Phonological awareness – Hannah was give the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test at the beginning of second grade. Mrs. William provided me with the results of this test, and I was able to gather sufficient information in order to determine that Hannah’s phonological awareness is below average. Although I was able to see the scores and teacher input from the WRMT, I was unable to see the specific mistakes Hannah is making. In my one-on-one time with Hannah I have only administered phonemic activities. Within the next few sessions, Hannah will be administered activities in which she must rearrange parts of words. Further testing will need to be administered in order to gain a full grasp of her syllable, onset and rime knowledge to determine her full phonological awareness. Hannah needs assistance with sound-symbol relations.
 
Phonics – Hannah performs well in phonics when she is reminded of the sounds prior to individual performances. For example, Hannah was administered a diagraph assessment in which Hannah had to match the picture to the correct sounds. Hannah and I went over each picture and sound before she was given the worksheet to complete independently. I have noticed that Hannah confuses the sounds of “E” and “I.” For example, Hannah was given an “Alphabet Bingo” assessment in which I said I said the sound and Hannah had to find the letter. Vowel sounds are frequently worked on during the Orton-Gillingham instruction provided by The Learning Academy. Mrs. William prefers that I work with Hannah during this time. Perhaps this is why Hannah confused the “E” and “I” sounds- she was not reminded of the sounds prior to her independent performance.
 
Oral Language – Based on commentary by Mrs. William, Hannah has very low oral language skills. Based on commentary by Mrs. William, Hannah often needs oral directions repeated, and she needs practice listening to verbal directions. Mrs. William’s classroom desks are set up in the shape of a “U,” so Hannah sits at the front of the room with Mrs. William at the center of the “U.” To my knowledge, no known tests have been given to Hannah to check for any hearing impediments. An accommodation Hannah receives is having test items read to her. Hannah also does not read out loud during class time. Hannah is very shy and quiet during instruction. She does not talk to her peers during snack time. Perhaps this is hindering her oral language performance as well.   
 

Fluency – As with any dyslexic student, Hannah struggles with fluency and accuracy. As stated above, Hannah is accommodated by being read to. Perhaps this is not benefiting her fluency. Hannah needs practice and the only way to practice is to be given the chance to do it on her own. A gradual release of responsibility would greatly benefit her. When Hannah is prompted to read either independently or to a teacher, she is encouraged to point to the words as she reads.
 
Vocabulary – Hannah does very well on her vocabulary knowledge based on Mrs. William’s observations, tests, and the WRMT (in which Hannah scored high on the word identification section). According to Mrs. William, Hannah knows her vocabulary and is able to use it in her everyday language. Vocabulary knowledge is not an issue for Hannah.
 
Comprehension – Hannah has very low comprehension both orally and written. However, according to the WRMT, Hannah scored highest in listening comprehension. I read orally to Hannah at every one-on-one session with Hannah and then ask her questions based on the passage. Hannah is able to retell what was read. I have gradually released responsibility to Hannah and have asked her to read certain parts of the passage independently. When asked questions, Hannah is unable to give as much detail as she does when read to orally. As with any student with dyslexia, it is expected that either or both fluency and comprehension skills are low. Students cannot focus on decoding and remember the specifics of the passage.
 
What language difficulties does the student have?
Hannah does not have any known language difficulties. Hannah is extremely shy and does not often participate in classroom discussion or activities (i.e. OG). The only difficulty Hannah has is in the area of reading orally (many pauses and stutters due to her dyslexia).  
 
What cognitive issues seem apparent from the assessments that have been given?
The only cognitive issue apparent is the fact that Hannah has dyslexia. Dyslexia is a reading disorder that affects students despite normal intelligence. Based on different assessments, Hannah has scored low in every area of reading (as mentioned above). Dyslexia affects both fluency, automaticity, and comprehension. Students with dyslexia have difficulty decoding words- forgetting the first letter by the time they reach sounding out the last. Because they are so focused on decoding, they are not focusing on comprehension (which attributes to Hannah’s inability to recall and retell events from the text when she reads independently).
 
Overall, how does this student’s reading acquisition compare to other students his/her age? (What should he/she be doing at this level?)
Hannah currently scores at an early first grade level in almost every component of reading- her vocabulary skills are on the higher end of the spectrum. By third grade, Hannah should be able to read independently with developing fluency (rate, speed, expression), and with the ability to retell details from the text (conflict, characters, character development). However, Hannah rarely reads independently. Hannah is often read to both in the classroom and at home. Hannah listens to audio recordings of chapter books at home (without the book in front of her). In the classroom, Hannah is read both books and test questions. When she does read, Hannah chooses books that are picture oriented with an easy text at the kindergarten to first grade level. The average third grade student should be able to write an organized paragraph with detail that demonstrates proper mechanics and comprehension. Hannah has no writing assignments in which her handwriting/writing length is age-appropriate. Hannah has very large and messy handwriting. When Hannah does not know how to spell a word, she often times scratches the misspelled word out until one cannot see it anymore, and she writes it again. Her word, sentence, and paragraph development is under-par. Typical students are preparing for independent writing and reading year-end assessments (i.e. FSA). Hannah has developed “learned helplessness,” and is used to being read to. I have yet to see any full length writing samples in which Hannah worked independently on. Hannah should be reading and writing on her own.
 
What additional assessments will be completed on this student? Give the reason for the assessment? (What will the information provide?)
A Primary-Spelling Inventory was recently completed in order to determine where she experiences the most difficulties in spelling. Based on this assessment, it appears that Hannah scores in the middle Letter-Name Alphabetic Stage. Hannah struggles with diagraphs, blends, and vowel sounds. Based on my prior assessment (Alphabet Bingo), Hannah knows her sounds when given individually. I have also created OG flashcards to work with Hannah on in a one-on-one environment. Hannah knows her sounds in this context. However, I will be furthering assessing Hannah on her ability to decode vowels, diagraphs and blends when given whole words as I believe this will test her true knowledge. I often times feel like the students “memorize OG.” The students at The Learning Academy do OG instruction daily, and are told what to say- the class rehashes it from the first day of school. The flashcards resemble the OG instruction slides, and Hannah simple pulls from her rote memorization. If I can gradually pull Hannah from this context, I believe I will be able to further place her. I will start by assessing Hannah’s ability to decode words without the use of diagraphs. I will gradually give Hannah words with diagraphs and blends. Based on her achievement, I will then give activities that will help develop these skills. I will also give Hannah nonsense words which will really test her ability to decode and identify sound-letter relationships. I also plan to perform a running record to assess how Hannah reads. In-between assessments, I will be practicing the areas in which Hannah has low achievement in- vowels, diagraphs, blends. I will have to ensure that Hannah has mastered the lowest skills before we move on to higher skills. Hannah will be completing assessments by playing games and using activities to strengthen her abilities. Each week, I will read with Hannah to help her become more confident in her abilities as well as develop her fluency and comprehension abilities.
These assessments are necessary because Hannah scores below average in reading. Therefore, these assessments will help me to determine Hannah’s progress throughout the semester by quantitative data. I will also be able to identify if my interventions are helping Hannah to reach her academic goals.
 
What is the initial plan for remediation for this student? 
Who: I will be administering reading/spelling assessments to Hannah, a third grade student in Mrs. William’s class. Hannah is nine years old and was born on August 9, 2006. Hannah lives about twenty minutes away from The Learning Academy, and she transferred from a public elementary school in which her twin sister still attends. Hannah loves to play video games (specifically Minecraft), but she used to swim, play piano, and play tennis until her family became too busy. Hannah loves books about cats and bears. Her favorite book is, “Warrior Cats.” Hannah loves chapter books, but listens to them on an audio tape on the way home from school. Hannah’s favorite subject is art because she wants to be an artist when she grows up. Her least favorite subject is mathematics. Hannah believes she is good at playing video games, crafting, and climbing trees. She wants her teachers to be playful, funny, and flexible.

What: The assessments given will be guided by interventions necessary for students in the Letter-Name Alphabetic Stage. To begin, the assessments will focus on Hannah’s ability to recognize and manipulate words and the phonemes. Although Hannah has mastered her short vowel sounds, her assessments with me do not show this. The assessments will also allow for development in sound-letter relationships. Then, we will work on recognizing diagraphs at the beginning of words. When Hannah begins to show substantial improvement with each area, I will discuss the potential for moving to her next area of difficulty (blends) with her teacher and my supervisors. Each week, I will also read a story with Hannah.

When: I meet with Hannah for 20 to 25 minutes every Wednesday at The Learning Academy. These meetings take place at the beginning to the middle of OG instruction (typically between 8:30am to 9:00am).  I am in the classroom from roughly 8:00am to 10:30am, and I able to further observe Hannah beyond our one-on-one meeting times.

Where: Hannah and I meet in the back of the classroom to ensure a quiet learning environment. Hannah has told me that she feels overwhelmed during OG instruction. Hannah needs a quiet place to think without feeling peer pressure to perform well. Hannah and I work at the computer table.

Why: I have decided to work on diagraphs because Hannah scored scored a 5/7 on this section of the Primary Spelling Inventory given on January 27, 2016. This sets an area of concern for me. Students who miss two or more on a section of the PSI, should begin instruction at this point. Hannah scored a 7/7 on the short vowel sounds on the Primary Spelling Inventory, which informs me that she knows this section and has mastered this skill. Hannah then scored 2/7 on the blends section, which makes this the second area of difficulty that I hope to improve with Hannah. However, I will not move on until I have spoken with Mrs. William and my teacher supervisors. I will read with Hannah every Wednesday in order to improve her fluency and comprehension skills. All of the interventions chosen will be based on her interests and abilities. I do not want to overwhelm or discourage Hannah in anyway. I want to participate with excitement in all activities without the need to be prompted. 

How: Many of the assessments I perform this semester will be ones that are discussed during my EDU 3347 class. I have already had the chance to administer assessments to Hannah which has helped me gear further assessments. Based on these past findings, I will provide Hannah with activities which require her to break down words into their individual phonemes- she will also say each phoneme sound. Once Hannah has accomplished this feat, diagraphs will be assessed and worked on in a similar format as the sound-letter correspondence. All of the assessments provided to Hannah will be in the form of either a game or crafting activity. Hannah loves to play games and craft, so incorporating these fun activities into my weekly interventions will meet her interests and develop her curiosity and excitement. Running records will be incorporated into the weekly interventions, as well. Fluency and comprehension skills will also need to be worked on with Hannah. I will ensure that we read together weekly. I will try to find, “Warrior Cats” or “The Chronicles of Narnia” as these are her favorite book series. When Hannah begins to show great improvements with sound-letter relationships and blends, I will further assess for blend interventions. Although the spelling assessment Hannah completed says that she has mastered sound-letter relationships, the commentary made by Mrs. William and the assessments provided thus far say otherwise.

 

How: Many of the assessments I perform this semester will be ones that are discussed during my EDU 3347 class. I have already had the chance to administer assessments to Hannah which has helped me gear further assessments. Based on these past findings, I will provide Hannah with activities which require her to break down words into their individual phonemes- she will also say each phoneme sound. Once Hannah has accomplished this feat, diagraphs will be assessed and worked on in a similar format as the sound-letter correspondence. All of the assessments provided to Hannah will be in the form of either a game or crafting activity. Hannah loves to play games and craft, so incorporating these fun activities into my weekly interventions will meet her interests and develop her curiosity and excitement. Running records will be incorporated into the weekly interventions, as well. Fluency and comprehension skills will also need to be worked on with Hannah. I will ensure that we read together weekly. I will try to find, “Warrior Cats” or “The Chronicles of Narnia” as these are her favorite book series. When Hannah begins to show great improvements with sound-letter relationships and blends, I will further assess for blend interventions. Although the spelling assessment Hannah completed says that she has mastered sound-letter relationships, the commentary made by Mrs. William and the assessments provided thus far say otherwise.