Now that you have more information….
5 02 2008Now that you have some more information concerning assessment, instruction of struggling readers, motivation, and a whole host of other things, how are you planning for meeting with your student? You may respond to this or some other burning issue that you need advice on. Classmates, feel free to weigh in with your ideas to others’ comments.
I am meeting with my student for the first time tomorrow. During our meeting, I plan to get to know the child by completing the interest inventory and conversation. I will bring two of my favorite books. I will explain to the student that when I was her age these were my favorite books to read. This way she can get to know me better and see me as an actual person rather than just an adult. If time, I will read them to her and have her imagine herself in each of the books, just as I did when I was her age.
I have been very nervous about the assessments that I will be doing with this child until I began to read Flynt and Cooter. The book breaks the assessments into steps which makes it easier to understand how to conduct these assessments. After reading the instructions a few times, I do still have some questions and concerns to discuss next class about the steps. I feel that it would be helpful to go through the steps together in class if it possible.
I am also still a little nervous on the instruction that I need to give to my student based on the assessments. I’m sure that once I am at this point the ideas will just flow. I just feel that I don’t know what I will do once I have the results of the assessments. How will I know what the instruction should be?
Although I have previously worked with my target student, this experience is going to be different from the rest. With this experience I am going to approach the situation taking what I have already learned and expand my methods while also staying focused on a particular subject area, reading. My target student is in 2nd grade and has stuggled with reading. His abilities have been improving but he is not reading at grade level. He is a persistant little boy, meaning that he always tries his best to achieve his goals.
Before I meet with my student I am going to connect with his current classroom teacher, his Chapter I reading teacher, as well as his parents to try to get a better understanding of where he is struggling. From there I am going to put together a checklist of topics/ideas which we can focus on throughout our experience.
With this experience I hope that I can help to build his confidence as well as improving his reading skills.
My question for the class is:
My current student loves to read The Magic Tree House series. He often compares himself with his friends who are older than him and can read these book with ease. Does anyone know of other books that are in a series that are close to this genre but more at a late first grade/ early 2nd grade reading level?
to respond to your question on book series, Leslie.. I have found the 2nd graders love the Nate the Great series but they might be a little challenging for first grade, but it’s worth a shot ! Depending on his abilities, the little challenge might be okay.
as for my student, I met with him on Thursday. He is a 19 year old twelfth grader who struggles with reading aloud and writing, but not so much with reading to himself. He says that he reads slow and likes to take his time and gets tripped up on some harder words or words with tricky spelling.
at our first meeting, i gave him an interest inventory which let me see what he thikns about himself.. for example, i asked, “do you consider yourself a good reader?” “do you like to read?” “when i get called on to read aloud in class, i…..” and asked what his favorite books or types of books are. the survey allowed me to find out a lot about him.
he is a talented and passionate artist, so i am happy that i brought along one of my favorite picture books that has no words, to show him that sometimes reading books allows you to create your own story. he absolutely loved it, even though he is 19, because he related well to the drawings and the artwork, as well as creating his own story since he is very inventive and imaginative.
overall, it went well and I am actually meeting him again on Monday before class so my question is really about that meeting - I am unsure about where to go next.. I am going to try and bring in some pieces of writing that he might like to have him read to me so i can gauge a little where he is and how he reads. if anyone has any suggestions on what I can do with him on monday, please feel free to let me know !
-stacey
After reading the Flynt & Cooter Reading Inventory and familiarizing myself with the assessments, I felt more confident and prepared to begin working with my student. Flynt and Cooter’s Reading Inventory is similar to the DRA (Diagnostic Reading Assessment), which is the assessment tool the school I work in uses to measure and report students’ reading progress throughout the year. I am looking forward to using the Flynt and Cooter Inventory, however, because it seems as though it will better help me to discover specific areas of reading which my student struggles in. For example, I will be able to provide specific examples of the miscues that my student makes when orally reading and use these examples to analyze the precise type of error it is, in the areas of meaning, syntax and visual miscues. I also think that the silent reading comprehension section will be beneficial for me to analyze which story grammar elements my student struggles with and, therefore, I will be better able to determine her level of comprehension. Overall, the Reading Inventory is more specific in pinpointing a student’s reading weaknesses.
The student I am working with is a 4th grader. She is a very responsible and well-mannered girl, but she has some difficulties in school regarding feeling anxious in new situations and coping with her feelings. Because of this it was extremely important for me on our first meeting to take the time to discuss everything that I was to be doing with her that day and for the rest of our time working with each other. I also made it a point to let her know how happy I was that she was taking the time to help me with this college project. This helped her to gain my trust and feel at ease with the whole situation. Like Christine, I feel a little apprehensive about the kinds of instruction I will be using with my student. Perhaps going over some examples of the types of instructional methods we could use in the different areas of reading in class would help us for when we arrive at this point in our case study. Overall, however, I feel confident that throughout this semester I will be successful in evaluating and addressing my student’s needs in reading.
I will with be working with a 6th grade boy who has difficulty across all subject areas because of his low reading ability. He is the type of student who asks for more homework because he wants to get better. When I asked him to help me with my homework he was thrilled. I will be meeting with him for the first time this coming week and I had asked him to bring in a book he would like to read together. I had already told him the basics of why we will be meeting and what will happen, but the first time we meet we will go more in depth and I will answer any questions he may have. After that I figured I would read a chapter or two of the book he chooses and we can start by discussing the book and making predictions. I figured it would be important for both of us to make these predictions and not just him so he can see me as a reader, and I feel that will spark conversation. On the first day I will also do a reading interest form with him and discuss his answers. If time permits, I will also like to have him read a real easy and quick book silently and then discuss the events. I will also have him read it aloud to me. I think this will start off the sessions on a good note and give him some confidence in his reading ability.
After reading over the Flynt and Cooter Reading Inventory for the Classroom I got really excited because I felt like I now had a place to start with my student. This reading inventory seems like an effective way for teachers to know where to start their instruction. It really sets you up with all the appropriate materials and everything seems extremely beneficial. Although this is great, just like Christine and Virginia, once I know where to start I’m not sure what instructional strategies I should use.
I am meeting with my student for the first time tomorrow, and I’m also very nervous about what to do with the student. I’m not very familiar with the student, so my overall goal for the first session is to get to know him and establish an atmosphere of comfort. He’s in 8th grade, but his Resource Room teacher informed me that he has a 2.5 reading level (does that mean second grade? I’m not sure…?).
My plan is to compile a list of questions about his reading habits, likes/dislikes, etc. to get to know him first. Then, I’ll be better able to select texts that are interesting to him. I’m also going to bring some books that I like that have a range of different abilities, since I’m still not sure what his reading level is yet. I’d also like to have something to read aloud to him or for us to read aloud together and to talk about afterward to give me an idea of his fluency and comprehension ability.
Does anyone have any recommendations for books? I know 7-12 level books very well, but if he is at a 2nd grade reading level like I think he may be, I want something that he will be able to read well, yet won’t be “babyish.” I hope to have a better idea by the end of the first session…so hopefully it’ll be better later!
Thanks to everyone who responded so far. It is great to read what everyone is thinking and how they are planning their sessions. You have given me some ideas about how to approach my first session. I am planning on doing about the same thing as everyone is mentioning with the survey and getting to know the student.
Unfortunately, I currently am still working on finding a student to tutor. I have been having some difficulties because I don’t work consistently in any school. I am looking for a high school student if anyone has any suggestions. Thanks
One thing I have been wondering about is reading aloud to a high school student. I am afraid the student will think it is baby-ish for me to be reading to them. Is there any type of text or way to approach this that people have used when reading to older students??
In response to Savanna’s comments, you might want to try bring a wordless picture book the first day, like Stacey did because that way you wouldn’t have to worry about the student’s reading level right away. As you said once you get to know him it might give you a better idea what books to bring next time.
I will try to help Amy out first. Amy, I would think of your favorite book when you were in high school and bring that in. You and your student can read it together, this then might help you see what type of reader your student is. Also your student will be able to see what books you read when you were his/her age.
I am also still trying to find a student. The field Placement office is trying to find me a student. I am trying to find a student who is in grades 4th-6th, and at an after school program. I am hoping to have a student by the middle or end of the week.
When I do finally get to meet my student, I plan on finding some of student’s interests. This way I will be able to find books that he/she likes to read. Also it will allow me to get to know my student better. I will even bring one of my favorite books and maybe we can read it together. I also plan on maybe asking his/her teacher or someone who knows my student really well. This way I will be able to see what reading level my student is at. I then will do some assessments my self.
I also agree with everyone else that the Flynt and Cooter book have a lot of very good info. However, I am not sure what instructional strategies I should use, after I do finally get started and find a student.
I was supposed to meet with my student for the first time last Thursday, but she was out of school that day. I was also supposed to meet with her today, but I will be leaving school early because I am ill. That said, I’m still looking forward to meeting with her!
My student is a ninth grader, but her reading teacher has placed her at a third grade reading level. I spoke with my student briefly the other day, and she admitted that she didn’t like reading, but could get into it if it was the right book or material. I am reading a book of short stories for another grad class (I know some of you are also reading the same book!) and I am going to describe the stories in it to my student. That way she can pick a story that seems most interesting to her, but I’ve still limited her choices to an appropriate genre.
In my first meeting I am going to do an interest inventory with my student, along with a personal survey that will inform me about my student’s interests, reading skills and reading weaknesses (self-perceived generalities here, no specific assessments yet), and experiences with reading. We will read from the book that I mentioned, and we will also go over the scope of the semester together.
I think my student is most excited about the fact that she won’t be receiving a “grade” for this assignment. She seems aware that I am trying to help her and am not trying to make school more difficult for her. I just hope that we are able to meet regularly–she seems to miss a lot of school.
In responce to Savanna comment yes that means he can read at a second grade fove months reading level. I am kinda in the same boat I work with a Senior in H.S and he is on like a 4th or 5th grade level.
I plan to officially meet with my student on Tuesday morning. I have spoken with him a few times and he seems really excited about working on his reading skills. I plan to go over the permission slip with him and stress the importance of him bringing it back. Then I plan to do the interest inventory with him. The books I read when I was his age would be way over his reading ability. So, I am not sure I will bring in my favorite books because I do not want to insult him.
I think I will also send home the paper for his mom to fill out. I hope that I can find some readings that are not childish and that he would like to read. I guess I will find out when we do the interest inventory.
I planned on meeting with my student this week, but his parent changed her mind about allowing me to work with the student. I asked a new student’s parents to allow me to work with him and am supposed to find out some time today if they give their permission. I am finding it a lot harder to find a student than I expected. I am really hoping that this student will be the one that I work with because I have substituted in his classroom many time and he is one of those readers who really does want to learn, but is just missing some of the key tools. He tries, but gets very frustrated and uses the “this is stupid” excuse. If this is the student I get to work with, I am planning to bring in a few books on dogs and animal because I noticed those were the books he would pick up in class. Also I am going to do the readers interest survey.
I am working with a third grade student who, luckily I’ve known for a few years because she is a cousin of one of my best friends since high school. I have helped her with her homework a few times and actually helped her out a few summers ago when she was first learning how to read. She was a late reader and did not even try to start until after first grade. I had a brief session with her the other night about what kinds of books she likes to read and we went over a scholastic book fair magazine that she had received. She showed me which books she was interested in getting to read. Her ideas were Barbie, Hannah Montana, Disney stories, and the new Spiderwick chronicles. Next time we meet, I am going to work on giving her the garfield reading interest survey and bringing a few books that were my favorites from when I was her age. Hopefully I can work on getting her motivated to read and do some other activities because she is big on watching tv, playing with her dolls, and staring at the computer.
As for the Flynt and Cooter book, I would also appreciate a more step by step breakdown in the way the inventory is supposed to be played. I am familiar with some of the pieces that are similar to the running record such as the visual, meaning, and syntax piece, but would like a refresher on how to figure out exactly which area needs work. It just seems like a survey that would be full of information if used correctly and I feel as though I am not ready yet to analyze a survey like this.
This is my first blog! It’s a test… testing testing 1,2,3
My student is a second grader with limited phonemic awareness. he’s reading at a mid first grade level. We’ve been working on beginning and ending sounds. Today we read together and then did a “retell.” I did that in order to understand his reading comprehension, specifically I wanted to know if he was able to retell the story in the proper sequence.
Before meeting with my student, I have gathered all the different materials that I feel is going to be used for our first meeting. I really am most intersted in getting to know my student first. The interst interview is great for this, but i am also intersting in different things that he is interested in, sports, specific books and talk about them. i want him to know that I am intersted in what he has to say and relate to him so he feels more comfortable around me.
I felt the same way as you did Valerie. Altough I found a lot of great information out about my student through the interest interview, I wanted to know more. I want to be able to create a bond between my student so that she feels comfortable with me and enjoys our time together. I am lucky that she is still interested in reading at this point and I want to make sure that I help to keep that interest.
I found the interest interview helpful. However, my issue has been meeting with my student. He had been sick for four days then we had snow delays and snowdays, and now I am really sad because I have to find a new student because the student I had picked is having a real hard time adjusting to his step dad and dealing with the new sibling who is due in June. Thus, the boy is going to live with grandma and I will not be able to work with him any longer. I have another student lined up and I am waiting for the mom to sign the sheet; she is a second grader who struggles with reading, but she isn’t reluctant to read. There are no famliy issues, so I hope I can catch up and help the sweet girl.
I’m very excited to meet with Savanna. She is a student in my first grade class, and I am going to meet with her during our lunch period. She is really excited about this which will allow me to capitalize on her enthusiasm and get lots of work done. I also will meet with her a few times during our lunch to just chat, and not make her feel like she has to do a ton of work. I want her to feel comfortable and not overwhelmed with work. She is looking forward to meeting with me during lunch (the only time we have to work together) and I will make sure we both get time to eat
She is very self-motivated, I’m just going to keep an eye on her to make sure she does not get frustrated.