Work & Discussion 5

Work

Week 1: Comprehensive Early Reading Strategies and Instructional Goals

Creating an effective early reading plan takes practice. Young readers are learning to process language, increase vocabulary, recognize letter sounds, and blend sounds, in a very complex process. When young learners are at risk or are not progressing as expected, it is crucial to understand where the learner needs assistance and support. Only through clear evaluation and analysis can a comprehensive early reading plan become an effective intervention.

Develop a comprehensive early reading plan based on the following case scenario and the tasks that follow the scenario:

Student: Kale Age: 6.7 Grade: 1

Kale has just transferred to a new school from another state. It is the middle of the school year and Kale’s new teacher is concerned about his reading skills, particularly his decoding and sight words. His school records have not arrived from his old school, but his parents said that his previous teacher had asked to meet with them, but they were unsure if it was about reading. They thought it may have been about behavior. His primary spoken language is French. English is Kale’s second language. His parents struggle with speaking English and need an interpreter during meetings. It is unclear what prompted the move, but it appears it was sudden and not planned. Kale is an only child and there does not appear to be any family or friends in the area. Kale’s parents are currently unemployed.

Kale completed some assessments for his new teacher, who noted some skill deficits. Most of Kale’s peers recognize sight words like “and,” “has,” “is,” “a,” “the,” “was,” “to,” “have,” and “said.” Kale has difficulty when he encounters these words. Kale’s oral reading is slow and labored. He often says the wrong letter sound or guesses at words or waits until a peer says the word for him. Kale is unable to answer simple comprehension questions (e.g., main idea, main characters) after he has listened to a passage read aloud, as well. His teacher has scheduled a meeting with Kale’s parents to discuss the assessments.

The teacher developed the following instructional goals for Kale:

1. Given a letter or letter combination, Kale will say the corresponding sound, accurately, three out of four trials.

2. Given a brief reading passage on his instructional level, Kale will read the passage and be able to retell the main ideas, three out of four trials.

3. Given a CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) word prompt, Kale will be able to say the word “slowly” (sounding it out) and then say it “fast” (reading as a whole word), accurately and automatically.

4. After listening to a story, Kale will recall three or four sequenced events.

5. Shown sight words, Kale will state the word automatically.

Part 1: Reading Strategies

Summarize the following reading strategies in 100-200 words each. Describe the benefits of the strategy and specific tips for implementation.

· Comprehension strategies

· Graphic organizers

· Independent practice

· Model-lead-test

· Peer tutoring

· Repeated reading

Part 2: Instructional Goals

In 250-500 words, complete the following:

· Sequence each of Kale’s instructional goals described in the case scenario in the order you would address them with him. 

· For each instructional goal, select an early reading strategy to use from Part 1 and explain why or how it will assist Kale in achieving the instructional goal.

· Explain how you would involve Kale’s parents. Develop an activity from one of the early reading strategies that Kale’s parents can use at home.

· Consider the effects of having moved to a new place, learning English as a second language from parents not proficient in English, and any cognitive processing problems that should be formally assessed. Explain how these issues should be considered to further assist Kale.

Support your summaries with 2-3 scholarly resources.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

Week 2: At-Risk and Struggling Readers

Response to Intervention (RTI) is widely used for determining appropriate interventions for students who appear to be struggling with learning fundamental academic skills. RTI requires gathering and analyzing multiple forms of data, planning and implementing interventions, and assessing whether those interventions have helped the student.

A special educator must have the ability of using data to make appropriate decisions for students regarding reading interventions. Additionally, a skilled educator will use a child’s strengths and interests to help increase student engagement and success.

Review the following case scenario and complete the tasks:

Student: Marius

Age: 8

Grade: 3

Marius is a third grade student who transferred to Oakwood Elementary School late in the fall. His teacher, Mrs. Pfirman, has noticed that he seems to struggle with many independent reading assignments. When Mrs. Pfirman administered the mid-year universal screening measure, she was not surprised to see that Marius’ reading score was below the grade-level benchmark. Consequently, Mrs. Pfirman decided to begin Level 1 RTI by monitoring Marius’ reading performance once a week for seven weeks using measures to assess his decoding, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary skills. Marius’ mother indicates that he was on grade level prior to moving; however, records received from his previous school do not show this. In other subject areas, Marius excels. His math skills are above the benchmark for his grade level. His speaking skills and verbal vocabulary are also on or above grade level.

On the initial assessment, the Beginning Phonics Diagnostic Assessment, Marius scored perfectly on all consonants and uppercase letters. He was able to sound out all short vowel letter sounds, and all vowel-consonant (VC) and consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words with beginning and continuous sounds. However, he was unable to read four of the six words on the measure of CVC words beginning with stop sounds, and only read one of the words on the consonant-consonant-vowel-consonant (CCVC) words with beginning blends sub-test. He read no other words on the rest of the assessment correctly.

On the Acadience Reading third grade beginning of the year assessment, Marius scored intensive. His scores on this assessment for weeks 5, 6, and 7 were 22, 27, and 33. The benchmark that would be expected after the 7 weeks of interventions is 30 and the expected criteria is 1.6. In addition, Marius’ rate of growth was 1.4.

On a Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, he scored in the 84th percentile, which is well above average.

Marius is extremely interested in dinosaurs, Minecraft, and science. He has two dogs that he is extremely fond of and shares stories about these dogs in school. He is sometimes off task, pretending to be a dinosaur or a character from Minecraft. He knows just about every dinosaur by name, geographical region found and era. He knows what they all eat, how they lived, and when they were killed. He has seen all of the Jurassic Park movies (according to his self-report anyway) and is eagerly hoping to one day bring the dinosaurs back using DNA like they do in the movies.

Marius is from a single parent home and appears to move frequently. His mother does have a good job, though, and he appears to have other strong family ties, including some visitations with his dad. Marius is from a bi-racial couple who never married and do not live together, although they maintain a good parenting relationship.

Compose a 500-750 word evaluation of Marius incorporating the following:

· Determine whether Marius is responding adequately to Tier 1 instruction, rationalizing your response.

· Based on your determination above and additional research, what tier of instruction would you recommend for Marius?

· What do you recommend Marius read, based on his interests and background? List three titles you would suggest.

· Determine what cultural and linguistic factors his teacher must consider when planning an intervention for him, given the scenario and data.

· In what learning environments do you think Marius would learn best? Why? Justify your choices with information from the scenario and your research.

· For next steps, would there be any reasons to simply wait and see how Marius does in the next quarter or do you believe immediate intervention is necessary? Explain your answer.

Support your evaluation with a minimum of two scholarly resources.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

Week 3: Reading Comprehension Research Presentation

Special educators will teach comprehension skills, no matter what subjects or grade levels they teach. Students of all ages should also be taught strategies to monitor their own reading abilities and progress, giving them autonomy and power for metacognition. An effective special educator knows the value of using research-based strategies that empower students and enable them to increase their reading comprehension.

Create a digital presentation, to be used for teacher professional development in an elementary school, which creatively and accurately explains current research on how to develop reading comprehension skills. Your presentation should be 10-15 slides, including a title slide, reference slide, and presenter’s notes.

Within your presentation, explain each of the following:

· Summarize how language development, fluency, and vocabulary are critical to building a student's capacity to comprehend what he or she reads at a younger age.

· Select three of the five recommendations from the practice guide meant to increase reading comprehension for young readers. Demonstrate how each recommendation relates to the research you presented.

· Describe evidence-based strategies, different from those in the practice guide, that students can be taught to use to enhance their language development, fluency, and comprehension. Justify why these strategies are useful.

Your digital presentation should include graphics that are relevant to the content, are visually appealing, and use space appropriately.

Support your presentation with a minimum of two scholarly resources.

While APA format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

Week 4: Picture Book Walk Lesson Plan

Special educators have the important task of creating and implementing lesson plans that effectively differentiate instruction, meet student needs, and are aligned to appropriate state standards. Planning effective language arts lessons includes accommodating all students, incorporating interesting materials, and meeting standards and student IEP objectives. It is essential to model pre-reading, during reading, and after reading metacognitive strategies and to incorporate cross-curricular content areas in reading and language arts lessons.

Using the “COE Lesson Plan Template,” create a cross-curricular lesson plan that incorporates a picture walk and is specific to the needs of students in the “Class Profile.” Select a K-3 grade level and align your lesson to the Arizona or other state academic content standards. Using an appropriate non-fiction picture book, incorporate the following into your lesson plan:

· Pre-reading strategies and activities

· During reading strategies and activities

· Vocabulary development

· Interactive differentiation activities

· After reading activities and strategies

· Written language and oral language activities

In addition, rationalize your instructional choices in a 250-500 word reflection, citing appropriateness for students detailed in the “Class Profile.” Explain how you will use your findings in your future professional practice.

While APA format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

Week 5: Benchmark - ELA Unit Plan

Special educators must be able to effectively plan for students at all ages and abilities, using data and anecdotal information. An effective plan takes into consideration a student’s developmental level, age, strengths, needs, learning preferences, culture, and interests. Interventions that are well planned for students and are based on these factors are far more effective than interventions that narrowly focus only on the student’s academic skill deficiencies.

In this assignment, practice developing ELA instruction that is appropriate for the students described in the “Class Profile” by designing a comprehensive ELA unit plan using the “5-Day Unit Plan Template.”

Part 1: Unit Plan

Develop a 5-day unit plan that integrates vocabulary, reading, grammar, writing, listening and speaking, and technology, for the “Class Profile” students, choosing either the resource or self-contained learning environment. In a typical resource or self-contained learning environment the teacher would differentiate for every student. For this assignment, choose three students for whom you will differentiate the instruction. Align your unit to a 6-12 grade level ELA standard from the Arizona or another state academic content standards.

Design the unit plan to include:

· National/State Learning Standards: Select standards that address reading, writing, speaking, and listening integration skills.

· Multiple Means of Representation: Select strategies that allow opportunities to develop oral and written language for students with disabilities. Incorporate individual abilities, interests, learning environments, and cultural and linguistic factors in the section.

· Multiple Means of Engagement: Select strategies to enhance language development and communication skills.

· Multiple Means of Expression: Use technically sound formal and informal assessment.

· Extension Activity and/or Homework: Incorporate activities that include critical thinking and problem-solving.

· In the Differentiation rows of the unit plan template focus on the three students you selected.

Part 2: Rationale

In 250-500 words rationale at the bottom of your unit plan, explain the following:

· How literacy skills from your lesson plan will be helpful for students in other content areas.

· How communication and language arts strategies prepare students and provide them strategies to be successful academically and personally across multiple settings with a variety of collaborators (e.g., individuals, families, and teams).

Support your findings with a minimum of three scholarly resources.

Week 6: Multimedia Instructional Materials

Staying current on technology is an essential aspect of being an educator. Today’s students are digital natives, and they often respond better to media than to traditional methods of teaching. Having a strong technology repertoire is important.

Create a matrix detailing a variety of multimedia, technology, games, apps, and other technological tools for teaching reading and writing to struggling readers and writers. Include five tools/media/apps and address the following, in 100-200 words per tool:

· App/technology tool description, app/technology location (online, offline through software, through a game console, etc.), and the cost.

· Age level or academic level for which the technology is appropriate.

· Advantages of using the technology.

· Drawbacks to using the technology.

· Rationalize why struggling students may benefit from the app/technology tool.

Additionally, write a 250-500 word overview of the contents of the matrix, describing how you will implement technology in your ELA classroom. Justify which of these technologies you think will be most beneficial and describe how you might convince an administrator to help you acquire the technology.

Support the matrix and summary with 3-5 resources.