Case Study Presentation Presented by: Vanessa Barros

Philosophy of Literacy Instruction As a literacy teacher, my main goal is to develop independent, life-long readers. Effective reading instruction should be strategy based. Literacy instruction should include plenty of modeling to allow for scaffolding. The classroom is a very diverse place – teachers must be aware of who their learners are and what motivates them so that instruction can be tailored to fit the needs of each student. Literacy instruction should be meaningful and relevant to the students. Successful literacy instruction should be integrated. by providing guidance as the students build upon prior learning and put strategy use into practice.

The Role of a Reading Specialist Assess literacy abilities of students, especially those demonstrating a need for basic skills instruction Work in a one-on-one or small group setting to correct reading deficits Collaborate with and advise teachers, parents, and administrators Conduct workshops Assist in the literacy curriculum development   Maintain knowledge of current research and best practices in the field of reading and writing

Background Information First grade student in a Catholic Elementary School Current teacher recommended that parents seek out tutoring for J because he was not reading on grade level and was making little progress His parents are divorced and therefore spends part of the week with his dad and part of the week with his mother. Tested by a Child Study Team, but determined to be ineligible for special services

Guiding Theories Constructivist Theory- Individuals actively construct knowledge by comparing new ideas or concepts with their current knowledge (schema or mental models). Therefore, learning should be active, meaningful, and authentic Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory and Zone of Proximal Development - Social interaction is critical for cognitive development. Students should play an active role in their learning, as they collaborate with their teachers and peers. -Related to this is the idea of a "Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD),” which is the disparity between what students can complete independently and what they can accomplish through scaffolding.  The Control Theory of Motivation – students needs’ should guide literacy instruction that employs active learning techniques to engage and motivate the learners Control Theory - Boss teachers/ Lead teachers: motivated by their own desire to learn

Tutoring Sessions Assessments Activities 1 hour weekly session conducted at Colonia library Assessments Activities Fry Sight Word Inventory 56/100 words Spelling Inventory Early Within Word (no long vowels) QRI Word List Pre-Primer 1 – ind. Pre-Primer 2/3 – frust. QRI Reading Passage Pre-Primer 1- instr. Test of Phonemic Awareness Satisfactorily mastered most subtests, but had difficulty with Phoneme Addition, Deletion, and Substitution Informal Phonics Inventory Systematic instruction for: Rule of silent e Long Vowel Digraphs Diphthongs R-controlled vowels Sight Words/Word Recognition Phonics Sound and Pattern Introduction Word Sorts Word Building Fluency Poetry Repeated oral reading Tumblebooks Text Reading Decoding Comprehension Pre-Reading Strategies Retelling

Strengths and Weaknesses Discussion Final Results Strengths and Weaknesses Added about 50-60 new words to his sight word vocabulary Improved reading level – moved from a Level D to F/G Mastery of short and long vowels Recognize and transfer long vowel patterns Improved oral reading fluency Beginning to independently take picture walks and make predictions Strengths Vocabulary Tracking Uses picture clues Beginning to recognize regular spelling patterns Weaknesses Sight Word Vocabulary Focusing Lacks intrinsic motivation Decoding/”Fix-up Strategies”

Significance and Recommendations Difficulties in focusing and attending should be addressed through a consistent structure of diversified activities Incorporating computer based technology interventions will serve as both a motivational tool as well as a meaningful instructional tool that provides authentic tasks for J to be successful with Continue to develop the reading and writing connection Using graphic organizers (i.e. story map) for retelling and to write stories Consistency and collaboration between teacher and both parents