Case Study Final Report By: Amanda Carlisle EDU 335 April 23, 2013

Introductory Information MY TUTEE 13 year old male 7th grade student Columbia Middle School He has been struggling with his studies for the past two years; does not receive any special educational services currently He has been identified as having ADHD INTERVIEW INFORMATION Doesn’t like to read or write Prefers graphic novels Decides if a book is too hard/easy by reading the back of the book if it is boring it is too hard, if it is interesting it is easy. Puts off reading as much as possible If he doesn’t know how to pronounce words or there meanings he guesses He doesn’t read for fun he reads because he has too! Doesn’t want to become a better reader because “there is really no point, I just don’t like it!”

Assessment Data & Interventions Assessments Used: ARI (Analytical Reading Inventory) Word List Form A Was able to read all 6 levels without much difficulty Used the words in a sentence properly Was able to decode most words he was uncertain about. On Level 3 he was able to sound out “arithmetic” after we completed the word list but did not know what it meant.

Assessment Data Continued Science Level 5: Worms: Parasites & Scavengers 6 miscues 2 omissions, 2 insertions, and 2 substitutions Retell was good but lacking some details Felt confident because he had prior knowledge about worms He was not using any self-monitoring He was reading through the passage as quick as he could The passage ended up being in his instructional level for both word recognition and comprehension. Science Level 6: Disease Microbes & Antibodies Had no prior knowledge 6 miscues, 1 omission, 4 substitutions, and 1 repetition Again no checking for understanding Comprehension & retell were both lacking. This passage was in his instructional level for word recognition but at frustration level for comprehension.

Assessments & Data Continued Narrative Text, Level 7: Turning Himself In Had extensive prior knowledge, had read the book with his class this year Independent Level for Word Recognition & Comprehension 6 miscues = 1 omission, 4 substitutions and 1 repetition His retell, and comprehension levels were excellent Writing Sample He was reluctant to write for me His sample was very brief and lacked details

Interventions Implemented Vocabulary building While reading we identified words he did not know creating a personal dictionary Matching game of his own vocabulary words he had identified Writing Building more details into his writing Using and identification of transition words Created a writing folder for him to use Monitoring for understanding Slowing down when he was reading Rereading sentences he did not understand or that did not sound correct Retelling events from what we had read at a previous session and also at the end of our sessions. Making sure we answered the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, and why)

Post Intervention Assessment Assessments Used: ARI (Analytical Reading Inventory) Word List Form B Was able to read all 6 levels without much difficulty Used the words in a sentence properly Read the word “cease” but was unable to define or use it in a sentence properly.

Post Intervention Assessment Social Studies, Level 6: The First Gas Mask Instructional level for Word Recognition and Comprehension Had 5 miscues mainly omissions and substitutions and 1 self- correction Read at a slower pace, when trying to decode a word he read word to word Narrative Passage Form B, Level 7: Dating a Loner Instructional Level (Level 6 Narrative he was Independent in Word Recognition & Instructional in Comprehension) 11 miscues with 3 self-corrections 3 miscues were repeating, and 3 were substitutions He slowed down and was making self-corrections Retell and Comprehension was better than in his first assessment

Post Intervention Assessments Writing Sample Began by asking how long it had to be. Spells unknown words phonetically using invented spelling Writing lacks details of the event Still brief. Not as structured as his first sample

Post Intervention Assessment Interview Likes to read stories that involve rebels who don’t follow the rules. When choosing a book he reads the back cover and first page to see if there are more than 5 words that he doesn’t know if there are the book is too hard for him. Still delays reading as long as possible. Still guesses at words he doesn’t know how to pronounce or the meaning of and keeps going. When asked what he does well when reading: he now says he re- reads what he doesn’t understand to figure out where he messed up at. He doesn’t want to do anything to become a better reader because he will be able to read a contract and that’s all he will really need to do in life. He feels annoyed when reading, unless it is a good book that is fun to read.

Reflection: Evaluation of Tutoring Experience: It was an enjoyable experience working with this student. He was always worked hard for me and was able to build some reading skills. The ARI assessment helped to identify his strengths of decoding and his weaknesses in vocabulary and comprehension. It is reassuring to see gains in what he is learning and implementing from our time together. He still has a negative attitude toward reading. I would like for him to find something that he really enjoys reading to help build a positive attitude toward reading.

Suggestions for Future Work Continue to work on building vocabulary in both narrative and content area texts Continue to work on developing his writing skills by adding to his writing folder so he can use that when he is writing for his classes. Implement some strategies for building comprehension and retaining pertinent information from texts Continue to encourage reading