Week 7 Assignment 5


Print Awareness: (Assessed through teacher questions)
Simcha has a clear understanding of print awareness and when assessed on the basic components he performed well, displaying grade level understanding. He was able to answer correctly to the following questions:
Where is the front and back of the book? Where do we start reading? In what direction do we read? What is a period? What does a period symbolize? Point out a word. Point out a sentence. Point out a letter.

Phonemic Awareness: (Assessed through the PAST – Phonological Awareness Screening Test from Dr. David KilPatrick)
On the phonemic awareness level, Simcha has a hard time breaking apart and blending phonemes in a word. In a simple consonant vowel consonant word, he wouldn’t be able to identify what the word would say without the first phoneme. (What does bed say without /b/?) I became aware of this through an assessment provided in Dr. David Kilpatrick’s Book. It includes many levels of phonemic awareness, and Simcha scored below grade level.
I recommend dedicating about three minutes towards the beginning of each lesson to Phonemic Awareness. Using the resources provided from Dr. KilPatricks Workshop on Phonological Awareness, I have seen Simcha’s Phonemic Awareness improve. He explains the importance of daily practice and encourages beginning with manipulatives to represent the sounds, until students can complete the activities orally. Practice, Practice, Practice is the key - and will transfer to reading skills naturally!!!

Phonics: (Sheet with mix up of letters, sheet with many words including blends, digraphs and cvc words)
He can identify with automaticity the names of the alphabet and can create the correct phoneme for most of the letters. There are a few sounds that he has difficulty pronouncing, and he is currently receiving remediation from a speech therapist to improve those sounds. He has a grasp on the names of the vowels and the short vowel sounds. He has some difficulty when reading text that include initial or final blends, words that have a long vowel sound and digraphs. He is proficient when reading consonant-vowel-consonant words in a worksheet or a story.
I recommend explicit phonics instruction focusing on the areas he is struggling. Incorporating games suggested on the reading rockets website (http://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101-course/modules/phonics/phonics-practice) are great resources for this intervention. They provide great examples on how to improve children’s phonics skills.

Fluency:(Running Record)
The running record disclosed many mistakes while decoding a simple grade level text. He read with an 85% accuracy. Many of his mistakes and mispronunciation of words were based on visual errors. I assume that his visual errors are based on the lack of focus that he places on the words while he is reading. He enjoys completing a page in the book, and is not really paying any attention to the text he is reading.
Providing Simcha with opportunities to reread the text while underlining the text, or scooping each word, may improve his fluency. He seems to work on focusing on the words, instead of guessing what they say.
Additional Learning Activities:
I incorporated the Sounds in Motion Program that has a motion for each phoneme. Using this method helps Simcha create the sound while using his body to let out some energy. Along with the sound and the motion, I also incorporate the formation of the shape of the letter using popsicle sticks or clay, so that he can get a real feel for the letter. Once he has a grasp of the shape and the sound of the letter, we practice writing the letter, beginning with tracing, and then writing with markers, and then with a pen. This method of teaching a motion with every sound is very helpful for Simcha as it allows him to move around instead of sitting for a long stretch of time. Since he has a hard time with forming the shape of all the alphabet, this process of shaping, tracing and then writing is very beneficial. The motions are great too and he enjoys practicing the motions with the sounds.
Reading Rockets Website - http://www.readingrockets.org
Read Write and Think - http://www.readwritethink.org
PBS Reading Games - https://pbskids.org/games/reading/
ABC Mouse - https://www.abcmouse.com

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 20, 2018 at 3:29 PM

    Chavi, your assessments and ideas for improvement were so detailed. Your intervention programs that you used are amazing. I really think you can achieve in getting Simcha up to par.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chava LowenthalOctober 26, 2018 at 6:48 AM

      Thank you. Yes, I do feel that these interventions are amazing and will result in great improvements!

      Delete
  2. Chani Raitzik's blogOctober 20, 2018 at 11:01 PM

    chava, I love your using motions to aid his reading! wow, I used to have my students lay on the floor to create letters with their bodies and say the sounds out loud simultaneously!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Faigy HerzogOctober 22, 2018 at 6:41 AM

    Chavi, I love the assessment methods you used! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kayla MarxNovember 19, 2018 at 11:58 PM

    Really good job Chavi! I like all the methods you have chosen to use for the assessment. I love your last actitivity that allows him to move around.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousNovember 26, 2018 at 9:36 AM

    wow! great job assessing your student! you really used some original methods.

    ReplyDelete

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