at the instructor a few times, checking to see if they were done with the writing.

Towards the end of the writing assessment, the student began to add more

irrelevant details because it seemed that she was running out of ideas.

Word Knowledge

Words Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory

Number of Feature Points Number or Words Spelled Correctly

Level

53/56 22/26 Early Syllables and Affixes

Known Using But Confusing Absent

Initial and Final ConsonantsShort Vowels

Inflected Endings

DigraphsBlendsLong Vowel PatternsOther Vowels

The Primary Spelling Inventory places Regan at the Early Syllables and

Affixes level. Words that she missed were chewed, clapping, and riding. She missed

3/26. Regan knows initial and final consonants, short vowels, digraphs, blends, long

vowel patterns, and other vowels. Regan is using but confusing inflected endings.

For example, she spelled chewed as “chewd,” camped as “campted,” clapping as

“claping,” and riding as “rideing.” During the Primary Spelling Inventory, the student

seemed to be a little tired. Regan was overall confident, but seemed to be slightly

distracted by the amount of noise in the room where it was being administered.

QRI Word List

Level Total Automatically Identified

Total Identified

Total number correct

Functional Level

First 20/20= 100% 0/20= 0% 20/20= 100% Independent

Second 20/20= 100% 0/20= 0% 20/20= 100% Independent

Third 16/20= 80% 1/20= 5% 17/20= 85% Instructional

Fourth 17/20= 85% 1/20= 5% 18/20= 90% Independent

Fifth 16/20= 80% 2/20= 10% 18/20= 90% Independent

Sixth 7/20= 35% 3/20= 15% 10/20= 50% Frustration

Regan is able to identify words automatically and independently at the First

and Second grade levels. At the third grade level, Regan was able to identify 16/20

of the words automatically, 1/20 of the words were identified, making it a total of

17/20 correct. This places Regan at the instructional level at the third grade. Regan

is able to identify words independently for the fourth and fifth grade levels. At the

sixth grade level, Regan is able to identify 7/20 words automatically, 3/25 words

were identified, making it a total of 10/20 correct. I did not see any patterns in the

words that Regan had difficulty identifying. This places Regan at frustration at a

sixth grade level. During the QRI word lists, the room was a little noisy. Regan

seemed to be distracted by the noise and had some trouble transitioning between

different lists.

Reading QRI Passages

Passage LevelTitle

Type of Text

Prior Knowledge (Score/Rating)

Quality of Prediction

Oral Reading(Score/Rating)Total Accuracy and Total Acceptability

Fluency Retelling(Number of Ideas/Rating)

Comprehension

OverallLevel

Level 3:A Special Birthday for Rosa

N 10/1283%Familiar

3 Accuracy: 98% INDEPENDENT

115/113 WPM/WCPM

20/3263%

IMP:4/4100%EXP:5/5100%TOT: 8/8100%INDEPENDENT

IND

Level 4:AmeliaEarhart

N 9/1275%Familiar

3 Accuracy: 99%INDEPENDENT

91/90WPM/WCPM

12/1866.6%

IMP:4/4100%EXP:3/475%TOT: 7/887.5%INSTRUCTIONAL

INS

Level 5:MargaretMead

N 1/1010%Unfamiliar

1 Accuracy: 97%INSTRUCTIONAL

99/96WPM/WCPM

6/1833%

IMP:2/450%EXP:3/475%TOT:5/862.5%FRUSTRATION

FRUS

The student was asked to read a level three reading passage “A Special

Birthday for Rosa.” The student completed this passage very quickly. This passage

was familiar to the student, who scored a 10/12 for the concept questions. The

student read with 98% accuracy, with a total of 7 miscues. The majority of the

miscues in this passage were insertions of words such as “and, on, of, and the.” The

student read 113 words correct per minute. Regan was able to retell 20/32 details

about the passage. The student answered 8/8 of the implicit and explicit questions

correctly, placing the student at an independent reading level. There were no look

backs.

The student was asked to read a level four reading passage “Amelia Earhart.”

This passage was familiar to the student, who scored a 9/12 for the concept

questions. The student read with 99% accuracy, with a total 4 miscues. The student

had a lot of repetition throughout the passage. The student read 90 words correct

per minute. Regan was able to retell 12/18 details about the passage. . The student

answered 4/4 of the implicit questions correctly, and 3/4 of the explicit questions

correctly, placing the student at an instructional reading level. There were no look

backs.

The student was asked to read a level five reading passage “Margaret Mead.”

This passage was appropriately difficult for the student. During this passage, the

student began to get frustrated towards the end. The instructor also noticed that the

student seemed bored during this passage, because she already had completed two

before this. This passage was unfamiliar to the student, who scored a 1/10 on the

concept questions. The student read with 97% accuracy, with a total of 10 miscues.

The majority of the miscues in this passage were insertions, such as “and, the, and

of.” The student read 96 words correct per minute. Regan was able to retell 6/18

details about the passage. The student answered 2/4 of the implicit questions

correctly, and 3/4 of the explicit questions correctly, placing the student at a

frustration reading level. There were no look backs.

The student can handle narrative texts more successfully in terms of

comprehension, but enjoys reading expository texts when they are related to

science or animals. Regan does not use any comprehension strategies during her

readings. The student’s performance shows the instructor that she should work on

comprehension of expository and narrative texts. Regan is very strong with her

word identification.

Listening Vocabulary Knowledge

Student Chronological Age 9 years and 3 months

Raw Score 133

Standard Score 94

Percentile Rank 34

Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) 42

Stanine 4

Regan’s chronological age is 9 years and 3 months. The student’s basal set

was established at set 8, with the student missing 1. The student’s ceiling set was

established at set 13, with the student missing 8. The student raw score was 133,

which gave the standard score of 94. Regan ranked in the 34th percentile, meaning

that 66% of students scored higher than her, and she scored the same or above 34%

of students her age. The Normal Curve Equivalent was 42 with a Stanine score of 4.

The student’s score places her in the low average score range on the graphical

profile.

During the PPVT, the student began to get distracted by the noise around the

room. There were students completing the same PPVT nearby, and at one point, she

noticed that we were on the same word. The instructor was able to pause so that the

other group could surpass them, but it was hard to hold the student’s attention

during the assessment with the noise level and movement around the room. The

instructor thinks that this was not Regan’s best work, because the environment was

noisy and distracting.

Summary of Assessments

According to the Interview and Garfield Assessment, Regan has a positive

attitude when it comes to reading. She also enjoys Science, and only likes math when

they can play math games. Regan does not enjoy Social Studies, because she says it is

difficult to learn about people that aren’t still around. Regan enjoys playing with her

friends, making up stories, and performing them for her family. With the Garfield

Assessment, Regan placed in the 72nd percentile nationally for recreational reading,

meaning that 28% of students scored higher than Regan, and she scored the same or

above 72% of students her age. Regan placed in the 95th percentile nationally for

academic reading, meaning that 5% of students scored higher than Regan, and she

scored the same or above 95% of students her age. Her combined scores place her

in the 89th percentile for her grade nationally, meaning that 11% of students scored

higher than Regan, and she scored the same or above 89% of students her age.

The student’s writing sample provided an evident main idea, with

descriptive supporting details. The beginning and ending were not developed, and

the writing came off as more of a list. The student’s voice was not developed, and the

came off mechanical. The sample lacked deliberate word choice and imagery was

not developed. There were frequent run-on sentences and a lack of punctuation

throughout the sample. The student showed potential for improvement and has a

positive attitude about writing.

The Words Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory placed Regan in the

Early Syllables and Affixes Stage. Regan knows initial and final consonants, short

vowels, digraphs, blends, long vowel patterns, and other vowels. Regan is using but

confusing inflected endings. Words that she missed were chewed, clapping, and

riding. There was pattern of spelling between the student’s Primary Spelling

Inventory and writing sample.

The QRI Word Lists showed that Regan is able to identify words

automatically and independently at a First and Second grade levels. At the third

grade level, Regan was able to identify 16/20 of the words automatically, 1/20 of

the words were identified, making it a total of 17/20 correct. This places Regan at

the instructional level at the third grade. Regan is able to identify words

independently for the fourth and fifth grade levels. At the sixth grade level, Regan is

able to identify 7/20 words automatically, 3/25 words were identified, making it a

total of 10/20 correct. This places Regan at frustration at a sixth grade level. Regan

identifies words in context more than she identifies words in isolation.

The QRI Reading Passages showed that Regan is reading at fourth grade

reading level. Regan reads in independently at the third grade level, instructional at

the fourth grade level, and frustration at the fifth grade level. While reading “A

Special Birthday for Rosa,” the student was able to recall 63% of details from the

story. Regan was able to answer 100% of the implicit and explicit questions

correctly. While reading “Amelia Earhart,” the student was able to recall 66.6% of

details from the story. Regan was able to answer 87.5% of implicit and explicit

questions correctly. While reading “Margaret Mead,” the student was able to recall

33% of details from the story. Regan was able to answer 62.5% of implicit and

explicit questions correctly.

The PPVT assessment placed the student’s Basal Level at set 8, with the

student missing 1. The Ceiling Level was established at set 13, with the student

missing 8. The student’s raw score was 133, with a standard score of 94. Regan

ranked in the 34th percentile, meaning that 66% of students scored higher than her,

and she scored the same or above 34% of students her age. The Normal Curve

Equivalent was 42 with a Stanine score of 4. The student’s score places her in the

low average score range. The instructor believes that this is not Regan’s best work,

because the student was distracted by the environment and had trouble focusing.

The student also became disinterested by the end of the assessment because she

was unfamiliar with some words.

Recommended Instructional Plan

Phonics:

Looking at the student’s Primary Spelling Inventory, the student is using but

confusing inflected endings. The starting point of instruction will be the ending

–ed. The student will complete a closed word sort of -ed (d) and –ed (t). The student

will also read a decodable text created by the instructor, called Picnic in the Park.

The student will read the text, and highlight the words ending in –ed, then classify

them depending on the end sound (t or d.) The student will also use the iPad,

whiteboard, and magnetic letters to complete blind sorts on –ed to practice spelling.

After the student has mastered the first sort, the second sort to complete

would be –ing. The student needs more exposure to double and e-drop with –ing

endings. The soundboard can be used with both of the sorts listed above. For

example, -ed can begin with waited, dated, wanted, jumped, and continue on. It is

difficult to get them in an order to transition nicely from one to another, but can be

phonetically beneficial for the student.

Vocabulary:

Looking at the student’s scores on the PPVT, which fall in the low average

range, the student would benefit from vocabulary instruction. The student will read

nonfiction-leveled texts. The first being “Science Around the House.” The student will

be given a construction paper booklet. Every time the student begins a new page,

they will first locate the bolded vocabulary words. The student will be directed to

the glossary, where they can find the definition of the word. On each page of the

construction book, the student will write the word, their idea about what the word

means, the definition, and a picture or phrase that will help the student remember

the word. The student would also benefit from practicing with the Frayer Model. As

the student reads a leveled text, they can front load the vocabulary using the Frayer

Model. This gives the student a chance to form a definition, examples,

characteristics, and non-examples that will help the student remember the word in

order to use it in context.

Fluency:

To increase fluency, the instructor will provide the student will different

poems. The instructor will read the poem aloud to the student, then the instructor

and student will chorally read the poem. With this strategy, the teacher models

fluent reading to the student, and then practices alongside the student. Once the

student is familiar with the poem, they will have the opportunity to read the poem

alone. The student would benefit from more punctuation practice. In order to help

the student abide by punctuation, the instructor will read a short passage while not

abiding to the punctuation. In turn, the student will critique the instructor on what

went wrong and how the reading could improve. This will give the student a chance

to hear what the passage sounds like without punctuation so that they can

understand it’s importance in reading.

The student would also benefit from practicing fluency with expression. The

instructor should provide the student with a sample from a famous speech, such as

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. There are also recordings of the

speech that can be shown to the student so that they can have an example of

someone modeling fluency. The student can practice reading the speech after

listening to the audio, and can even try to mimic the speaker’s expression. This

activity can be found on page 253 of Improving Reading.

Comprehension:

When working with the leveled text, the student will be given the

opportunity, at the end of each page, to talk about what surprised them most. The

ideas will be written down and collected throughout the leveled text. At the middle

and end of the book, the “surprises” will be revisited. The instructor will ask

questions such as:

“How do all of the surprises relate?”

“Were any of these surprises clarified in the book?”

“What do you want to know more about?”

Using these questions, the surprises can also be tied back to the vocabulary

construction paper book listed under the “vocabulary” section.

The student may also benefit from completing a K-W-L chart prior to reading

the expository-leveled text. The student would complete what the student already

knows, and what they want to find out before reading the leveled text. After the

student finishes reading the leveled text, they will fill out the section on what they

learned during their reading. This activity can be found on page 355 of Improving

Reading. Lastly, the student may benefit from completing an HQQ chart for their

reading. H stands for heard, or “What I heard about a topic.” The first Q stands for

question, or “questions we have before reading. The second Q stands for question,

or “questions I have after reading.” This activity can be found on page 382 of

Improving Reading.

Writing:

Looking at the student writing sample, the student should begin with topic

sentences and introduction paragraphs. The instructor will look at the expository-

leveled text with the student. The student will be asked to point out the

introductions throughout the book. With the use of this mentor text, the student will

be given a bag with different topics in it. The student will draw a topic out of the bag,

and will be asked to write a topic sentence and introduction that goes along with the

topic, as if there was going to be a book written based off of the introduction.

Sample topics include: weather, sports, flowers, dogs, cats, the jungle, etc. The

student could also benefit from pre-writing strategies. The student is familiar with

pre-writing webs, and could use more instruction on how to add supportive details

to the main idea.

Technology: The student will be given a poem for fluency that also has a recording

of it being read. This will help the student because the recording is modeling fluent

reading and the use of voice and expression. http://www.poetry4kids.com/

The student will be given a word sort using the iPad.

This can heighten the student’s engagement and is a good break from completing

the paper sort. The app “Sticky Notes Free” gives a great app where sticky notes can

be manipulated in order.

A digital text will also be used from A-Z Reading, “Animal Discoveries” in order to

work on comprehension and fluency. First, the student will listen to the recording of

the book being read, and then the student will read it out loud to the instructor.

There is also a comprehension e-quiz that goes along with this text found online.

https://www.raz-plus.com/books/leveled-books/book/?id=1955

Formative Assessment

Running Record Data and Analysis

Date Book Level

% Accuracy

SCR Text Level IND, INS, FR

Errors M

Errors S

Errors V

SCMSV

10/26/1

6

Q-R 100% N/A IND 0 1 0 1-S

11/9/16 Q-R 100% N/A IND 0 0 0 0

11/16/1

6

Q-R 98% N/A IND 0 2 1 0

11/21/1

6

R 98% N/A IND 0 0 1 0

The running records were all giving based on the student’s Fountas and

Pinnell reading level, which was identified as level Q. All of the texts chosen for the

running records were expository texts that were familiar to the student.

The first running record was from a leveled text Q-R titled “Science Around

the House.” The student had one self-correction during the 179-word passage. Her

accuracy was 100%, which placed her at an independent level for this passage. This

passage had been read once before the running record was taken. The student read

at a steady pace throughout this running record. The instructor continued with the

Q-R leveled text because the student’s comprehension level was behind their

reading level.

The second running record was from a leveled text Q-R titled “Science at the

Grocery.” The student had no miscues during the 129-word passage. Her accuracy

was 100%, which placed her at an independent reading level for this passage. This

passage had been read once before the running record was taken. The instructor

noticed that there was a high level of repetitions during the students reading. The

instructor continued with the Q-R leveled text because the student’s comprehension

level was behind their reading level.

The third running record was from a leveled text Q-R titled “Science at the

Grocery.” The student had three miscues during the 181-word passage. Two miscues

were syntactically similar (structure), “it” in the place of “is”, and “carbondrate” in

the place of “carbohydrate.” One miscue was graphically similar (visual), “nutrients”

in the place of “nutrition.” Her accuracy was 98%, which placed her at an

independent reading level for this passage. . This passage had been read once before

the running record was taken. The instructor decided to increase to an R leveled

text because of an increase in the student’s comprehension skills.

The fourth running record was from a leveled text R titled “Animal

Discoveries.” The student had two miscues during the 133-word passage. One

miscue was a told word to the student “olinguitos.” One miscue was graphically

similar (visual), “ecadoor” in the place of “Ecuador.” Her accuracy was 98%, which

placed her at an independent reading level for this passage. . This passage had been

read once before the running record was taken. This leveled text caused us to focus

mainly on vocabulary strategies, because the vocabulary was very difficult.

The running records did not show progress over time because of the increase

in reading level as time went on. The running record scores also had a lot to do with

the student’s mood that day. The instructor noticed that the longer the student has

been sitting and reading before the running record was administered, the more

miscues the student would have.

Reassessment/Accomplishments

Words Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory

Number of Feature Points Number or Words Spelled Correctly

Level

55/56 23/26 Early Syllables and Affixes

(-pping)

Known Using But Confusing Absent

Initial and Final ConsonantsShort VowelsDigraphsBlendsLong Vowel PatternsOther Vowels

Inflected Endings (-pping)

The student was reassessed using the Words Their Way Primary Spelling

Inventory. Regan showed improvement from the last assessment. Regan spelled

chewed correctly. Regan also improved by getting the feature correct for camped

and riding. The student spelled 23/26 words correctly, compared to the 22/26 from

the first assessment. She received 55/56 feature points. Compared to 53/56 from

the first assessment. Her results placed her in the Early Syllables and Affixes stage,

which is the same as her first assessment. Regan had growth in the Early Syllables

and Affixes stage by her increase in feature points. This shows the instructor that

Regan was learning the feature points, but may need more assistance on spelling.

Towards the end of the reassessment, Regan seemed to be distracted by the other

instructors in the class that were administering the Primary Spelling Inventory to

their students in other areas of the room. Regan continued to look around to see

what words the other students were spelling at the time. This seemed to be a large

distraction to Regan.

Phonics

The student showed growth throughout the sessions with her knowledge of

Early Syllables and Affixes, Inflected Endings. Her phonics instruction had a focus on

inflected endings, such as –ed, and –ing. The student spent a lot of time with the

different sounds like –ed can make, specially –ed (d) and –ed (t). After mastering –

ed, Regan began working with –ing, double consonants or e-drop. Words such as

hopping and hoping were included in this sort. The student showed great

improvement with the use of inflected endings, and had a higher feature point count

than her first assessment.

Fluency

The student’s fluency growth was very noticeable when the fluency rubric

was used to assess her poem readings. The first fluency rubric was assessed on

10/12/16 during a reading of the poem “The Perfect Cup of Cocoa.” Regan received a

3/4 for expression and volume, a 3/4 for phrasing, a 4/4 for smoothness, and a 3/4

for pace. The second poem was completed on 11/21/16 during the reading of the

poem “My Invisible Dragon.” Regan received a 3/4 on expression and volume, a 4/4

on phrasing, a 4/4 on smoothness, and a 3/4 on pace.

The student has a lot of practice with phrasing in relation to fluency. A lot of

punctuation instruction was completed during the fluency time in tutoring sessions,

which shows in the increase of the phrasing section between the first and last

fluency rubrics. Regan was given fluency practice during running records, leveled

texts, and read alouds, as well as the daily poem.

Writing

The student’s writing improved over the course of the tutoring sessions. In

the beginning, the passage needed work on organization, run-on sentences, and

word choice. In her last writing activity, Regan created a topic sentence, used

punctuation, and showed some deliberate word choice. The first writing sample was

organized like a list, while the most recent sample shows flow. Regan showed

considerable growth over the short amount of time that reading was worked on

during the tutoring sessions.

Vocabulary

The student showed improvement of vocabulary knowledge through the use

of the leveled texts. Regan completed the first two leveled texts by using a

construction paper book to write down words, their definition, and a picture of what

the word meant to her. This activity helped Regan to remember the vocabulary

words from the leveled texts. Another activity that was completed for vocabulary

was Frayer Model. The Frayer Model helped Regan understand vocabulary more

than the construction paper book. The instructor found Regan trying to use the

vocabulary in context during conversation about the book.

Comprehension

The student’s comprehension skills grew over the course of the tutoring

sessions. The student benefited from activities like the KWL chart that helped her

connect her prior knowledge to what she learned during the readings of the leveled

texts. The student also completed a lot of look backs during read alouds and leveled

texts to make connections further in the reading. Regan also benefitted from the

completion of an HQQ chart on the whiteboard. She was able to make connections

between the things that she has heard, the questions she had before reading, and the

questions that she had after reading. The student also became comfortable asking

the instructor for help with comprehension, and reminders on how to look for

information in texts we have read.

Technology

The student was always very engaged during the use of technology. The

instructor caught on to the engagement, and began using the iPad for leveled text

instruction. Regan was much more interested in anything that she did on the

computer or the iPad than what she completed on paper. Regan had great

accomplishments completing sorts using the sticky notes app during her phonics

instruction. Regan also became familiar with different apps and how to operate an

iPad.

Attitude Toward Reading

The student began the tutoring sessions with a great attitude towards

reading and it carried throughout the entire semester. Regan was always excited to

begin a new book or try something new. The instructor tried to choose books that

were interesting to Regan, and it was very helpful in holding her interest. The

student had a consistently positive attitude about reading.