Project

Final Project

Date Submitted: 4/18/2018

Teacher: Ali Course/Subject: English Reading Grade: 3

Type of Classroom: Group School: Alamjad

Classroom Location: Middle of School Length of Class: 45 Minutes Number of Students in Class: 13

Interviewer’s Name/Role: Hatm Date: 4/18/2018

Section One: Contextual Information

Summary of Student Information

Melissa Hubert is a 9 year old, 3rd grade student served in a self-contained special education classroom with 12 peers with moderate to severe oral reading fluency difficulties.

There are numerous observed behaviors of Melissa while in classroom. She for instance experiences difficulties when reading orally in class. She also experiences difficulty when learning the connection between letters and sounds of words. This is also evident when she confuses small words, such as at and to. She cannot distinguish between reversal letters like “d” and “b”. Moreover, she makes word reversals, such as “tip” for “pit”. There is no denying that this has made her to frequently add or forget words in class when reading in class. She is also slow in memorizing alphabets which are critical to words. Further, it has been observed that she has difficulty in pronouncing rhyming words or even words that begin with the same sound.

Owing to these observable behaviours, Melissa dreads verbal instructions more so when asked to read in front of her peers. She has been observed to have trouble following oral instructions given by her teacher. Since she struggles to read, she normally avoids reading aloud. She also fidgets a lot, an observable behaviour owing to difficulty in keeping in the same place of seat when reading. She appears restless or easily distracted thus compounding her difficulties in oral reading fluency in comprehensions or texts in the classroom.

Educational and Environmental Analysis

Classroom Environment:

Classroom Management:

The classroom rules are pinned on a chart in the left side of the front wall. Some of the basic rules stipulate that students raise their hands when seeking to answer or get clarification, use appropriate language, ask permission to get out of their desk during the class. When a student misbehaves, s/he is send to a section at the back of the classroom where students who misbehave are referred to for 5 minutes. Separating the students helps torn down chaos in the classroom. If a student persists in misbehavior, s/he is referred to another class with a co-teacher.

Instructional Delivery:

Instruction in Melissa’s class is done either individually or as a whole group. Individual instructions are for students in the individualized education program (IEP). Students are expected to seat 2 minutes prior to the beginning of the lesson which takes 45 minutes. Raising hand to seek clarification or answer is allowed for the students. at the teachers discretion, students are allowed time to converse about a given topic, or concept for no more than 5 minutes.

Course Requirements:

Students are required to participate in coursework fully to understand concepts, and gain knowledge that is testable in the form of continuous assessment tests. Students are required to attend over 90% of the classes to be legible for assessments. All students must actively participate in class forums, or discussions. They must be equipped with the necessary class materials that the teacher may also provide. Oral reading is a skill that is most cultivated as most of the students have oral reading difficulties.

Class Assignments:

Class assignments include continuous assessment tests (CATs) that can either be oral or written taken on weekly basis, or take home assignments that must be completed by the start of the next lesson.

Instructional Materials:

The teacher supplies all the required instructional materials such as novels and novellas, chapter books, and reading and writing textbooks. There are also supplemental materials and modifications to materials in order to differentiate instruction for the students in IEPs.

Grading System:

The grading scale is 92-100: A, 83-91: B, 74-82: C, 65-73: D, and 0-64: F. Grades are warded based on a student’s ability to express accurately learned concepts or read fluently in case of reading texts. As noted earlier, tests include continuous assessment tests (CATs) that are oral in nature taken on a daily basis to improve the students’ reading skill. Students must show improvement in each test to warrant their progression to the next text. Supplementary tests are optional in this class.

Teacher Behaviors:

The teacher walks around the class to ensure all students are at par. the teacher uses guided instruction which is demonstrated on the whiteboard. The teacher has the freedom chose for the students the activities they will engage in during the lesson including; word reading, text reading or short story reading. At times the teacher allows the students to volunteer to read to gauge their confidence in oral reading.

Section Two: Baseline Data

Summary

The assessment was intended to gauge Melissa’s oral reading fluency with an aim of improving her oral reading achievement. Activities included:

· Screening her for possible oral reading fluency difficulties

· Diagnosing deficits in reading letters, and words

Thereafter, she would be monitored to gauge her progress as she received intensive intervention in her oral reading fluency.

Information about Instrument Used To Assess Melissa

In the case of Melissa, oral reading probes were used. Being a simple assessment method, oral reading fluency probes were used to informally assess her oral reading fluency using highly engaging 3rd grade words. She was presented with different lists of words, and the scores of words read correctly. Based on the baseline data obtained during the assessment, Melissa’s could only ready approximately 60% of the words presented to her.

Discussion of Why the Instrument Was Chosen

The oral reading fluency probes assessment test was used because it enabled the use of a number notation system to record the number of words Melissa read correctly noting the errors. The oral reading probes assessment test was useful for determining the reading level of words for Melissa, and it could be combined with timings to determine words read correctly per minute as a means of determining her oral reading fluency level before an intervention could be introduced. Accompanied by numerous word lists, the assessment test helped evaluate Melissa’s oral reading fluency skills.

Description of the Technical Soundness of Instrument

The oral reading probes assessment test was able to measure Melissa’s ability in reading words correctly. This proved its technical soundness in assessing her oral reading ability. Further, the technical soundness of the oral reading probes assessment test is that, it provided raw data scores that were used to convert her oral reading fluency results into grade-level scores. It also allowed the gathering of the assessment data.

Discussion of How Cultural Bias Was Minimized

In order to minimize cultural bias, the assessment was conducted by Melissa’s teachers. This was to ensure that the scores of the assessment test were normal to her and not significantly higher or lower so as to be able to accurately predict her future performance. Moreover, the tests were written by experts from a broad range of cultural backgrounds to ensure that her performance was in line with the rest of her peers.

Delineation of Possible Limitations

One of the possible limitations of the assessment was the time used to assess Melissa. The assessment time could have been less than the required leading to collecting inadequate assessment data. There could also presumed errors identified since the tests relied on the listening ability of the assessor to point out errors committed by Melissa while reading. Some of the tests could also be run for Melissa yet they were not purposed to help indicate her reading ability. Moreover, the standardized test of core phonic survey could also be culturally biased since Melissa could be different from the people for whom the test was intended for.

Raw Data

Additional Anecdotal Observations and Permanent Products

It was observed that Melissa had patterns of difficulties in oral reading of words. Melissa has difficulties in reading words. From the different lists of words presented to her, she made numerous errors.

It was therefore noted that she could not read words correctly or fluently without errors. Compared to the benchmark of 80% correct words, her oral reading fluency was low at an average of 60% correct words.

Data Analysis

Summary of Findings

It is evident that during the assessment, Melissa was subjected to a reading different list of words in the probes. The assessment involved counting the number of words read correctly from the lists. This score was as valid as calculating perfect correct or accuracy on word texts. Melissa showed a consistent pattern of errors and below the score of 60% correctly read words. Worth noting is that, the assessment test results showed her reading of the words with errors of 40%. With an intervention, and given the peers benchmark of 80% correct words, Melissa could significantly improve her correctly read words to even 90%.

Melissa’s phonics and reading ability was also tested using the DIBELS which confirmed the test results from the core phonic surveys that indeed she had phonics problem that negatively impacted her reading ability.

DIBELS Test

Name: Melissa Hubert_______________________________________________________

Student’s Grade: 3 ______________________ School Year: 2018________________

Teacher:Ali _______________________________________________________

School: Alamjad________________________________________________________

Benchmark Assessment

Assessment Test 1

Melissa I would like you to read out loud for me the following short story. I will use my stopwatch to tell me when I want you to stop reading. Please do your best reading without errors. This story is called Horseback Treasure Hunt. Begin here. Ready? (Pointing to the first word of the story). I will start the stopwatch when you read the first word, and stop at the lapse or end of 60 seconds.

Horseback Treasure Hunt

0 It was Denny’s birthday, and his three best friends were coming to 12

12 his grandfather’s ranch to ride horses and look for treasure. When his 24

24 friends got there, Denny explained, “We’ve got to watch for clues in blue 37

37 envelopes along the trail. The clues lead to a treasure that Grandpa hid 50

50 this morning.” 52

52 Joe, Ray, and Hector couldn’t wait to get on their horses and ride 65

65 down the trail. Denny and his grandfather led the way until Joe called 78

78 out, “There’s something blue on that tree.” He rode over and grabbed the 91

91 envelope off the low branch. 96

96 “Your next note is near a goat,” he read. 105

105 In a flash, the boys turned and rode down to the goat pen where Ray 120

120 found the next envelope on a fence post. It read, “Find high ground, then 134

134 look down.” 136

136 “I think we’re supposed to ride to the top of that hill,” said Denny. 150

150 “It’s the highest place around.” 155

155 They rode to the top of the hill and searched for clues until Hector 169

169 hollered, “The clue is sticking out from under this rock.” He jumped 181

181 down and pulled the envelope free. “Take ten steps south and make them 194

194 big, then grab a shovel and start to dig,” he read. 205

205 The boys joined arms and took ten steps south. They discovered 216

216 three shovels and an orange circle painted on the ground. They all dug as 230

230 dirt flew everywhere. 233

233 Suddenly Denny called, “Here’s a wooden chest!” Everyone watched 242

242 while he lifted the lid. “There are four cowboy ropes here,” he said. 255

255 “They’re ropes like a real cowboy would use!” The boys were happy and 268

268 proud that they had found the hidden treasure. 276

No. of words in story read in 60 seconds – No. of Errors = WCPM

129-24=105

Highest average WCPM at the end of test 1 = 105

ORF Total = 105 WCPM

Assessment Test 2

Melissa I would like you to read out loud for me the following short story. I will use my stopwatch to tell me when I want you to stop reading. Please do your best reading without errors. This story is called Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Begin here. Ready? (Pointing to the first word of the story). I will start the stopwatch when you read the first word, and stop at the lapse or end of 60 seconds.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

0 In a landscape of rugged mountains and stark plains grows a 11

11 plant common in Mexico but rare in the United States. The plant 23

23 is the organ pipe cactus. It is named for its clusters of tall fingers 37

37 that resemble the pipes of an organ. It grows on slopes that face 50

50 south, the better to catch the sun’s rays. In late spring and early 63

63 summer, its pale purple and white blooms open at night. This 74

74 cactus is one of more than twenty species found in the desert 86

86 wilderness of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in 94

94 Arizona. 95

95 The animals and plants of the park have adapted themselves 105

105 to extreme temperatures and little rainfall. Nature has equipped 114

114 them with ways to conserve moisture, since there is little water 125

125 to drink. Temperatures on summer days can be scorching. Nights 135

135 are much cooler than the days, during all seasons. 144

144 Animals are less visible than the plants in the park, especially 155

155 during the day. On an afternoon hike, you’re not likely to see the 168

168 kangaroo rats, elf owls, jackrabbits, or snakes. These creatures 177

177 rest in cool, shady spots during the day. At nightfall, they emerge 189

189 from their hiding places. If you are lucky, you might see bighorn 201

201 sheep, birds, lizards, and coyotes in the early morning or late 212

212 afternoon. 213

213 The park’s mountains were formed from ancient volcanoes. 221

221 Its basins were formed from flowing water. Perhaps the most 231

231 unexpected natural feature in the park is the presence of springs. 242

242 A variety of plants grow near these rare sources of water. 253

253 Wildlife from the surrounding desert are drawn to the springs. 263

263 The largest spring in the park can be reached from a hiking trail. 276

276 The park can fool the casual grazer. It may seem lifeless and 288

288 unwelcoming at first. But to the careful observer, it reveals an 299

299 abundance of life and amazing scenery under the clear desert 309

309 sky. 310

No. of words in story read in 60 seconds – No. of Errors = WCPM

123-21=102

Highest average WCPM at the end of test 1 = 102

ORF Total = 102 WCPM

Assessment Test 3

Melissa I would like you to read out loud for me the following short story. I will use my stopwatch to tell me when I want you to stop reading. Please do your best reading without errors. This story is called Four-Legged Heroes. Begin here. Ready? (Pointing to the first word of the story). I will start the stopwatch when you read the first word, and stop at the lapse or end of 60 seconds.

Four-Legged Heroes

0 Not all of the heroes in a rescue are firefighters, police 11

11 officers or medical personnel. Some aren’t even humans. 19

19 They’re dogs, most of them specially trained to search for 29

29 humans who need help. Rescue dogs also help comfort victims 39

39 and escort people out of danger. 45

45 Dogs such as Gus, a yellow Labrador retriever, appear on the 56

56 scenes of disasters in the United States, often within hours of an 68

68 event. Gus and his owner, Ed Apple, are part of the Tennessee 80

80 Task Force One Urban Search and Rescue Team. Gus is trained 91

91 to work closely with Ed, who uses hand signals and voice 102

102 commands to guide Gus over surfaces such as unstable concrete 112

112 and other wreckage. Gus’s job is to sniff the air for the scent of a 127

127 human trapped beneath the rubble. 132

132 According to Ed, rescue dogs love their work. “They’ll keep 142

142 looking until you call them off,” he says. Rescue dogs usually 153

153 work in shifts and take time out for rest and play. Some rescue 166

166 dogs are specially trained to help comfort people. The dogs are 177

177 brought to the site of a disaster so that victims can hug and talk 191

191 to them. This helps people who are suffering from the fear and 203

203 sadness of having gone through a disaster. 210

210 After undergoing special training for two years or more, 219

219 rescue dogs have to pass difficult tests, such as safely climbing 230

230 up ladders and through tunnels. They must obey a handler’s 240

240 commands without being distracted by other sounds or activities, 249

249 and they must go only where their handlers indicate. When 259

259 rescue dogs find survivors, they are trained to stay in one place 271

271 and bark for thirty seconds. 276

276 Rescue dogs have saved hundreds of lives’ and are important 286

286 members of the rescue teams. To Ed, Gus is far more than just a pet. 300

300 “Gus really lives up to being called man’s best friend,” he says 312

312 with pride. 314

No. of words in story read in 60 seconds – No. of Errors = WCPM

138-25=102

Highest average WCPM at the end of test 1 = 103

ORF Total = 103 WCPM

Table, and Graphical representations of Melissa’s oral reading fluency level

Melissa's WCPM Aimline in 3 Assessment Tests 105 102 103 Peer's WCPM Average 140 140 140 Benchmark WCPM 155 155 155