Summary

Recap

I tutored a struggling reader in fifth grade for my Teaching Literacy college course. During our time together we worked with fluency and word work. I assessed him by distributing a spelling inventory. The result concluded that he struggled with unaccented final syllables, which is what we worked with during the word study. When reading, he did mostly one to one reading with some phrasing, which lead into discussing how we need to read like we are having a conversation with a friend.

Recommendations

My advice for the classroom teacher would be to bump him up a level or two for his running record. His scores on level N and M were very high with me. I would also recommend continuing working with unaccented final syllables. Whether that is with word sorts or other activities. This will really help him be able to read higher level texts. Reading to someone at home will also help him and give him great practice. I would also ask the adult at home to ask questions about the story during his reading. This will help him form questions in his head while he is reading and even help with visualization. Working on rate can also be practiced very easily at home, either on his own or with someone. Cover up all the lines except for the line he is reading. This will allow his eyes to focus on one line at a time, which will lead into more fluent reading.

What I learned

            I had so much fun working with my student! We both learned so many helpful things and had great experiences. I learned new ways to help my student with his fluency, covering up all the other lines. I also learned what a close read is and how to actually do one with my student. I had also never done a word sort before these tutoring sessions, which ended up being my favorite part. After realizing that my student struggled with unaccented final syllables, I found words in that category and created a word sort. He really enjoyed this activity, which helped him excel. Working with a struggling reader is definitely preparing me for what I should expect in the future. I am so excited to incorporate all of the great new things I keep learning into my practicums, student teaching, and my own classroom very soon.

Day Five

Objective:

            A good reader can think critically and deeply about the reading.

            A good reader understands spelling patterns and recognizes unaccented final syllables.

            A good reader can read carefully and be able to retell what was read.

Procedure:

            Do another word sort. Read off the words one at a time and have him write the words on a piece of paper while putting them into the correct caterogries. 

Close read-read poem three times.

Explain to student that we are going to read the poem three times and after each time, we will answer some questions. Do not give the student any information except for the title and author.

First Read:

            Have the student read the poem out loud. Tell him to be thinking about the plot of the story why he is reading. Also have him circle any words or phrases that they do not understand. After he is done reading, ask him to retell you what he just read. Have a discussion about the plot of the poem (use prompting questions if he needs help) and any words/phrases that he circled.

Second Read:

Have him read the passage again. This time focus on how the poem is put together and how the author wrote this poem. “What words stood out to you?“ Why do you think the author told the story this way? “Is this in first or third person/who is the narrator?” “What words told you this?”

“Was the story trying to teach a lesson? 

Third Read:

            Have the student read the poem for the third time. After he is done, ask inference questions. “Do you think they like summer? Why or why not.” “How old do you think this person is?” “What happens in the fall? Spring?” I will show them how to use clues and their own knowledge to make an inference.

Closure:

            Ask if he has any other questions about the poem or anything he would like to discuss or talk about.

Reflection on Student:

            Sam struggled with understanding the poem at first. As we read it more, he started understanding what the story was trying to tell us. He asked a lot of questions and we had a lot of discussions to help him understand. After the third time we read the poem, the light bulb in his head clicked and he was so excited that he understood.

Reflection on Self:

            It took a lot of preparation to do this close read, but I was very pleased with the way it went. My student and I had great discussions and we got alot accomplished. I picked a good and challenging poem for his age. He is such a smart student and I wanted to push him to use his higher order thinking skills, which is exactly what he did. I was very pleased with this lesson and it was probably my favorite tutoring day. 

Day Four

Objective: 

     Good readers understand spelling patterns and recognize unaccented final syllables.

     Good readers use question to help them comprehend the stories that they read.

 

Procedure:

Do a word sort. Write down each word on card (unaccented final syllable words). Flip the cards upside down and have the student pick one up and stick on the table (I used sticky notes). Have him flip over another card and have him determine whether it should go under the first word or be in a different category. Continue this procedure. (This is an open sort with a "twist").

Do a running record over the level O book, Daniel Boone. 

Reflection on Student: 

I decided to bump Sam up to a level O book this week because level N was way too easy for him. This level N was always easy for him. He had one error and one self correction. I suggested that he needed to focus on those middle sounds (refer to picture). I also checked for comprehension and he did great! His rate is a little slow and he still points to his words sometimes, but other then that, he can read higher then a level N book. Sam also did excellent with his word sort. He caught on to the patterns very quickly and needed no      assistance. 

Reflection on Self:

I really enjoyed doing the word sort with Sam today. He seemed to be enjoying it too. I liked how I did the words on sticky notes so he could group the words by sticking them together. Free reading time is also something I always enjoy with Sam. He picked a great book that we have really been enjoying. I focused on questioning today, and his answers are also so well thought out and excellent. I stopped in various spots during the reading to model asking questions. I asked him if he asked him self questions while he reads and he said, "Yes, especially if I don't know what a word means." Today was a good day!

Day Three

Objective: Good readers understand spelling patterns and recognize unaccented final syllables. They are also able to retell the story that they have just read.

Procedures:

           

           Do a word sort.

Look over the words with Sam. Explain to him that we are going to be putting those words into three categories. Let him look them over and see if he can figure out the categories.  Once he gets stuck, help him and guide him in the right direction.

     

       Do a running record.

                  Do a running record over, The Real Slam Dunk. Explain to him that you want him to read until the stop mark and that your not allowed to help with any hard words. Tell him you are just going to listen and take some notes.

 

       Free Read

                  If time, read his choice of book and focus on the questioning strategy.

        Reflection on Student:

                  Sam did excellent on his running record. He only missed one word, which I think was a mistake he wouldn’t miss again. He said back instead of backpack. He also did a great job with the word study. He noticed one of the categories right away and the other two with a little bit of help. 

        Reflection on Self:

                  Sam’s teacher informed us that he reads a level N text. After reading with him a couple times, I felt that he could read higher then that. I wish I would of went with the my gut feeling because the running record was too easy for him today. I may look at other level N books or bump him up to a level O next time and see how that goes. I may also pick new words for my word study, because he did so well. Overall, we got a lot done today and I am very proud of his work!

Day Two

Objective: Gain information about the student's spelling abilities and attitude towards reading. 

Procedure:

•   Distribute the reading attitude survey

•   Spelling inventory

•   Free read

From Sam's reading attitude survey, I gathered that Sam enjoys reading, but enjoys other things more. He enjoys starting new books at school but doesn't like reading during free choice time or in the summer. He likes reading different genres and doesn't mind reading aloud in the class. He doesn't feel comfortable getting called on to answer questions or taking tests. 

I had Sam do a spelling test over twenty-five words for the spelling inventory. He spelled 18/25 words correctly. His feature points were, 55/62 and total points were, 73/87. As we got further along with the test, he started missing more. As I looked over the information, I gathered that he is at the unaccented final syllables spelling stage. With this information, I plan to construct a word study over these types of words and try to get Sam to excel in this area. 

Today was a lot of testing and finding out more about Sam. Next week I plan to do a running record and a word study. So far, we have had time to do some free reading every day, which he seems to really enjoy. I plan on allowing us time to read everyday.